A direct benefit transfer (DBT) subsidy to buy a smartphone? With election to the Rajasthan assembly just months away, the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government is trying to push through as many freebies as it can before the model code of conduct kicks in. The tender process to buy smartphones for the 13.5 million women who head their families in the state (at a reported cost of Rs 7,000 crore) has been delayed by supply issues: a scarcity of semiconductors has hit mobile production. Gehlot is therefore toying with the idea of making cash transfers so that the women can buy a smartphone of their choice. This comes alongside a decision to transfer Rs 370 each to PDS beneficiaries since some tenders to buy grains have not materialised. The state has already transferred Rs 175 crore to 42,000 farmers who lost their cows to lumpy disease to boost the rural economy.
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