Govt proposes wider net for old-age pension

Although the National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS) has had limited success in most parts of India, the Ministry of Rural Development is pushing to lower its threshold level to include more beneficiaries.

Originally, the scheme was to provide pension to all destitutes above the age of 65. This was modified last month and now applies to all those who are below poverty line (BPL) and above the age of 65. It was renamed the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme.

The Ministry of Rural Development now wants the scheme to be operational for those above 60 and cover young widows and the disabled in this economic category.

This means the cost of the scheme will go up from the present Rs 4,207 crore "" this being the budgetary allocation for the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) "" to Rs 8,230 crore as 16.7 million more people will be added to the list of beneficiaries.

Following a meeting between Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and the consultative committee attached to his ministry which endorsed the proposal, officials held consultations with the Planning Commission yesterday.

Sources said the Planning Commission appreciated the proposal but wanted the ministry to scale down the targets so that the changes could be considered.

The scheme is undersubscribed as several states are yet to submit their lists of BPL beneficiaries. Officials say different states define BPL differently. Also, many states are yet to provide a grant to match the Rs 200 per head that the Centre gives.

"While some, including Goa, Puducherry and Delhi, are giving more than Rs 200 from their budget, several states are only paying what we send them. We have urged these states to contribute in equal measure," said an official.

"An additional Rs 4,023 crore will be a huge sum for the programme, so we were told to rework our targets and requirements. We will work on it and revert to the commission," the official said.