Apropos the article "The path to ageing with dignity" (BS Weekend, May 30). Pension Parishad is a very good effort. Old age pension is at the state level, except the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, which gives Rs 200 per month. In states, old age pension is recommended by politicians who never bother to verify and examine whether one is deserving of a pension and meets all the parameters of the scheme. The result is that those who do not require pension are getting the benefits and the deserving cases are deprived of the aid. This was not the purpose of the scheme. The pension scheme should be revised at the central government level and provide clear guidelines and conditions for the entitlement of the beneficiaries.
The pension should be distributed through public sector banks and states should share the burden with the central government. The beneficiaries should be verified casewise by designated retired gazetted officers of the central government, public banks and general insurance companies. They will voluntarily offer their services for this noble cause. This way, we will find out the true and deserving pension beneficiaries.
Ram Parkash Chawla New Delhi
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