The Union government launched an evaluation this week as part of measures to double the number of people covered by its pension scheme from the current 3.09 crore to more than six crore.
The measure is in line with proposals made in the last budget, which, however, did not include additional financial allocation. Now, with an upcoming hearing in the Supreme Court on a petition demanding universal pension coverage and higher allocation, the government hopes its study will throw up some concrete proposals, in time for the next budget.
“We are going for a comprehensive evaluation, before we can consider a revamp of the scheme,” a senior official of the Rural Development Ministry, which administers the scheme, told The Hindu.
The official said, “[The results] will come within six months. Then there will be a concept note. By next year’s budget, we expect to have a proposal.”
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According to the official, advertisements for agencies to conduct the evaluation were issued on Saturday, just days before the October 9 hearing of a Public Interest Litigation petition on care and assistance to the elderly.
In its last order on September 12, the Supreme Court had said: “As far as the National Social Assistance Programme is concerned, even though it is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, the contribution made by the Central government is minuscule.” The Centre’s contribution to the monthly pension is ₹200, an amount that has remained unchanged for the last 11 years.
“We would like the Union of India to obtain all necessary information from each of the States and not take unnecessary time to obtain information. The Union of India should also ascertain the amount of pension and the coverage,” the court added, giving the respondents — Centre and States — a period of three weeks to file a “proper and effective affidavit” on the issue.