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O.I.H.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2537
TO BE ANSWERED ON 13/03/2026
PROGRESS UNDER NSAP
2537 Shri Amar Pal Maurya:
Shri Ryaga Krishnaiah:
Shri Madan Rathore:
Shri Narayana Koragappa:
Shri Lahar Singh Siroya:
Shri Baburam Nishad:
Will the Minister of Rural Development be pleased to state:
(a) the progress under the NSAP as of January 2026;
(b) the State-wise beneficiary coverage under five sub-schemes: Indira Gandhi National Old
Age Pension (IGNOAPS), Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension (IGNWPS), Indira
Gandhi National Disability Pension (IGNDPS), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS)
and Annapurna scheme including Rajasthan;
(c) whether gram panchayats and municipalities are correctly identifying eligible
beneficiaries and whether there are plans to increase pension amounts or expand
coverage;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) whether the Ministry has assessed the impact of the scheme on poverty reduction,
especially for vulnerable sections?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)
(a) & (b): National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) caters to 3.09 crore BPL
beneficiaries with scheme-wise ceiling/cap on the number of beneficiaries for each State/UT.
Scheme-wise and State-wise ceiling of number of beneficiaries and State-wise fund released
under NSAP, including Rajasthan, during the last year and current year (as on 31st January,
2026) are given at Annexure. The Ministry releases funds to the States/UTs and the States/UTs
further release funds to the beneficiaries.
(c) & (d): Under NSAP, the identification of eligible beneficiaries is carried out by Gram
Panchayats and Municipalities in accordance with the scheme guidelines. Local bodies play a
central role in proactively identifying eligible persons. Applications are verified by designated
State/UT authorities with reference to eligibility criteria, and the list of applicants is discussed in
the Gram Sabha/Ward Sabha before sanction by the competent authority.
At present, there is no proposal under consideration to revise the coverage/rate of
assistance under NSAP.
Page 1 of 4(e): From time to time, various impact assessment and evaluation studies have been carried
out to assess the impact of NSAP schemes by the Ministry and NITI Aayog. The assessments
indicate satisfactory implementation at the grassroots level, with most beneficiaries expressing
overall satisfaction with the processes of selection, sanction, and disbursement of pensions. The
studies also find that pensions are primarily used to meet essential needs such as food and
healthcare. At the same time, they have recommended further strengthening of the programme
through measures such as improving adequacy of assistance, ensuring timely and regular
payments, enhancing beneficiary verification and monitoring systems etc.
A third-party evaluation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes, including NSAP conducted by
NITI Aayog finds that the NSAP remains highly relevant in its present form, as it aligns with
national priorities and international commitments by providing a social safety net for vulnerable
category of persons. The programme contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Social Protection (SDG 1.3), Reducing Inequalities
(SDG 10), and Ending Hunger (SDG 2.1).
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Page 2 of 4Annexure
Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) & (b) of Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No.
2537 to be answered on 13.03.2026 regarding “Progress under NSAP”
Scheme-wise and State-wise ceiling of number of beneficiaries under NSAP
States/UTs IGNOAPS IGNWPS IGNDPS NFBS Annapurna
1 Andhra Pradesh 663736 246832 24412 10906 54354
2 Bihar 3157256 635091 127100 35859 166600
3 Chhattisgarh 644429 203628 32085 12801 24196
4 Goa 7308 5886 466 225 420
5 Gujarat 620548 276078 20327 10695 35377
6 Haryana 259865 70808 16583 4154
7 Himachal Pradesh 93178 21974 853 684 2644
8 Jharkhand 985094 266077 26349 14148 54939
9 Karnataka 899422 452027 44825 18312
10 Kerala 458813 368358 19285 4358 36904
11 Madhya Pradesh 1575079 546920 101470 30826
12 Maharashtra 1122920 80725 9322 34987 108000
13 Odisha 1418631 525045 90283 24697 64800
14 Punjab 112955 19294 5982 2673
15 Rajasthan 823972 315048 30513 12347 47500
16 Tamilnadu 1282504 574258 64096 18445 66388
17 Telangana 480315 180720 20578 7794 38846
18 Uttar Pradesh 4722613 1025236 85773 73075
19 Uttarakhand 204557 23898 2880 4808
20 West Bengal 1281159 726172 59941 21553 65068
21 Arunachal Pradesh 5893 288 112 346 1840
22 Assam 695997 119955 34579 8524 25308
23 Manipur 55891 7075 1005 669 3320
24 Meghalaya 55734 8024 1558 781 3580
25 Mizoram 24524 2278 722 197 1000
26 Nagaland 45941 3827 1011 535 2600
27 Sikkim 16928 1469 457 175 960
28 Tripura 135232 17537 2131 984 5740
29 A&N Islands 585 3 2 86 560
30 Chandigarh 2378 2486 100 80 440
31 D&N Haveli and D&D 8754 2109 310 119 358
32 NCT Delhi 113824 36361 4635 2270 8040
33 J&K 130298 7631 2465 323 10220
34 Ladakh 6486 443 219 112 7260
35 Lakshadweep 155 87 51 9 60
36 Puducherry 17713 9821 1271 283 1580
GRAND TOTAL 22130687 6783469 833751 358840 831642
Page 3 of 4State-wise fund released under NSAP (excluding Annapurna scheme) during the last year and
current year (as on 31st January, 2026)
(Rs. in crore)
States/UTs FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26 (As on 31.01.2026)
1 Andhra Pradesh 354.49 273.10
2 Bihar 1390.68 691.80
3 Chhattisgarh 375.26 154.17
4 Goa 0.00 0.00
5 Gujarat 207.55 85.51
6 Haryana 10.70 39.95
7 Himachal Pradesh 0.00 77.28
8 Jharkhand 324.79 237.63
9 Karnataka 113.93 631.12
10 Kerala 131.24 273.85
11 Madhya Pradesh 889.77 553.75
12 Maharashtra 534.13 0.00
13 Odisha 549.53 147.96
14 Punjab 22.88 10.94
15 Rajasthan 608.67 148.93
16 Tamilnadu 640.77 326.34
17 Telangana 0.00 171.19
18 Uttar Pradesh 1947.38 813.48
19 Uttarakhand 111.85 78.67
20 West Bengal 796.40 612.45
21 Arunachal Pradesh 0.00 0.00
22 Assam 319.19 96.98
23 Manipur 21.94 0.00
24 Meghalaya 21.81 17.14
25 Mizoram 14.01 2.00
26 Nagaland 30.58 18.62
27 Sikkim 0.00 0.00
28 Tripura 56.13 44.07
29 A&N Islands 0.00 0.00
30 Chandigarh 0.00 0.00
31 D&N Haveli and D&D 0.00 0.00
32 NCT Delhi 117.83 13.48
33 J&K 34.64 24.13
34 Ladakh 5.74 1.49
35 Lakshadweep 0.00 0.00
36 Puducherry 0.00 0.00
9631.89 5546.02
GRAND TOTAL
Note: Annapurna scheme is demand driven. There was no demand under scheme.
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