JAM trinity
Also called: Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile · Topic: Government Budget, Fiscal Policy and FRBM · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The JAM trinity links three tools so the government can send money straight to people: Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar biometric ID and Mobile phones. The bank account receives the money. Aadhaar proves the person is who they claim to be. The mobile phone tells them about the payment and gives them access to it. The Economic Survey 2014-15 proposed JAM as the way to run Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), meaning welfare money paid directly into the bank accounts of the people it is meant for. DBT itself began on 1 January 2013. JAM matters because it cuts out middlemen and reduces leakage.
Example
Under PM-KISAN, ₹6,000 a year goes straight into farmers' Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. Under LPG PAHAL, the LPG subsidy is paid into the buyer's account and not through a lower cylinder price. Compare this with the old Public Distribution System (PDS), where a Planning Commission study found the government spent ₹3.65 to deliver ₹1 of food subsidy.
Don't confuse with
- DBT: DBT is the transfer of benefits itself. JAM is the delivery system that carries it.
- Targeting errors: JAM can reduce inclusion errors, such as ghost or duplicate beneficiaries. It can also cause exclusion errors, such as eligible people losing benefits when Aadhaar authentication fails.
Related concepts
- Subsidy
- Cash transfers
- Targeting errors
- Universal Basic Income
- Freebies
- Performance budget
- Outcome budget
- Zero-based budgeting
- Gender budgeting
- Green budgeting