The Prime Minister's Office is backing the direct cash transfer scheme and is asking the various ministries and departments to implement the scheme, which is expected to be operationalised from 1 January, 2013.

Pulok Chatterjee, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister wrote a letter to nine secretaries of the central government asking them to work towards implementing the scheme on time. The letter was sent following the first National Committee on Direct Cash Transfers ( DCT) metting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"I would request you to get down to the immediate task of operationalising Direct Cash Transfers in the identified schemes in your Department," said Chatterjee wrote. The letter also said that the authorities involves should ensure that the scheme is rolled out smoothly in the 51 districts initially and then expanded further as per plans.

The letter asked the ministries to have a complete list of beneficiaries along with the newly assigned Aadhaar numbers for the scheme. It pointed out that the digitalization of the list of beneficiaries is essential for the roll out of the scheme. Chatterjee said that the ministries will receive assistance from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the Department of Information Technology for successfully implementing the scheme.

The implementation Committees of all the ministries have been ordered to meet once a week to ensure that the work towards the implementation of the scheme is progressing as planned. The PMO has assured that the Financial Inclusion and Technology Committees will look to address the concerns relating to the banking infrastructure and the financial and accounting procedures.