**Executive Summary**
This document presents the Minister of Rural Development's response to questions raised in Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1475, answered on December 9, 2025, regarding the National Social Assistance Program (NSAP). The response includes details of funds released and utilized, allocations for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) beneficiaries, top-up amounts by States/UTs, beneficiary demographics, and the status of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) integration. All data is inclusive of Karnataka where applicable.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Fund Allocation and Utilization:**
* Funds released under the Old Age Pension Scheme of NSAP for the last five years, state-wise (including Karnataka), are detailed in Annexure-I.
* Funds released for SC and ST beneficiaries under NSAP since FY 2021-22, state-wise (including Karnataka), are detailed in Annexure-II.
* **State/UT Contributions:**
* Both Central and State/UT Governments share responsibility for social security.
* States/UTs are encouraged to provide top-up amounts to the central assistance.
* Current top-up amounts range from Rs. 50 to Rs. 3800 per month per beneficiary. Details are in Annexure-III.
* **Beneficiary Information:**
* The number of male and female beneficiaries and category-wise beneficiary count (based on the NSAP-PPS Portal or State/UT cap) under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, state-wise (including Karnataka), are given in Annexure-IV.
* **Implementation and Disbursement:**
* States/UTs are responsible for implementing NSAP schemes, including identification/verification of beneficiaries, pension disbursal, pension stoppage, and annual verification.
* **Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT):**
* NSAP pension schemes are included under DBT to foster transparency and swiftness.
* Almost all States/UTs are DBT compliant, except Andhra Pradesh (cash disbursement at doorstep with biometric authentication) and Nagaland (cash mode due to geographical terrain).
**Impact Analysis**
**State/UT Governments**
* **Impact:** Required to work with the Central Government to implement social security frameworks and encouraged to provide top-up amounts.
* **Action Required:** Ensure proper implementation of NSAP schemes, beneficiary verification, and timely pension disbursal.
**Beneficiaries (Old Age Pension Scheme)**
* **Impact:** Access to pension benefits under the NSAP, with potential variations in the amount received based on state/UT top-up amounts.
* **Action Required:** Ensure their information is up-to-date and compliant with DBT requirements (where applicable) to receive timely and uninterrupted pension payments.
**Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) Communities**
* **Impact:** Targeted allocation of funds under the NSAP to support SC and ST beneficiaries, contributing to social inclusion and welfare.
* **Action Required:** Awareness of the special provisions and allocations for SC/ST beneficiaries to ensure they can access the support available to them.
Key Entities Referenced
National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP): A social assistance program in India aimed at providing financial support to vulnerable groups such as the elderly, widows, and persons with disabilities.
Old Age Pension Scheme: A component of the NSAP that provides financial assistance to elderly individuals.
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): A mechanism for transferring subsidies and benefits directly to beneficiaries through their bank accounts.
Ministry of Rural Development: The central ministry responsible for administering the NSAP.
Karnataka: An Indian state specifically included in the analysis of NSAP fund allocation and beneficiary data.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1475
ANSWERED ON 09/12/2025
NATIONAL SOCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
1475. Dr. K Sudhakar:
Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) the total amount of funds released and utilised under the Old
Age Pension Scheme of the National Social Assistance
Programme (NSAP) during each of the last five years, State-
wise including Karnataka;
(b) the separate allocation and release of funds for Scheduled
Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) beneficiaries since the
year 2021–22, State-wise including Karnataka;
(c) whether the Government has evaluated the variation in
State/UT top-up amounts under the NSAP Old Age Pension
Scheme and if so, the details thereof;
(d) the total number of beneficiaries (male/female) of the Old Age
Pension Scheme, State-wise including Karnataka and category-
wise (SC/ST/Others);
(e) the timeline for disbursal of pensions to beneficiaries and
whether delays have been reported and if so, the details
thereof; and
(f) the number of beneficiaries still paid through manual or offline
means and the timeline for achieving 100% DBT integration?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)
(a): Funds released under the Old Age Pension Scheme of the
National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) during the last five
years, state-wise including Karnataka are given at Annexure-I.
(b): Funds released for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe
(ST) beneficiaries under NSAP since FY 2021–22, state-wise
including Karnataka are given at Annexure-II.
Page 1 of 7(c): As per Constitution of India, both the Central Government and
States/ UTs have the responsibility for working in tandem in rolling
out a comprehensive social security framework for the country.
Accordingly, the States/ UTs are encouraged to provide top up of at
least an equivalent amount to the assistance provided by the
Central Govt. so that the beneficiaries could get a decent level of
assistance. At present, the States/UTs are adding Top up amounts
ranging from Rs. 50 to Rs. 3800 per month per beneficiary under old
age pension scheme. Details of amount of top-up being paid by
States/ UTs are at Annexure-III.
(d): The number of male and female beneficiaries (based on
digitized beneficiaries on NSAP-PPS Portal or State cap of number of
beneficiaries, whichever is less) and category-wise number of
beneficiaries (on the basis of State/UT Ceiling/Cap) under the Indira
Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, State-wise including
Karnataka are given in Annexure-IV.
(e): As per NSAP guidelines, responsibility of implementation of
NSAP schemes, identification/verification of beneficiaries, disbursal
of pension to beneficiaries, stoppage of pension, annual verification
of beneficiaries lies in the hand of States/UTs.
(f): To foster transparency and swiftness in transactions, NSAP
pension schemes are included under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
schemes. At present, almost all States/ UTs are DBT compliant
except Andhra Pradesh and Nagaland. In Andhra Pradesh, pension is
disbursed to NSAP beneficiaries at doorstep in cash through bio-
metric authentication and Nagaland provides pension through cash
mode to majority of its beneficiaries due to geographical terrain.
*****
Page 2 of 7Annexure-I
Annexure referred to in part (a) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No.
1475 to be answered on 09.12.2025 regarding National Social
Assistance Programme
Fund Release during the Last Five Years under IGNOAPS (2020-21 to
2024-25)
(Rs. in crore)
S.No. States/UTs 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
1 Andhra Pradesh 186.77 141.55 194.7500 253.72 229.01
2 Bihar 1000.02 998.05 1059.14 1153.55 1085.59
3 Chhattisgarh 98.55 183.58 187.69 190.63 242.21
4 Goa 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
5 Gujarat 173.64 130.23 217.05 183.06 183.49
6 Haryana 34.96 0.00 180.39 0.00 0.00
7 Himachal Pradesh 39.34 9.85 29.56 72.91 0.00
8 Jharkhand 206.38 327.09 270.16 196.36 238.39
9 Karnataka 300.73 291.52 243.66 303.75 68.31
10 Kerala 175.96 0.00 0.00 366.66 78.64
11 Madhya Pradesh 465.46 392.16 663.28 578.58 622.81
12 Maharashtra 305.48 241.31 135.68 0.00 483.42
13 Odisha 351.85 417.15 412.31 406.55 304.20
14 Punjab 36.03 8.47 0.00 9.35 17.82
15 Rajasthan 251.48 65.86 443.91 211.41 399.86
16 Tamil Nadu 201.26 589.85 305.96 427.97 413.65
17 Telangana 213.17 71.74 144.89 112.23 0.00
18 Uttar Pradesh 1247.08 1272.82 1473.63 1257.23 1425.52
19 Uttarakhand 98.76 48.42 105.98 77.79 97.56
20 West Bengal 367.05 240.96 381.44 567.02 460.52
21 Arunachal Pradesh 0.00 0.00 0.00 8.34 0.00
22 Assam 253.80 247.60 254.44 234.92 242.14
23 Manipur 25.92 4.29 22.39 13.28 18.82
24 Meghalaya 17.19 8.69 17.92 18.23 18.27
25 Mizoram 9.35 4.72 9.30 9.23 12.00
26 Nagaland 18.47 14.16 19.38 15.34 26.60
27 Sikkim 8.17 0.00 7.04 0.00 0.00
28 Tripura 9.85 22.98 25.31 37.26 45.35
29 A&N Islands 0.79 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 23.04 34.10 0.00 0.00 93.55
33 J & K 22.88 35.07 19.26 73.13 31.61
34 Ladakh 0.95 3.03 0.00 4.61
35 Lakshadweep 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
36 Puducherry 8.22 4.18 0.00 0.00 0.00
TOTAL 6152.60 5806.40 6827.55 6778.50 6843.95
Page 3 of 7Annexure-II
Annexure referred to in part (b) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 1475 to be answered on
09.12.2025 regarding National Social Assistance Programme
Funds released for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) beneficiaries under NSAP
(Rs in lakh)
2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26*
S.NoStates/UTs
. SC ST SC ST SC ST SC ST SC ST
Andhra 5153.8
1
Pradesh 5034.99 1799.73 6222.87 3079.24 7630.8 4146.63 6673.89 3614.51 2783.85
Bihar 26715.712668.0 13468.56
2
5 7 27440.01 6590.94 28487.75 1153.56 22971.92 861.95 575.90
Chhattisgar 2879.93
3
h 5559.59 2711.72 5785.20 2862.35 5420.75 4404.44 7043.41 4208.96 1558.68
4 Goa 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
5 Gujarat 3739.14 1817.78 4898.43 2290.68 3034.08 7045.75 3357.51 5243.27 1364.75 2174.48
6 Haryana 0 0 4963.74 2402.90 0 0 58.93 60.04 668.02 375.63
Himachal 1521.23
7
Pradesh 250.28 119.33 744.78 352.22 1779.2 933.81 0 0 800.56
8 Jharkhand 9635.37 4663.87 8063.59 3956.10 5445.9 3073.99 6280.94 3400.59 4713.79 2475.60
9 Karnataka 9871.3 4881.69 7826.08 4914.91 8465.12 4738.07 1446.54 3499 11663.66 6409.35
10 Kerala 0 0 0.00 0.00 11729.23 6309.98 2586.57 1397.53 5302.04 2899.69
Madhya 10866.52
11
Pradesh 11914.9 5829 20008.64 9787.68 16178.56 8603.89 17319 9217.56 5791.90
Maharashtr 0
12
a 5796.21 2778.97 3319.73 1601.29 0 0 10730.91 5688.72 0.00
13 Odisha 13182.7 6440.38 13378.79 6608.73 12036.83 9465.93 10353.23 5831.26 2400.49 1382.46
14 Punjab 225.1 107.76 0.00 0.00 280.48 0 445.98 0 216.94 0.00
15 Rajasthan 1951.53 940.01 13616.31 9021.07 6039.63 3211.87 11992.52 6412.56 1598.42 911.93
Tamil Nadu 15760.611547.7 7583.17
16
5 1 7106.89 9313.32 13135.82 7060.3 13291.75 7960.57 4046.18
17 Telangana 2223.92 1077.86 4478.40 2169.62 3285.27 1751.68 0 0 3372.37 1796.76
Uttar 35337.9 15119.7
18
Pradesh 7 12099.6 36602.61 17597.55 26688.3 13923.86 36630.12 19635.41 8189.48
Uttarakhan 1590.76
19
d 533.81 248.25 123.70 2571.39 1780.83 924.79 2280.99 1230.22 820.66
West 11548.81
20
Bengal 9020.86 4535.77 12492.73 6158.86 18739.3 10261.48 16179.62 9978.39 6291.57
Arunachal 0
21
Pradesh 0 0 0.00 0.00 87.35 320.33 0 0 0
22 Assam 2396.37 6089.41 2657.83 7198.45 2119.28 7795.52 2203.09 8161.54 715.02 2627.37
23 Manipur 25.36 117.97 132.26 614.94 113.8 430.5 159.65 590 0 0
24 Meghalaya 0 1113.9 108.07 488.95 158.77 584.12 159.46 586.84 122.98 457.12
25 Mizoram 0 509.72 0.00 967.10 0 969.35 0 1401.14 0 199.55
26 Nagaland 0 1594.05 0.00 2255.87 0 1714.61 0 3058.37 0 1862.17
27 Sikkim 0 0 169.27 79.30 0 0 0 0 0 0
28 Tripura 138.54 640.16 635.25 298.10 312.65 1168.55 406.75 1299.52 316.49 1174.39
A&N
29
Islands 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 Chandigarh 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0
D&N Haveli
31
and D&D 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0
32 NCT Delhi 234.74 177.04 0.00 0.00 0 0 444.44 362.31 52.3 18.33
33 J & K 179.62 51.47 98.01 87.00 369.52 327.24 248.32 206.38 131.12 110.47
34 Ladakh 0 0 13.15 174.15 0 0 20.67 265.88 0 0
Lakshadwe
35
ep 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 Puducherry 27.22 10.33 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0
159755.84571.5180886.3103442.7173319.2100320.2173286.2104172.5102370.855734.0
TOTAL 9 5 3 1 2 5 1 2 7 8
* As on 04/12/2025
Page 4 of 7Annexure-III
Annexure referred to in part (c) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No.
1475 to be answered on 09.12.2025 regarding National Social
Assistance Programme
Amount of top-up being paid by States/ UTs
(In Rs.)
