Activists flag impact of 'digital exclusion' on country's pensioners

Pension Parishad and Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) said that 'digital exclusion' is impacting lakhs of pensioners across India, especially in Rajasthan.

In a press conference on Tuesday, the MKSS said that pensioners from Rajasthan who were receiving a monthly pension between Rs 500-750, have not received any money for the past two years. This is particularly concerning since the pension amount was increased to Rs 1,000.

The Pension Parishad shared testimonies from affected pensioners, including the elderly, disabled, and widowed individuals who have been denied their pensions due to various administrative and digital barriers, a statement stated.

"Issues mentioned included wrongful death declarations, data mismatches, biometric authentication failures, and challenges in obtaining Aadhar IDs," it read.

 

Nikhil Dey of Pension Parishad and MKSS, highlighted the compounded marginalisation faced by pensioners on account of their age, disability, or other vulnerabilities, describing the government's approach as one of insensitivity and disregard.

"The government has effectively made Aadhaar compulsory despite claiming it won't be mandatory, leading to systemic failures that alienate those most in need of support," Dey said in the statement.

Usha Ramanathan, a legal scholar, explained that the issues with Aadhaar's biometric reliance have been evident since the inception of UIDAI in 2010.

"The burden is placed entirely on pensioners to fit into digital frameworks that don't work, leading to serious exclusions," she said, noting that these are structural flaws rather than isolated incidents.

The press conference featured testimony from individuals whose pensions were unfairly cut. One example was Vidya, whose pension was abruptly stopped two years ago with no recourse for reinstatement, despite valid documentation, it said.

Another individual, 65-year-old Pani Devi from Jawaja, was marked as 'out of state" in system records, and subsequently denied pension support. Gudiya, a single mother, shared her story of grappling with Aadhaar issues that have prevented her from accessing the disability pension which she is entitled to for over a year, leaving her family in crisis. These stories underline the urgent need for a system overhaul to ensure that pensioners are not at the mercy of arbitrary digital errors, the statement read.

Shankar Singh of MKSS said, "In Rajasthan, the government has declared the living to be dead," and criticised the state's dependence on Aadhaar verification, likening it to oxygen -essential but manipulated - and demanded that pensions be delivered with the same enthusiasm as political campaigns.

In the statement, Justice Lokur connected these grievances to broader constitutional principles, stating, not only a social justice issue but also a matter of equality, democracy, and the right to life. When the government's system excludes its citizens, it is in violation of these fundamental rights.

Muralidharan, from the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled, highlighted the exclusionary nature of the current framework, which largely supports only those below the poverty line and individuals with severe disabilities.

"In a $5 trillion economy, we're offering mere scraps to the elderly and disabled, while thousands suffer due to restrictive eligibility and ineffective application processes," he stated.