The government is still struggling to convince LPG consumers to get their Aadhaar card numbers seeded with their bank accounts; but the government, nevertheless, moving ahead for an October 1 launch of its direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for a majority of consumers.

On Monday, a meeting of 121 district magistrates from various parts of India was convened to discuss the launch of the much-hyped scheme.

The ambitious scheme is scheduled to be introduced in phases started July 1. The government has plans to extend the scheme to the majority of 14 crore LPG consumers by October 1, conditional on their coverage under the Aadhaar scheme.

Under the DBT scheme, LPG consumers are required to get their Aadhaar numbers seeded in their bank accounts so that the government can transfer subsidy directly into their accounts.

But, a considerable number of consumers are reluctant to share their Aadhaar numbers with their banks. Moreover, pilot projects introduced in 20 districts produced only 20-30 per cent success rate.

A senior official from the ministry of petroleum said, "Consumers are ready to give the Aadhaar numbers to the OMCs but not to the banks. There is also the issue of Aadhaar penetration, which is very patchy in different parts of the country."

The government has capped the supply of subsidised LPG cylinder at 9 per year per household. The subsidy per LPG consumer is estimated at Rs 4,000 per annum.