**Executive Summary:**
This document presents the Ministry of Rural Development's response to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2677 regarding old age pensions under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP). It details the current pension amounts, fund allocation, and clarifies that there is no current proposal to increase pension amounts. The response includes state-wise fund release data for the last five years, with specific category-wise data for Rajasthan.
**Key Points / Main Content:**
* **Current Pension Amounts (NSAP):**
* ₹200 per month for beneficiaries aged 60-79 years.
* ₹500 per month for beneficiaries aged 80 years and above.
* **State/UT Contributions:**
* States/UTs are encouraged to provide a top-up amount equivalent to the central government's assistance.
* Current top-up amounts range from ₹50 to ₹3800 per month, resulting in an average monthly pension of around ₹1,000 in most States/UTs.
* **Fund Allocation and Disbursal:**
* Funds are released to States/UTs, who are responsible for implementation and disbursal to beneficiaries.
* State-wise fund release details for the last five years are in Annexure I.
* **SC/ST Beneficiaries:**
* Prior to 2021-22, there was no separate fund allocation for SC/ST beneficiaries.
* From 2021-22, SC/ST beneficiaries are identified, and funds are allocated/released under SC/ST heads.
* Category-wise funds released to Rajasthan are in Annexure II.
* **Pension Increase Proposal:**
* There is no current proposal under consideration to increase pension amounts to ₹1,000 for those aged 60-79 and ₹1,500 for those above 79.
**Impact Analysis:**
* **Central Government (Ministry of Rural Development):**
* *Impact:* Accountable for fund allocation and policy guidance under the NSAP old age pension scheme.
* *Action Required:* Continue to oversee the program, allocate funds to States/UTs, and respond to parliamentary queries.
* **State Governments/Union Territories:**
* *Impact:* Responsible for implementing the scheme, disbursing pensions, and potentially providing top-up amounts.
* *Action Required:* Ensure timely disbursal of pensions, consider increasing top-up amounts, and identify/allocate funds for SC/ST beneficiaries.
* **Senior Citizens (Beneficiaries):**
* *Impact:* Receive monthly pension amounts as per the NSAP guidelines, supplemented by potential State/UT top-ups.
* *Action Required:* Continue to receive pensions under the existing scheme, with no immediate change in central pension amounts.
Key Entities Referenced
National Social Assistance Programme: A social security and welfare program to provide financial assistance to the elderly, widows, and disabled persons.
Ministry of Rural Development: The Indian government ministry responsible for rural development programs, including social assistance and poverty alleviation.
Rajkumar Roat: Member of Parliament who raised a question in Lok Sabha regarding old age pension.
Kamlesh Paswan: Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development who provided the answer to the Lok Sabha question.
Rajasthan: A state in India, specifically mentioned for the category-wise allocation of funds under the old age pension scheme.
Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme: A component of the National Social Assistance Programme focused on providing pensions to elderly citizens.
Lok Sabha: The lower house of the Indian Parliament, where the question regarding old age pension was raised.
Andhra Pradesh: A state in India, listed in Annexure I for statewise details of Funds released under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme.
O.I.H.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2677
ANSWERED ON 05/08/2025
INCREASE IN OLD AGE PENSION
2677. Shri RajkumarRoat:
Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) whether it is a fact that senior citizens aged 60 years and
above are provided a pension of Rs. 200 per month and those
aged 79 years and above receive Rs. 500 per month under the
National Social Assistance Programme;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the total funds released for old age pension under the said
programme during the last five years, State-wise, particularly
district and category-wise in Rajasthan;
(d) whether the Government proposes to increase the pension for
senior citizens aged 60 to 79 years to Rs. 1,000 per month and
for those aged above 79 years to Rs. 1,500 per month; and
(e) if so, the time by which it is likely to be completed and if not,
the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)
(a) & (b): The central pension under the Old Age Pension Scheme
of National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) is ₹ 200/- per
month per beneficiary from 60 to 79 years of age and ₹ 500/- per
month per beneficiary from 80 years onwards. As per guidelines of
NSAP, the States/UTs are encouraged to provide top-up amount of
at least an equivalent amount to the assistance provided by the
Central Government so that the beneficiaries could get a decent
level of assistance. At present, the States/UTs are adding top-up
amount ranging from ₹ 50 to ₹ 3800 per month per beneficiary under
Old age Pension Scheme of NSAP, resulting in an average monthly
pension of around ₹1,000/- in most of the States/UTs.
