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Tripura BJP government to continue with Left’s pension schemes: Minister

Tripura BJP government to continue with Left’s pension schemes: Minister

PensionAgartala : The BJP-led government in Tripura will continue with all 30 of the pension schemes introduced by the previous Left Front government that is benefiting 4,05,175 people, a Minister said here on Monday.

An amount of Rs 26.78 crore is being spent every month providing 33 different social pension schemes, three of which are sponsored by the Centre.

“Some vested interest quarters are campaigning that the 30 social pension schemes introduced by the previous government would be stopped. This is absolutely false,” state’s Social Welfare and Social Education Minister Santana Chakma told IANS.

The previous Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) dominated Left Front government had introduced the 30 pension schemes, ranging Rs 600 to Rs 2,500 per month, for the people belonging to various economically weaker sections, destitute, unmarried and unemployed women.

The Centre also has been providing three monthly allowances and pensions, including Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme. The state government has shares in all the three union government schemes.

“We have just undertaken a state-wide verification of the beneficiaries. The verification process would be completed by this month end. No body should be panicky about this ongoing verification process.

“No eligible beneficiary would be removed from any of the scheme,” she added.

“The verification of beneficiaries was launched to identify the genuine recipient under these 33 schemes not to deprive any legitimate pensioner.”

She said the Bharatiya Janata Party-Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (BJP-IPFT) coalition government has been working with hundred per cent transparency.

The minister’s statement comes after the opposition Left parties the alleged that the BJP led alliance government has been trying to either curtail the names of beneficiaries or stop the schemes as these were introduced by the previous Left government.

“In the name of verification and other excuses, the BJP government with the political motive, is keen to deprive a large number of people from getting benefits from the 33 social pension schemes,” Left Front Convener Bijan Dhar told the media on Sunday.

—IANS

Senior citizens should get meaningful pension: SC

Senior citizens should get meaningful pension: SC

Senior citizens should get meaningful pension says SCNew Delhi : The Supreme Court on Thursday said that senior citizens should get a meaningful pension to live with dignity, and not just the equivalent of Rs 92 at current value.

The apex court said the State was “obligated to ensure” that the right to live with dignity that includes reasonable shelter, health care, clothing and meaningful pension for elderly people without any means was “not only protected but are enforced and made available to all citizens”.

Noting that in real terms the value of Rs 200 being given as pension to elderly people since 2007 today stands at about Rs 92, the bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta in their judgement said the provision for basic necessities which includes, nutrition, clothing and shelter can be made only if the elderly are provided with some pension which is meaningful and not pension which is equivalent to Rs 92 per month.

If the current value of the rupee is taken into consideration, the amount of Rs 200 in real terms actually works out to about 92 per month on the lower scale.

The court directed the Centre and states to revisit the grant of pension to the elderly so that it is more “realistic”.

It said the schemes which are “comparatively dated” should be re-looked and overhauled to bring about convergence and avoid multiplicity.

The court said this as it issued a number of directions for the enforcement of pension for the elderly, shelter, geriatric care and medical facilities and the effective implementation of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.

Addressing the question of the limited capacity of the State in meeting the expenses of the welfare measures for the elderly people, the court said: “The consideration of ‘economic budgeting’ by the Centre and states must have been taken into account while enacting the legislation.”

Speaking for the bench, Justice Lokur said “there cannot be any excuse of lack of finances” either by the Central or state governments in “strictly implementing the provisions of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007”.

In short, the court said, if not the constitutional then at least the statutory rights of elderly persons must be recognised and implemented.

The court also directed that the Central government should obtain necessary information from all states and union territories on the number of old age homes in each district.

The Central government, the court said, would also obtain information on the medical facilities and geriatric care facilities that are available to senior citizens in each district.

Referring to the provisions of the MWP Act, the court directed the Centre to exercise its power and issue appropriate directions to the States for the effective implementation of the provisions of the MWP Act and monitor its execution.

As the court has decided to monitor the implementation of its directions, the Centre was directed to file a status report by January 31, 2019.

—IANS

58 million Indians living without pension: Survey

58 million Indians living without pension: Survey

Old, PensionNew Delhi : Fifty eight million people in India are living without pension or any other form of assistance, civil society organisation Pension Parishad has said.

Citing the State of Pensions in India Report 2018, Economist Prabhat Patnaik said the Central government spends as little as 0.04 per cent of the GDP for its flagship Indira Gandhi National Social Assistance (IGNOAPS) programme for ensuring income security for the elderly.

“It will cost only about 1.6 per cent of the present-day GDP to ensure 90 per cent of the elderly population a pension of Rs 2,500 per person every month,” Patnaik said.

According to National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), a welfare programme administered by the Ministry of Rural Development, 80 million elderly people in India are entitled to a pension of Rs 200 per month.

This meagre amount reaches only about 22.3 million people, Pension Parishad Coordinator, Nikhil Dey said.

The organisation also pointed out that countries like Nepal, Bolivia, Lesotho, Bostwana, Ecuador — all much smaller economies as compared to India — ensure better social pensions for their elderly citizens.

—IANS

Tripura BJP government to continue with Left’s pension schemes: Minister

Age limit to join NPS raised to 65 years: Regulator

PensionNew Delhi : The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on Monday announced that the upper age limit for joining the National Pension Scheme (NPS) had been raised to 65 years, from the current 60.

Chairman PFRDA Hemant Contractor made the announcement here at a conference on “Transferring Superannuation Funds to National Pension System”, saying the pension regulator’s board had already approved the change and it would be notified shortly.

“NPS is currently open for people between 18 and 60, and our Board has approved raising the age limit for joining to 65,” Contractor said.

“The scheme anyway has the option of continuing and making contributions up to the age of 70,” he added.

Explaining that the rationale behind government reforms in pensions is to facilitate “portability”, or the transfer of superannuation funds by making the NPS more attractive and customer-friendly.

“The aim is to open up pensions to sectors that are without pensions,” he said, noting that only 15-16 per cent of employees in India are covered by pensions because an overwhelming 85 per cent of the workforce is found in the unorganised, or “informal”, sector.

Elaborating on the benefits of the NPS, Contractor said it is the “lowest-cost pension product in the world today”.

“Costs are important because even one per cent difference in cost over 25-30 years, makes around 15-16 per cent difference at the end because of the compounding factor.”

“Our fund management charges are a miniscule 0.01 per cent… the lowest, when you compare others charging 0.4 or 0.5 per cent,” he said, adding that the NPS returns compare with the “best in the industry”.

—IANS