Parliament Question: Pensions for IGNOAPS

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3797 ANSWERED ON 11/08/2026 PENSIONS FOR IGNOAPS

3797. Shri Sunil Bose:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware that close to 6 crore elderly in India fall in the poorest wealth quintile, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government has any plans to increase the current non-contributory pension amount of Rs 200 under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) to meet rising living costs, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) the steps taken by the Government to ensure economic security for economically vulnerable elderly populations;

(d) whether the Government has conducted assessments of the adequacy of existing pension amounts to meet the basic needs of the elderly, if so, the findings and recommendations thereof; and

(e) the number of beneficiaries whose pensions have been cancelled under IGNOAPS, if so, the details thereof and if not the reasons for cancellation? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a) & (b): As per the population projections based on the Census 2011, brought out by the Technical Group on Population Projections, National Commission on Population, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare around 11.5 per cent of the country’s population is estimated to be aged 60 years and above in 2026.

Under the National Old Age Pension Scheme, a component of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), central assistance of ₹200 per month is provided to eligible elderly persons Page 1 of 3aged 60–79 years belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) households.

On attaining the age of 80 years and above, the rate of central assistance is enhanced to ₹500 per month per beneficiary. The States/Union Territories may supplement the central assistance by providing additional financial support from their own resources. At present, the top-up assistance provided by the States/UTs ranges from ₹50 to ₹3,800 per month per beneficiary under the old age pension scheme. Around 5.7 crore beneficiaries are receiving old age pension under NSAP and similar State-specific schemes.

At present, no proposal to revise the rate of assistance under NSAP is under consideration of the Government.

(c): Financial assistance in the form of pension is provided to eligible elderly beneficiaries under NSAP. Further, as per information received from Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Department is implementing an umbrella scheme Atal Vayo Abhyudaya Yojana (AVYAY) Scheme for the welfare of senior citizens as per details given at Annexure.

(d): 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 pension support has helped beneficiaries meet essential expenses such as food, healthcare, etc., thereby reducing their dependence on family members for these needs. 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.

(e): As per the guidelines of NSAP, the responsibility for identification/selection of beneficiaries, verification of applications, sanctioning, maintenance/deletion of beneficiary data and last mile disbursal of pension to the beneficiaries vests with the respective States/UTs. The beneficiary database under NSAP is reviewed and updated periodically by the respective States/UTs. Accordingly, pension payments may be discontinued and beneficiary records may be modified or deleted on account of reasons such as death, migration, duplication, non-traceability of the beneficiary, or other reasons identified during verification and periodic validation undertaken by the respective States/UTs.

***** Page 2 of 3ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN PART (C) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3797 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2026 REGARDING PENSIONS FOR IGNOAPS Components of Atal Vayo Abhyudaya Yojana (AVYAY) Scheme being

implemented by Department of Social Justice and Empowerment:

S.No Components of Scheme 1 Integrated Programme for Senior Citizen (IPSrC) - Grant in aid is

provided to Non-Governmental/ Voluntary Organisations for running and maintenance of senior citizen homes (old age homes), continuous care homes, etc. Facilities like shelter, nutrition, medicare and entertainments are provided free of cost to indigent senior citizens.

2 State Action Plan for Senior Citizen (SAPSrC) - Under State Action Plan for Senior Citizens (SAPSrC), the State Government implements the State Action Plan for welfare of senior citizens. Grant in aid is provided to States/ UTs for activities like awareness generation, sensitization, cataract surgeries and State specific activities.

3 Elderline - The National Helpline for Senior Citizens is to generate awareness about the Act, schemes & programmes being executed by different Central & State Governments and to provide platform to redress grievances of Senior Citizens across the country.

4 Rastriya Vayoshree Yojana(RVY) - The objective is to provide senior citizens, belonging to BPL category or the senior citizen with the monthly income not more than Rs. 15000/- and suffering from age related disabilities/ infirmities, with such physical aids and assisted living devices which can restore near normalcy in their bodily functions. The Scheme is implemented through the ‘Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO)’, (a Central Public Sector Undertaking under the M/oSJE) as the sole implementing Agency.

5 Senior care Ageing Growth Engine (SAGE) – SAGE scheme is to promote out-of-the-box and innovative solutions for the commonly faced problems. Innovative start- ups would be identified and encouraged for developing products, processes and services for the welfare of the elderly. The selection of the start-ups is made through a transparent process and the fund would be provided as equity, subject to the Government investment not exceeding 49% of the total equity of the Firm.

6 PM-SPECIAL - The main objective is to bridge the gap in supply and increasing demand in the field of geriatric caregivers so as to provide more professional services to the senior citizens and also to create a cadre of professional care givers in the field of geriatrics.

7 Other Initiatives for Senior Citizens: In order to solve the problems of healthy and productive ageing, several initiatives are being done across the country. The proposed initiatives are aimed at involving the elders in building up knowledge which can be useful for the society as a whole.

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