In the absence of adequate allocation for the National Social Assistance Programme, the elderly living below the poverty line will continue to receive a paltry sum of roughly Rs. 7 per day as income security, while for the widows and disabled, the amount will continue to be Rs. 10.
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The Pension Parishad condemned the lack of adequate provision and the Narendra Modi-led BJP government’ silence on the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) in the Budget that was presented on February 1.
The scheme, launched in 1995, is supposed to provide income security to the country’s most vulnerable groups – the elderly, the widows and the disabled who are declared ‘below poverty line (BPL)’.
Instead, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced a contributory pension scheme for the workers in the organised sector, in which, the workers will contribute Rs .1200 per year until the age of 60, after which they would be eligible for a monthly pension of Rs. 3,000.
“While the availability of affordable, contribution-based schemes is welcome, can this help the millions of elderly who need assured social pension in their advancing years, and the comfort of a caring government? How can a contributory pension be spoken of in the same vein as a state-assured social pension?” questioned Nikhil Dey, coordinator, Pension Parishad.
In the absence of adequate allocation for the NSAP, the elderly living below the poverty line will continue to receive a paltry sum of roughly Rs. 7 per day as income security, while for the widows and disabled, the amount will continue to be Rs. 10.
Activists like Aruna Roy, Baba Adhav along with other members of the Pension Parishad reiterated their demands through a statement seeking assistance for the elders, widows and PWD from the government.
Activist Aruna Roy said, “The central government only covers 3.55 crore beneficiaries, so more than 70 per cent of the vulnerable population comprised of elderly, widows and disabled will not be able to avail these benefits as the scheme continues to remain narrowly targeted, including only those who find themselves on the BPL list. We are distraught to learn that the elderly of the country don’t find even a mention in the road map for the country’s progress.”
The Pension Parishad is an initiative to ensure universal pension to all workers in India. It has been demanding that the Government of India establish a “non-contributory and universal old age pension system with a minimum amount of monthly pension.
The Parishad also demanded that any individual 55 years or older and any woman 50 years or older should be eligible for the old age pension.