Lucknow, Aug 12
The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to enhance the ambit of old-age pension for the senior citizens and has now set a target of providing a monthly pension to more than 67 lakh elderly, in the current financial year 20025-26.
The pledge comes after the UP government disbursed old-age pensions for 61 lakh poor senior citizens in the first quarter.
Under this scheme, people 60 years or above are given a pension amount of Rs 1000 per month on a quarterly basis.
The reach of the Old Age Pension Scheme has grown steadily since 2018-19, when 40.71 lakh beneficiaries received Rs 1,879 crore. By 2019-20, the number rose to 47.99 lakh (Rs 2,698 crore), and in 2020-21 to 51.24 lakh (Rs 3,694 crore). The upward trend continued with 51.92 lakh (Rs 4,278 crore) in 2021-22, 54.97 lakh (Rs 6,083 crore) in 2022-23, and 55.68 lakh (Rs 6,464 crore) in 2023-24.
The SNA system also facilitates faster payments, easier audits, and efficient fund tracking, guaranteeing that every rupee is used for the intended purpose.
Since the scheme’s launch in 2017, when it covered 37.47 lakh beneficiaries, the reach has nearly doubled, now targeting 67.50 lakh people