Aadhaar-based Payment System Reviewed, Deadline for MGNREGA's Mixed Payment Route Extended

The progress of the Aadhaar-based Payment System (ABPS) has been reviewed and the mixed route of wage payment which includes, NACH and ABPS route has been extended till December 31, 2023, or till further order by the Ministry of Rural Development.

APBS is the best route for making wage payments through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), which makes sure that payments are made directly into the Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of the end beneficiaries, removing any malpractices from the existing system.

Once Aadhaar is updated in the scheme (MGNREGA) database, the beneficiary need not update account numbers due to a change in location or change in bank account number. Money will be transferred to the account number which is linked with the Aadhaar number. In the case of more than one account of the beneficiary, which is rare in the context of MGNREGA, the beneficiary has the choice to select the account.

The progress of the Aadhaar-based Payment System (ABPS) has been reviewed and the mixed route of wage payment (NACH and ABPS route) has been extended till December 31, 2023, or till further order. The Ministry has made it clear to all the States that the beneficiary who comes for work should be requested to provide the Aadhaar number but will not be refused work on this basis. If a beneficiary does not demand work, in such case her/his status about eligibility for APBS does not affect the demand for work. Job cards cannot be deleted based on the reason that the worker is not eligible for APBS.

Out of the total 14.33 crore active beneficiaries, the Aadhaar has been seeded for 13.97 crore. Against these seeded Aadhaar, a total of 13.34 crore Aadhaar have been authenticated and 81.89% of active workers are now eligible for APBS. In July 2023, about 88.51% of the wage payment has been made through APBS.

How Does the Aadhaar-based Payment System Benefit MGNREGA Workers?

The Centre announced this year in February that MGNREGA workers will be paid wages based on ABPS, after the almost universal availability of the Aadhaar number to every adult population. ABPS was extended to the beneficiaries to prevent fake identities and irregularities in payments under the scheme.

It is helping genuine MGNREGA beneficiaries to get their due payment and is instrumental in curbing corruption by weeding out fake beneficiaries.

Mahatma Gandhi NREGA is a demand-driven Scheme and is affected by various economic factors. A proper ecosystem for APBS is in place. Considering the benefits of APBS for beneficiaries, this is the best system to be followed for the payment.