The Government of India, through the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), intended to enhance the efficiency and impact of its major cooking gas subsidy programs—Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) and the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). These programs targeted the direct delivery of subsidies to eligible households while promoting clean energy adoption among low-income families. However, to maximize benefits, the programs needed improvements in design, communication, enrollment processes, and overall governance. MSC supported the government by providing technical assistance through quick, evidence-based evaluations.
For the DBTL scheme, we conducted several assessments to improve how the program works, make the scheme portal more user-friendly, and strengthen communication, especially for the successful “Give-it-Up” campaign, which led 11 million households to give up their subsidies voluntarily.
For the PMUY scheme, we carried out impact studies in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh to understand its effects on household health, economic conditions, and women’s empowerment. We also helped improve communication materials about who is eligible, how to enroll, and how to use LPG safely, which were later used in national audiovisual campaigns.
Our inputs helped the government eliminate 40 million duplicate or ghost beneficiaries, leading to savings of USD 8.8 billion by 2023. The improved communication strategies further ensured greater citizen awareness and safer use of LPG connections among vulnerable populations.
The Gates Foundation commissioned the project.
India has made significant progress in digitizing its social protection programs to reduce leakages, improve governance, and ensure direct delivery of benefits to citizens. These programs span multiple sectors, which include food, fuel, fertilizer, health, rural livelihoods, social assistance, social insurance, and education. Despite its progress, many schemes required further reforms to improve efficiency, ensure last-mile delivery, and shift from in-kind to cash-based transfers where appropriate.
MSC collaborated with central and state governments, as well as key partners, to assess and enhance the performance of these programs. We conducted Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) readiness assessments to evaluate infrastructure and institutional preparedness across different regions. Our teams also offered real-time, independent monitoring and evaluation support during pilot implementations. This included detailed ground-level tracking of rollout processes, digital payments infrastructure, and beneficiary onboarding to ensure data-driven course corrections during implementation. MSC’s ongoing support enabled governments to fine-tune program delivery, strengthen accountability, and improve beneficiary experiences. Our work contributed to more efficient, transparent, and scalable G2P delivery mechanisms across India. Overall, these initiatives have directly impacted more than 875 million people, helping make social protection systems more inclusive and responsive.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation commissioned the project to MSC.
Governments and development partners across the world are working to improve the way they deliver social protection and government-to-person (G2P) payments. However, many face challenges in reaching the right people effectively and efficiently. To address this, MSC conducted a global assessment to understand how social protection programs function from start to finish. The goal was to uncover common barriers and recommend improvements that can make these programs more inclusive, accurate, and user-friendly.
MSC led an in-depth study on social protection and G2P programs across several countries in Africa and Asia, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Zambia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. We also reviewed programs in Colombia and Estonia to capture regional diversity. Based on this research, MSC developed a framework that improves the design and delivery of social benefits. We highlighted best practices to target beneficiaries, design delivery systems, train providers, measure results, and improve cost efficiency.
The project provided practical guidance to policymakers and program designers on how to make G2P systems more effective. It helped stakeholders understand what works and what does not, across various country contexts. Our findings and framework contributed to refining global strategies to design, digitize, and deliver social protection programs, to ensure they are efficient and people-centric.
The Gates Foundation commissioned the project.
The Government of Indonesia sought to reform its food subsidy system to make it more efficient and responsive to the needs of low-income households. The new program, Bantuan Pangan Non-Tunai (BPNT), was introduced to replace the older Beras Sejahtera (Rastra) system. BPNT intended to deliver food subsidies through a non-cash, digital platform that would improve transparency, reduce leakages, and offer more choice to beneficiaries.
MSC helped the government design, pilot, implement, and evaluate the BPNT program. We worked across 44 cities to test the program with 1.3 million beneficiaries. Our team assessed how well the program components worked. These included digital payment systems, the food supply chain, communication strategies, grievance redress mechanisms, and the verification process for selecting beneficiaries. MSC provided detailed feedback and recommendations that helped the government strengthen the program design. Based on MSC’s evaluation and recommendations, the government improved the communication approach and made the subsidy experience smoother for beneficiaries. These changes helped build trust and improve access. The government scaled up the program from 44 to more than 200 cities, reaching over 15 million people. MSC also conducted a national-level study to guide ongoing improvements and ensure the program remains responsive to the needs of its users.
The project was commissioned by the Gates Foundation.
The Government of India has been working to make its fertilizer subsidy program more efficient, transparent, and targeted. To support this effort, MSC provided technical assistance to the Department of Fertilizers to redesign the subsidy mechanism through Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) and improve fertilizer use efficiency across the country. The reforms sought to curb leakages, rationalize usage, and improve targeting to support both fiscal sustainability and soil health.
MSC conceptualized and designed the DBT system in the fertilizer subsidy program. We led the pre-pilot in two districts of Andhra Pradesh, followed by implementation support for a larger pilot in 14 districts and the eventual national rollout. At each stage, we conducted rapid and concurrent evaluations to guide program refinement. Our recommendations helped the government reduce leakages and improve monitoring. We also proposed key improvements, such as bringing urea under the Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme, building a farmer database, introducing fertilizer entitlements, and piloting Direct Cash Transfers (DCT) to farmers. MSC designed the DCT pilot and assessed the digital readiness of states for its rollout.
To complement these efforts, MSC evaluated the Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme through a nationwide study in 2018. We suggested establishing decentralized, real-time testing facilities with active farmer engagement. We also assessed the impact of Neem Coated Urea (NCU) and changes in urea packaging on fertilizer consumption patterns.
MSC’s work helped the government save approximately USD 2.2 billion by March 2022, largely due to reduced diversion and overuse, amounting to 15 million metric tons of fertilizer. The interventions also contributed to a reduction of urea use per hectare by 8%, signaling progress toward more balanced fertilizer usage and improved soil health.
The Gates Foundation commissioned the project.
This program was conceptualized under SIDBI’s C2D2E (Conductor to Driver to Entrepreneur) initiative, aligned with the ‘Dreams Through Women in E-mobility’ vision. The program aimed to promote gender inclusivity in traditionally male-dominated transport services. It created dignified livelihood opportunities for women and strengthened institutional capacity for gender- responsive practices.
MSC partnered with Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) to design and implement targeted training and support systems for women in Odisha’s public transport sector. The intervention focused on building the capabilities of female guides working in CRUT’s electric bus fleet through customized training modules covering communication, customer service, conflict resolution, grievance resolution, technical skills, and gender sensitization. In addition to training 242 female guides across four cities—Berhampur, Sambalpur, Rourkela, and Bhubaneshwar, we also trained over 113 male staff and depot teams to promote a safer and more inclusive work environment.
MSC developed a comprehensive knowledge base and toolkit for CRUT staff to continue training and embed gender-sensitive practices independently. The team further provided operational, administrative, and HR recommendations to strengthen CRUT’s internal systems and foster long- term inclusivity.
The initiative enhanced the skills and confidence of female guides to enable their sustained participation in the public bus system. It improved the commuter experience through better customer engagement and gender-sensitive service thus fostering workplace inclusion at all levels. The program also laid the foundation for future interventions, such as the inclusion of female bus drivers and expanded last-mile connectivity solutions.
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Capital Region Urban Transportation (CRUT) commissioned the project.