PaHal Scheme pumps in Rs3654+ crores cash into Indian economy

            The PaHal scheme as on date covers 9.75 crore LPG consumers i.e  66% of the total consumer base of 15 crore.     

PaHaL (Pratyaksha Hastaantarit Laabh) is the  Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme for LPG Subsidy.

Under PaHaL, LPG cylinders are sold at market rates and entitled consumers get the subsidy directly into their bank accounts. This is done either through an Aadhaar linkage or a bank account linkage.

An amount of Rs. 3654 crore has already been transferred into the bank accounts of LPG consumers through 9.25 crore transactions.

Overall only 1.09 lakh complaints have been received so far, which constitute a mere 0.1% of the transactions. Over 85% of the complaints have been resolved.

The success of this scheme can be attributed to a multi pronged approach to the core audience. The core audiences in PaHal scheme were the banks, lpg consumers, lpg dealers and lpg companies.

The single portal mylpg.in with its simple user interface was the common tool which linked the banks, consumers and the lpg dealers.

            At the same time, this portal also is an important tool in bringing transparency.

            The various options available in the portal can be better understood with the following picture

            The next step should be to digitize the payments from consumers end. The credit to the consumer’s bank account is already in electronic mode. It would be logical to roll out mobile POS terminals to collect the gas cylinders monies from the consumers.

            The benefits are manifold:

a)    Familiarize a large chunk of the population with Safe eTransactions

b)   Boost the Mobile POS market

c)    Reduce the cash handling cost

d)   Play an active role in keeping the PMJDY Rupay cards active

e)    Migrate a large number of transactions from Cash mode to CashLess mode