National Pension Schemes will be linked to Aadhar: Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi, Feb 28 (ANI): Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said that National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) will be completely restructured and all payments under the scheme will be done through Aadhar-based payment system.

Ramesh, who was talking to a select group of mediapersons here said the restructured system will be in place by 10th of March this year and it will ensure that each beneficiary under old age, disabilities and widow pension schemes will get one's entitlement every month and there will be no delay in payments.

"The Central Government spends nearly 8,000 crore rupees under the NSAP scheme, but the devolvement of funds is being done in a complicated process in a layered manner, which he said will be rectified and only one state agency will be identified for receipt of funds for final disbursement to pass book holders through Aadhar-based system," he said.

Ramesh informed that he had already written to the Finance Ministry for relaxation of certain norms like reducing the criteria for disability to 40 percent from the existing 80 percent, which leads to exclusion of a very large number of disabled persons in rural areas.

Ramesh said, presently the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme gives assistance of Rs-200 per month to BPL widows over the age of 40, which can be modified to cover widows over the age of 18.

There is also a demand to enhance the amount under National Family Benefit Scheme from Rs. 10, 000 to Rs. 20,000, which is paid to a BPL family whose main bread-winner dies, besides inclusion of children/youth in the five to twenty age group to get the disability pension benefit, which is now restricted to those over the age of 20. (ANI)