New Delhi: The Government has unveiled an old age pension scheme which is expected to benefit around 16 million citizens above the age of 65 and living below the poverty line (BPL). The scheme involves an annual expenditure of Rs 3,772 crore for the exchequer. The Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension scheme seeks to provide Rs 200 per month as the Central Government''s contribution and a matching amount by the State to each beneficiary. With the launch of this scheme, the old age pension scheme has been broad based to cover all those who are 65 years or above and belong to the BPL families instead of only destitute under the previous scheme.
Launching the scheme, Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, asked States to own the scheme as their own, increase their contribution to the benefits that were being given and ensure that no one was left out. At present, only 11 States provide a matching contribution of Rs 200 per person towards the scheme, which was originally introduced in 1995 with a beneficiary getting a mere Rs 75 as Centre''s contribution.
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