A parliamentary panel has endorsed the recommendations of expert committees to increase the pension under a centrally sponsored scheme for the elderly, widows and the physically challenged belonging to the BPL (below poverty line) category.

The parliamentary standing committee on rural development headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka has in its report on the demand for grants to the department of rural development (DoRD) said the amount paid under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) was “abysmally low”.

The NSAP has three sub-schemes. The Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme provides ₹200 to BPL persons aged between 60 and 79 years.The Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme offers ₹300 to people over 18 years of age with a disability level of 80 per cent. The Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme provides ₹300 to widows over 40 years of age. After attaining 80 years, all of them get ₹500 per month. Pension under the NSAP was last revised by the Centre in 2007.

According to the committee report, two evaluation studies of the NSAP by the NITI Aayog and the rural development ministry recommended a hike in pension and coverage.

Based on the recommendations, the DoRD sent a proposal to the cabinet to use the Socio-Economic Caste Census data as a deprivation index to identify beneficiaries besides suggesting a hike in the pension amounts. The cabinet in its meeting on January 19, 2022, approved the continuation of the NSAP in its present form till 2026, the DoRD told the panel.