The Ministry of Rural Development has issued a press information bulletin on the extension of Aadhaar Based Payment Bridge System (ABPS) to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). This press information bulletin was issued on 3rd June, 2023.
The Central Government has observed that in many cases due to frequent changes in Bank Account Number by the beneficiary and non-updation of the new account number by the Concerned Programme Officer of the same, due to non-submission of new account by the beneficiary on time, several transactions of wage payment are being rejected.
Hence, ABPS was stated to be the best route for making wage payment through DBT. It would help the beneficiaries in getting their wage payment on time.
Once Aadhar is updated in the scheme database, beneficiary need not update account numbers due to change in location or change in bank account number. Money will be transferred to the account number which is linked with Aadhar number.
States have been requested to organize camps and follow up with beneficiaries to achieve 100 % ABPS. 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 for work, in such case her/his status about eligibility for ABPS does not affect the demand for work. Furthermore, job cards cannot be deleted on the basis of reason that the worker is not eligible for ABPS.
