The main reason for rejecting the DCT (as opposed to DBT) option was the belief that paying market price for fertilisers upfront would result in additional financial burden.
More than three-fourths of Indian farmers like the new system of fertiliser subsidy linked to sales made to them by retailers being registered on point-of-sale (PoS) machines. This so-called direct benefit transfer (DBT) system, wherein the subsidy to fertiliser companies is also released only after actual retail sales take place, is preferred by 76.5% of farmers, as per the findings of a nationwide study commissioned by NITI Aayog.
The reasons for farmers’ approval of DBT — over the earlier system of manual distribution, where subsidy was paid to companies once their dispatched material had reached the railhead point or approved godown of a district — include its being able to track the real buyer, curb diversion to non-farmers, and reduce overcharging by retailers.
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