Archive · 20 Jan 2026
India Evaluates Family-Based Welfare Delivery
India has many welfare schemes to help people live better lives.
These schemes spend a lot of money and have helped reduce poverty.
However, there are problems like people who shouldn't get benefits still do, and the government doesn't have all the information about families in one place.
To fix this, some states are trying a new idea called a 'Family ID.'
This ID would help the government know exactly who needs help and make sure every family gets the right benefits.
The government is thinking about making this idea bigger in the next budget to help all families and make India a better place to live.
India has over 1,100 welfare schemes with a budget of over INR 25 Lakh Crore, representing more than 7% of GDP.
Poverty in India has significantly reduced, but challenges in welfare delivery persist, including benefit leakages and lack of coordination.
Current issues include fragmented data, siloed execution, complex eligibility criteria, and proliferation of applications and portals.
Some states like Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka are pioneering family-based welfare systems with unique Family IDs.
Implementing a family-based approach could improve beneficiary targeting, reduce inefficiencies, and empower families to choose benefits tailored to their needs.
- Who
- Indian government and citizens
- What
- Evaluation of family-based welfare delivery systems
- When
- 2025
- Where
- India
- Why
- To improve the efficacy of welfare schemes and ensure better targeting of benefits
- Number of Welfare Schemes
- More than 1,100
- Budget Outlay
- Over INR 25 Lakh Crore
- Percentage of GDP
- More than 7%
- Poverty Reduction
- From ~50% in 2005–06 to 15–16% in 2022–23
- Extreme Monetary Poverty
- Low single-digit levels by international standards
- Benefit Leakages
- ~12% ineligible beneficiaries in a northern state's PDS
- DBT Transfer Failures
- 2–3% over the last 3 years
- Pioneering States with Family-Based Welfare
- Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka
