Parliament Question: National Social Assistance Programme

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3787 ANSWERED ON 12/08/2025 NATIONAL SOCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME

3787. Shri Mani A:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a) the number of beneficiaries currently covered under each component of National Social Assistance Program (NSAP);

(b) whether the NSAP has achieved its objective of providing social assistance to the poor;

(c) the impact of the program on reducing poverty among the elderly, widows, and persons with disabilities;

(d) whether any independent evaluation or assessment of NSAP has been conducted and if so, the key findings of such evaluations;

(e) whether technology has been integrated into the implementation of NSAP;

(f) if so, the details of measures such as Direct Benefit Transfer

(DBT) and online beneficiary management systems; and

(g) the extent to which such measures have improved transparency and efficiency? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a): National Social Assistance Program (NSAP) comprises of the five schemes viz. Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme

(IGNOAPS), Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS) , Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme

(IGNDPS), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and Annapurna Scheme. The Scheme-wise ceiling of no. of beneficiaries under each

component of NSAP is given below:

IGNOAPS IGNWPS IGNDPS NFBS Annapurna 22130687 6783469 833751 358840 831722 Page 1 of 2(b) to (d): NSAP was launched with an objective of providing a basic level of financial support to the most vulnerable groups of citizens.

Pensions ranging from Rs. 200-500 per month are provided under NSAP. As per NSAP guidelines, States/UTs are also encouraged to provide top-ups over and above the central assistance. Presently, States/UTs are adding top-ups ranging from Rs. 50/- to Rs. 5700/- per month per beneficiary under the pension schemes of NSAP. As a result, NSAP pensioners are getting monthly pension on an average of Rs. 1100/- in several States/ UTs. From time to time, various impact assessment and evaluation studies have been carried out to assess the impact of NSAP schemes. As per the findings of these studies, NSAP helps in reducing poverty and bridging the gap between vulnerable groups viz. elderly, women & disabled and the general population. It also helps in improving living standards and healthcare access for beneficiaries. The programme along with other welfare schemes of the Govt. has impacted the life of the poor and destitute positively.

(e) to (g): A Web-based pension payment portal, National Social Assistance Programme-Pension Payment System (NSAP-PPS) operationalized by the Ministry as an end-to-end digital tool for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode disbursal of pension through Public Financial Management System (PFMS) has helped in ensuring speedy and efficient disbursal of pension assistance directly to the beneficiary. More than 90% pension disbursal under NSAP is through DBT mode. Digitization of beneficiary data along with Aadhaar/Mobile seeding has resulted in removing duplication of beneficiaries and leakage of resources. An Aadhaar based Mobile Application has been launched for digitizing the process of annual Life Certification of pension beneficiaries.

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