Sl. No. State 60-79 years 80 years and above
1 Andhra Pradesh 3800 3500
2 Arunachal Pradesh 1300 1500
3 Assam 50 50
4 A & N Island 2300 2500
5 Bihar 900 600
6 Chandigarh 1000 1000
7 Chhattisgarh 300 150
8 Delhi 1800-2300 2000
9 D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu 800 500
10 Goa - -
11 Gujarat 800 750
12 Haryana 2800 2500
13 Himachal Pradesh 1500 1200
14 J&K 800 500
15 Jharkhand 800 500
16 Karnataka 400-1000 700
17 Kerala 1400 1100
18 Lakshadweep 800 500
19 Madhya Pradesh 400 100
20 Maharashtra 800 500
21 Manipur 0 0
22 Meghalaya 550 300
23 Mizoram 1000 1000
24 Nagaland 0 0
25 Odisha 300 200
26 Punjab 1500 1500
27 Puducherry 2300 3000
28 Rajasthan 800 500
29 Sikkim 1300 - 1800 2000
30 Tamil Nadu 1000 700
31 Telangana 1816 1516
32 Tripura 1800 1500
33 Uttarakhand 1300 1000
34 Uttar Pradesh 800 500
35 West Bengal 800 500
36 Ladakh 800 500
* As per information received from States/UTs.
Page 5 of 7Annexure-IV
Annexure referred to in part (d) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No.
1475 to be answered on 09.12.2025 regarding National Social
Assistance Programme
Male and Female beneficiaries under IGNOAPS
State Female Male
1 ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR 239 343
2 ANDHRA PRADESH 308964 354772
3 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 3673 2220
4 ASSAM 342017 333343
5 BIHAR 1617991 1538540
6 CHANDIGARH 1287 1091
7 CHHATTISGARH 268952 307792
8 DELHI 61607 41690
9 GOA 2938 4369
10 GUJARAT 292823 325242
11 HARYANA 120515 139343
12 HIMACHAL PRADESH 49192 43986
13 JAMMU AND KASHMIR 53389 72488
14 JHARKHAND 434592 415486
15 KARNATAKA 477389 421929
16 KERALA 217327 241445
17 LADAKH 3008 3470
18 LAKSHADWEEP 64 56
19 MADHYA PRADESH 633212 779335
20 MAHARASHTRA 633205 470771
21 MANIPUR 32762 22893
22 MEGHALAYA 32537 23193
23 MIZORAM 13247 11275
24 NAGALAND 24943 20998
25 ODISHA 549003 846306
26 PUDUCHERRY 10238 7475
27 PUNJAB 25181 16866
28 RAJASTHAN 385287 433852
29 SIKKIM 769 948
30 TAMIL NADU 737809 453059
31 TELANGANA 189954 287530
THE DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI AND DAMAN
32 AND DIU 4889 3865
33 TRIPURA 55987 66056
34 UTTARAKHAND 100747 103810
35 UTTAR PRADESH 1432260 2015219
36 WEST BENGAL 551009 720955
* Based on number of eligible beneficiaries whose database has
been digitized on NSAP-PPS portal or State cap of number of
beneficiaries, whichever is less.
Page 6 of 7Category wise beneficiaries under IGNOAPS
S. No. States/UTs IGNOAPS
OTHER SC ST
1 Andhra Pradesh 454859 143433 65444
2 Bihar 2163668 682283 311305
3 Chhattisgarh 442728 138505 63196
4 Goa 5008 1579 721
5 Gujarat 425489 133944 61115
6 Haryana 178085 56157 25623
7 Himachal Pradesh 63855 20136 9187
8 Jharkhand 702358 194151 88585
9 Karnataka 616374 194365 88683
10 Kerala 321651 94187 42975
11 Madhya Pradesh 1079401 340375 155303
12 Maharashtra 773290 240086 109544
13 Odisha 979528 301526 137577
14 Punjab 80636 22193 10126
15 Rajasthan 564668 178060 81244
16 Tamil Nadu 878900 277149 126455
17 Telangana 329160 103796 47359
18 Uttar Pradesh 3645419 739694 337500
19 Uttarakhand 140183 44205 20169
20 West Bengal 877979 276858 126322
21 Arunachal Pradesh 5893 0 5893
22 Assam 586175 37851 71971
23 Manipur 31609 1876 22406
24 Meghalaya 7607 417 47710
25 Mizoram 1295 11 23218
26 Nagaland 1362 49 44530
27 Sikkim 12287 422 4219
28 Tripura 79285 14303 41644
29 A&N Islands 247 23 315
30 Chandigarh 1144 84 1150
31 D&N Haveli and D&D 3663 348 4743
32 NCT Delhi 104323 4939 4562
33 Jammu &Kashmir 118957 5896 5445
34 Ladakh 4481 1377 628
35 Lakshadweep 85 5 65
36 Puducherry 16108 834 771
* Based on State/UT cap of number of beneficiaries
*****
Page 7 of 7