Bihar Govt Hikes Senior Citizens, Widow Pension By Rs 700 Per Month
The beneficiaries will now get an enhanced pension of Rs 1,100 from July and pension amount will be sent to the accounts of all beneficiaries on the 10th day of every month, CM Nitish Kumar said.
Patna, Jun 21 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said his government has decided to increase the pensions of senior citizens, widows and people with disability by Rs 700 per month.
The beneficiaries will now get an enhanced pension of Rs 1,100 from July, he said.
"I am happy to inform you that under the Social Security Pension Scheme, all the elderly, disabled and widowed women will now get a pension of Rs 1,100, instead of Rs 400 every month. All the beneficiaries will get pension at the increased rate from July," Kumar said on X.
The pension amount will be sent to the accounts of all beneficiaries on the 10th day of every month, he said.
"This decision of the government will help beneficiaries and will ensure they lead a dignified and socially secure life, which is the top priority of the government. Social security is recognised as a vital component of the development process," Social Welfare Department Secretary Bandana Preyashi told PTI.
The total number of beneficiaries for the pension scheme in the state is over 1.09 crore, the CM said.
"The elderly people are an important part of society, and their dignified living is our top priority. The state government will continue to make efforts in this direction," the chief minister said.
The decision assumes significance as the state will go to the assembly polls in a few months.
The increase in pension will result in an additional burden of around Rs 3,594.42 crore annually on the state exchequer, an official said on the condition of anonymity.
Earlier, the government expenditure was Rs 5,405.58 crore, and now it will have to spend around Rs 9,000 crore annually.
This decision of the government will now be sent for cabinet approval, the official said.
The social security programmes, under which pensions have been increased, are the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme, Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme, Laxmibai Social Security Pension Scheme, Bihar Disability Pension Scheme and Mukhyamantri Vriddhjan Pension Scheme.
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said the interest rate on loans for 'Jeevika Didi' has been reduced by 3 per cent.
This decision will provide relief to women, the elderly and disabled people, he said.
"The NDA government cares about every section of society. Congratulations to all," he added.
Meanwhile, commenting on the pension increase decision, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the NDA government of copying his welfare agenda.
“I announced a few months ago that if we form the government, we will increase the pension from Rs 400 to Rs 1,500, which has been announced today by Nitish Kumar ji. The pension has been increased today because of the tension that the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government may come to power. They are simply copying our welfare agenda,” he told PTI Video.
Taking a swipe at the chief minister, Yadav claimed: “Due to his 'unconscious' state, it will be Home Minister Amit Shah who will distribute the JD(U) tickets in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections... Sanjay Jha, who is the working national president of the JD(U), is a BJP-RSS person.”
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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