Page 1 of 4(c): Under NSAP, funds are released to the States/UTs which have
the responsibility of implementation of the scheme including further
disbursal of pension to beneficiaries in districts/ blocks/ villages/
towns. State-wise total funds released under old age pension
scheme during the last five years is given at Annexure-I. There was
no separate allocation of funds for SC and ST beneficiaries under
NSAP before 2021-22. From 2021-22, SC and ST beneficiaries are
identified among the existing beneficiaries of NSAP and funds are
being allocated/released under SC and ST heads. Category-wise
funds released under old age pension scheme during last five years
to the State of Rajasthan is given at Annexure-II.
(d) & (e): At present, no such proposal is under consideration in
the Government.
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Page 2 of 4Annexure-I
Annexure referred to in part (c) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No.
2677 to be answered on 05.08.2025 regarding INCREASE IN OLD
AGE PENSION
State-wise and year-wise details of Fund released to States/UTs
under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme
(Rs. in Lakh)
Sl.No. States/UTs 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
1 Andhra Pradesh 18677.36 14155.36 19474.91 25371.68 22900.63
2 Bihar 100001.95 99805.21 105913.97 115355.08 108559.09
3 Chhattisgarh 9855.28 18357.72 18769.35 19062.51 24221.27
4 Goa 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
5 Gujarat 17364.32 13023.24 21705.40 18305.74 18349.21
6 Haryana 3496.28 0.00 18039.31 0.00 0.00
7 Himachal Pradesh 3933.82 985.18 2955.52 7290.75 0.00
8 Jharkhand 20637.54 32709.46 27016.16 19635.66 23838.70
9 Karnataka 30073.12 29151.64 24365.82 30374.87 6831.22
10 Kerala 17596.00 0.00 0.00 36666.45 7863.88
11 Madhya Pradesh 46545.91 39216.00 66328.36 57858.46 62281.04
12 Maharashtra 30547.83 24131.13 13567.51 0.00 48341.55
13 Odisha 35184.69 41714.56 41231.17 40654.68 30419.55
14 Punjab 3603.29 847.03 0.00 935.03 1781.54
15 Rajasthan 25148.30 6586.06 44391.40 21141.34 39985.88
16 Tamil Nadu 20125.88 58984.53 30596.42 42797.26 41364.57
17 Telangana 21316.84 7173.94 14489.20 11222.53 0.00
18 Uttar Pradesh 124708.01 127281.51 147362.82 125723.30 142552.11
19 Uttarakhand 9876.36 4841.90 10597.96 7778.50 9756.00
20 West Bengal 36704.77 24096.32 38143.75 56701.58 46051.82
21 Arunachal Pradesh 0.00 0.00 0.00 834.31 0.00
22 Assam 25380.08 24759.66 25444.00 23491.51 24214.09
23 Manipur 2592.43 428.83 2239.06 1327.87 1882.38
24 Meghalaya 1718.68 869.45 1791.89 1823.36 1827.06
25 Mizoram 935.38 471.54 929.77 922.51 1199.54
26 Nagaland 1847.48 1415.74 1937.62 1534.37 2660.39
27 Sikkim 817.35 0.00 703.54 0.00 0.00
28 Tripura 984.70 2298.03 2531.30 3725.69 4534.72
29 A&N Islands 78.81 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
30 Chandigarh 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
31 D&N Haveli and D&D 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
32 NCT Delhi 2303.66 3409.64 0.00 0.00 9355.12
33 J & K 2287.96 3506.85 1926.41 7312.90 3160.51
34 Ladakh 95.090 0.00 303.22 0.00 460.58
35 Lakshadweep 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
36 Puducherry 822.23 418.01 0.00 0.00 0.00
TOTAL 615261.40 580638.54 682755.83 677847.94 684392.45
Page 3 of 4Annexure-II
Annexure referred to in part (c) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No.
2677 to be answered on 05.08.2025 regarding INCREASE IN OLD
AGE PENSION
Category-wise funds released under the Indira Gandhi National Old
Age Pension Scheme during last five years to the State of Rajasthan
(Rs. in Lakh)
FY General SC ST
2020-21 25148.30
2021-22 4513.43 1423.25 649.38
2022-23 27147.87 10307.5 6936.025
2023-24 14604.40 4332.14 2204.80
2024-25 27645.37 8178.27 4162.24
*****
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