By IANS,
New Delhi : Payments under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) will be routed through the unique ID number system to avoid delays, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said here Tuesday.
Talking to reporters after a meeting with Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik, Ramesh said the restructured system will be in place by March 10 and will ensure that each beneficiary under the old age, disabilities and widow’s pension schemes will get their entitlement every month without delay.
The minister said the central government spends nearly Rs 8,000 crore under the NSAP but funds were being distributed through a complicated process. He said a single state agency will be identified for receiving funds for final disbursement to passbook holders through the Aadhar (unique ID number)-based system.
Ramesh said he had already written to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for relaxing norms like reducing the criteria for disability to 40 percent from the existing 80 per cent, which leads to exclusion of a very large number of disabled persons in rural areas.
He said 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 the National Family Benefit Scheme from Rs.10,000 to Rs.20,000, which is paid to a BPL family whose main bread-winner dies.
There is also a demand for inclusion of children and youth in the 5-20 age-group to get the disability pension benefit, which is now restricted to those over 20 years of age.
NSAP, which came into effect in 1995, aims at ensuring a minimum national standard for social assistance to the poor in addition to the benefits that states provide. NSAP, at present, comprises the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS), Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS), Annapurna and National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS).