Introduction

India, according to the World Bank, accounts for one third of the poor in the world (Olinto and Uematsu, 2013). Delivering benefits to the deserving recipients have been an old and major problem as well as a source of much corruption in India, since decades before former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's famous observation of only 15 per cent of government outlay actually reaching the poor. India is not unique in this respect; most developing countries have struggled with such distributional issues. In recent years, direct cash transfer schemes have become a much experimented vehicle of distribution of benefits in much of the developing world, mostly with encouraging results. India has also embarked upon this path with characteristic hesitation and arguments. Both the idea of DBT and the delivery mechanism, essentially a unique ID-based transfer system, have generated much debate and skepticism. This chapter seeks to understand the nature and implications of the direct cash transfer programmes being considered and experimented within India, particularly in light of the experience elsewhere.