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Published – August 07, 2026 03:55 pm IST – THIRUVANANTHAPURAM<\/p>\n
An elderly women collecting her welfare pension at her home (file image)
\n | Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT<\/p>\n
The Kerala government\u2019s decision to shift fully to the direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode for the distribution of social security and welfare fund pensions comes three years after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) flagged problems with the direct-to-home (DTH) system of distribution executed through primary agricultural credit societies (PACS).<\/p>\n
Finance Department data also show that Kerala has been spending crores of rupees every year on incentives paid to individuals who distribute the pensions to homes under DTH via the PACS route.<\/p>\n
In September 2023, the CAG, in a report submitted to the Kerala Legislative Assembly, had recommended that the State include more beneficiaries under the DBT mode, a recommendation the UDF government has now decided to implement.<\/p>\n