Aadhaar-linked pension payment at doorsteps across Karnataka soon

BENGALURU: Following the successful initiative of post offices in Gol Gumbaz and Sathanur, which started doorstep payment of social security pensions in the state, the Karnataka Postal Circle now plans to extend the service across the state. This initiative helps beneficiaries withdraw their money without visiting any post office or even filling up any withdrawal slip. 

Chief Postmaster General of the Circle (CPMG), Rajendra S Kumar told The New Indian Express, “There are around 30 lakh pensioners in Karnataka. The positive response to our initiative from pensioners who received their pensions from two post offices we piloted in Vijayapura and Channapatna districts has spurred us to extend the facility across the state. We will be rolling it out in all districts within the next three months. We had started it a month ago for 212 pensioners in Gol Gumbaz and for 94 pensioners in Santhanur. 

Until two years ago, social security pensions were paid through money orders delivered at the doorsteps. “Subsequently, Karnataka government had begun depositing it in the postal accounts of pensioners. Senior citizens had to queue up in post office for withdrawing it. Hence we came up with a solution to redress it by making use of an Aadhaar-enabled payment,” Kumar said. D Cube is the app that is used for the payment, the CPMG added. 

Motilal Jadhav, one of the pensioners from Mattlanda village in Vijayapura, who receives his pension from the Alnapura Post Office, said, “I am really happy with this new arrangement. I receive Rs 1,200 every month at home now. I had to walk some distance to the nearby post office earlier to collect it after filling up some form.” 

Hakim, speaking on behalf of his mother, said, “The whole process of pension disbursement has been speeded up now. My mother used to stand in a long queue to get it earlier. With pensions distributed only between 9am and 2pm, she had to leave home early and reach the Gol Gumbaz office. Now, she gets her pension within ten minutes.”