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Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)

1.  Status of DBT in Fertilizers:

The Government has introduced Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system in Fertilizers w.e.f. October 2016. Under the fertilizer DBT system, 100% subsidy on various fertilizer grades is released to the fertilizer companies on the basis of actual sales made by the retailers to the beneficiaries. Sale of all subsidized fertilizers to farmers/buyers is made through Point of Sale (PoS) devices installed at each retailer shop and the beneficiaries are identified through Aadhaar Card, KCC, Voter Identity Card etc. Different States/U.T.s have been put on Go-Live mode w.e.f. 01.09.2017 and the Pan-India Roll out has been completed by March, 2018.

A Project Monitoring Cell has been set up at Dept. of Fertilizers to oversee implementation of DBT exclusively.  24 State Coordinators have been appointed across all States to monitor the on-going DBT activities. Implementation of the DBT in Fertilizer Scheme required deployment of PoS devices at every retailer shop and training of retailers for operating PoS device. Across the country, Lead Fertilizer Supplier (LFS) have conducted 15954 training sessions till date. 2.60 Lakh PoS devices have been deployed across all States.

2. DBT Dashboards for various stakeholders.

After successful PAN-India Roll out, attention was devoted to the development of Dashboards/various reports for stakeholders as given below:

1.       Kisan Corner

2.       DOF/Movement Division

3.       States Agriculture Departments

4.       District Collector/District Agriculture Officer

5.       Fertilizer companies.

6.       Marketing Federation        

These dash-boards provide various reports, viz.,

  1. Fertilizer Stock position (overall and production):
    • at Ports
    • at Plants
    • in States
    • at District levels
  2. Proportionate requirement for the season and availability of stocks at various levels
     
  3.  ‘Top 20 Buyers’ List
  4. ‘Most Frequent Buyers’
  5. Retailers not selling fertilizers

3. Direct Cash Transfer to farmers: -

Direct Cash Transfer to farmers has been under discussion at various forum such as PMO, Cabinet Secretariat and NITI Aayog. A Committee of Secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary has been setup to develop the broad contours of the DCT framework under which DCT to farmers can be implemented. The last meeting was held on 16.01.2020. The CoS inter Alia has recommended to constitute a Nodal Committee to be co-chaired by Secretaries of Department of Fertilizers and Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare to formulate and implement Direct Cash Transfer in Fertilizers. Accordingly, a Nodal Committee has been constituted dated 1st June, 2020 to formulate policy relating to implementation of Direct Cash Transfer of Fertilizer Subsidy to farmers. The first meeting of Nodal Committee through Video Conference was held on 25.06.2020 and second meeting was held on 28.10.2020. The proceedings of the meetings have been circulated to the all concerned.

4.        Pilot Project in Karnataka

  • A meeting under the chairmanship of Secretary (Fert) and State Govt of Karnataka to explore feasibility of integration of FRUITS system of Karnataka and IFMS had been held on 19.10.2022.
  • It has been recommended in the meeting that project may be initiated on pilot basis in particular district of Karnataka. The state Govt will intimate the Pilot district.
  • In cases, where identification of farmer / authorization is conveyed from FRUITS to IFMS , POS will check and allow sales of subsidized fertilizer (Urea) to the identified buyer.
  • In cases, where no data is conveyed from FRUITS to IFMS , buyer will be able to purchase only non-subsidized fertilizer on non-denial basis.
  • State Govt of Karnataka has been requested to convey its readiness for the project.

5. SMS to Buyers: -

The Department of Fertilizers (DoF) has implemented Short Message Services (SMS) to buyers for the sale of fertilizers in the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) project. Buyer will receive a receipt on his mobile through SMS on every purchase of fertilizers. Department of Fertilizers (DoF) has introduced SMS system on 30th September 2020 in PoS 3.1 version.

  • The SMS contains the details viz. Invoice no., retailer name quantity purchased, total amount to be paid and the subsidy borne by the Govt. of India. etc.
  • SMS module is used to send periodic SMS to farmer about availability of fertilizer at retail outlet from where he purchased fertilizer earlier.
  • Farmer can get information about availability of fertilizer at any retail outlet by sending SMS to +917738299899 (by sending retailer id).

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