📊 The Reality Check
- Ayushman Bharat: CAG flagged 7.5 lakh beneficiaries linked to a single mobile number (9999999999).
- PM Ujjwala: Cylinder refill rates have risen to 3.95/year, but still trail the general average.
- PM Kisan: 2.3 crore beneficiaries were removed in one year—not by accident, but to clean the database of "fake farmers".
In India, announcing a scheme is easy. Implementing it is hard. Verifying it? That's where the data often gets murky.
With general elections always on the horizon in some part of the country, welfare schemes are the currency of Indian politics. But beyond the rallies and the manifestos, what do the numbers actually say? Are the benefits reaching the last mile, or are they leaking through the cracks of bureaucracy?
We analyzed three flagship schemes—Ayushman Bharat (Health), PM Ujjwala (Fuel), and PM Kisan (Cash Transfer)—using data from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and respective Ministry dashboards. Here is what we found.
1. Ayushman Bharat: The "Deceased" Patient Paradox
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) is the world's largest health insurance scheme. But size brings complexity, and complexity brings irregularities.
In a performance audit released in August 2023, the CAG flagged massive anomalies in the beneficiary database.
What this means for you: The "single number" issue suggests that in many rural areas, registration centers or middlemen might be mass-registering people without their verifying personal details. More concerning is the "deceased" claims—where hospitals continued to claim money for patients who were recorded as dead. This indicates not just data error, but potential institutional fraud.
2. PM Ujjwala Yojana: The Refill Rate Reality
Giving a connection is a one-time event. Buying a refill is a recurring cost. The success of Ujjwala strictly depends on the latter.
Critics often claim that Ujjwala cylinders lie gathering dust because beneficiaries can't afford refills. The data shows a more nuanced picture.
- 2019-20: Average consumption was 3.01 refills per year.
- 2023-24: Average consumption rose to 3.95 refills per year.
- Projected 2024-25: Expected to cross 4.3 refills.
The Verdict: Usage is going up, not down. However, it still lags behind the general non-subsidy average (which is often 6-7 cylinders). The targeted subsidy of ₹300 (increased in late 2023) has helped, but for a family earning daily wages, a ₹600+ cylinder is still a significant chunk of monthly income.
3. PM Kisan: The Case of the Missing 2 Crore
Between 2022 and 2023, the number of farmers receiving PM Kisan installments dropped by nearly 2.3 crore (approx. 22%).
Was this a failure of delivery? Paradoxically, it was a success of cleaning.
The government introduced mandatory Aadhaar-seeded e-KYC and land record verification. This "saturation drive" acted as a massive filter, weeding out:
- Income-tax paying farmers (who are ineligible).
- Institutional land owners.
- Duplicate registrations.
While the drop looked bad in headlines, it meant the money stopped going to people who didn't need it. By 2024, numbers started climbing again as genuine, eligible farmers completed their verification.
Conclusion: Better Data, Better Delivery?
The data reveals a system that is maturing but still prone to significant leaks. The CAG's findings on Ayushman Bharat are a wake-up call that digital public infrastructure needs digital policing.
However, the trend in Ujjwala and the cleaning of PM Kisan lists show that when data is used to fix the pipeline rather than just advertise it, the results eventually show up. The challenge for 2026 and beyond isn't just launching new schemes, but ensuring the "digital" beneficiary matches the real human being waiting in line.
