Several groundbreaking financial inclusion schemes by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government have revolutionised welfare delivery in India in the last 11 years, by plugging leakages and ensuring transparency, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.

Over the past decade, the NDA government has taken pathbreaking steps to uplift several people from the clutches of poverty, focussing on empowerment, infrastructure and inclusion.

“Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) has revolutionised welfare delivery in India, by plugging leakages and ensuring transparency. Over 1,200 government schemes now leverage DBT, enabling direct transfer of Rs 44 lakh crore to beneficiaries’ bank accounts,” FM Sitharaman said in a post on X.

This system has already saved the nation Rs 3.48 lakh crore in leakages and inefficiencies, she informed.

Also, PM MUDRA Yojana has given wings to grassroots dreams and made entrepreneurship inclusive.

“Under this scheme, over 52 crore loans worth Rs 33 lakh crore have been sanctioned, out of which 68 per cent belong to women,” said the Finance Minister.

PM Jan Dhan Yojana has made banking universal. Under the world's largest financial inclusion programme, 55.44 crore accounts have been opened, out of which 55.7 per cent are held by women, said the Finance Minister.

According to PM Modi, the push for DBT, digital inclusion and rural infrastructure has ensured transparency and faster delivery of benefits till the last mile.

Since the money goes directly into the bank accounts of beneficiaries, the leakage has been curbed, which has resulted in a halving of subsidy allocations from 16 per cent to 9 per cent of total expenditure, government data showed in April.

“It is due to this that over 25 crore people have defeated poverty. The NDA remains committed to building an inclusive and self-reliant India, where every citizen has the opportunity to live with dignity,” PM Modi said in a post on X.