Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Union Minister for Education and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan urged chief minister Naveen Patnaik to reconsider the decision on Wednesday, two days after the Odisha government decided to pay beneficiaries of its pension scheme under the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana in cash rather than transferring the money into their bank accounts. The pension program includes citizens over the age of 60, widows, leprosy patients who exhibit noticeable deformities, as well as anybody who is unable to work due to a disability or deformity.
The Odisha government said on Monday that it was ending the procedure it had begun using in November 2019 to deposit funds into bank accounts and would instead be disbursing pensions in cash through local panchayati raj officials going forward. The move was made, according to Social Security Minister Ashok Panda, in response to criticism that recipients were having trouble withdrawing and receiving money from their bank accounts.
“Under Prime Minister Modi, we have worked to make sure that every person benefits from government programs without any theft. One excellent illustration of this strategy is the Jan Dhan Yojana. Under this program, an astounding 48.99 crore bank accounts have been established in India, accumulating 1.97 lakh crore in deposits. 2,001,000,000 bank accounts have been activated in Odisha alone, saving the residents of our state $8,751,000,000, according to Pradhan.
Approximately 2.99 crore recipients of the Government of India’s NSAP—particularly the elderly, widowed, and physically disabled—receive monthly pension payments straight into their bank accounts. Similarly, 20,95,695 individuals are receiving benefits under the DBT system in Odisha. You must see the benefit of paying this large number of recipients straight into their bank accounts, which eliminates any chance of corruption. By eliminating fictitious beneficiaries and eliminating the need for middlemen, the adoption of DBT has allowed the exchequer to save a staggering amount of money. This has greatly aided in stopping leaks and diversions and reducing the opportunity for corruption. By reducing arbitrary decision-making and procedural opacity, it fosters transparency, said Pradhan.
