Currently, the central government spends Rs 6,564 crores or 0.04% of the GDP on its flagship programme, Indira Gandhi National Social Assistance, for ensuring income security for the elderly, the report said. (Representational Image)
As many as 14 states provide a monthly pension of Rs 500 per person or less to the elderly, as per the State of Pensions in India Report 2018, which was released at the Press Club of India Friday. As per the report, Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh give pensions as low as Rs 250 and Rs 300 a month per person.
The 14 states include Assam, Bihar, Manipur, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, among others. The highest pension of Rs 2,000 per month per person is given by states such as Delhi, Goa, Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, as per the report.
Mathew Cherian, chief executive, HelpageIndia, said, “Of the 80 million elderly entitled to pension of Rs 200 per month, this meagre amount by the central government reaches just 22.3 million people… leaving out 58 million people with no pension or any other form of assistance.”
He said Rs 200 was an “undignified amount of pension” and that there was a need to give “more dignity to life”. “A pension of Rs 2,000 per month per person will cost just 1.97% of the GDP,” he said.
Currently, the central government spends Rs 6,564 crores or 0.04% of the GDP on its flagship programme, Indira Gandhi National Social Assistance, for ensuring income security for the elderly, the report said.
“The central government entitlement of Rs 200 and Rs 500 per month per person for those between 60 and 79 years and for those above 80 years respectively, declared in 2007 has reduced in purchasing power value to a meager Rs. 93,” the report states.