Pension Parishad and the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) have criticised the Union government’s revision of pensions under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), describing the increase in disability pensions as inadequate and accusing the government of neglecting elderly people and widows.
In a press statement, the organisations said the central disability pension for persons below 79 years had been increased from Rs. 300 to Rs. 375 per month, marking the first revision since 2012. They said the additional Rs. 75 would not meet even a fraction of basic living and healthcare expenses.
While welcoming the extension of eligibility to persons with 40% or more disability, the organisations said the impact would remain limited because the beneficiary ceiling was unchanged and allocations had been fixed for five years. They noted that pensions for elderly people aged 60-79 remained at Rs. 200 per month, unchanged since 2007, while widows aged 40-79 continued to receive Rs. 300 per month, unchanged since 2012.
The organisations accused the government of ignoring the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, which called in its Ninth Report in 2025 for higher pensions and allocations, regular inflation-linked revisions, a unified beneficiary database and simpler enrolment procedures.
They pointed out that NSAP allocations had remained around Rs. 9,500 crore annually since 2015-16, with central coverage capped at 3.09 crore beneficiaries.
“Social security cannot depend on the government’s convenience or Finance Commission cycles,” the statement said, invoking Article 41 of the Constitution, which directs the State to provide public assistance in cases of old age and disablement, subject to its economic capacity.
The organisations questioned the continued invocation of fiscal constraints, pointing to the reported write-off of Rs. 12,53,000 crore in non-performing assets over the past decade and concessions benefiting corporate interests. They said marginalised sections remained excluded from the prosperity promised under the government’s vision of a $5 trillion economy.
They also objected to the use of the term “Divyangjan” for persons with disabilities, arguing that they were citizens entitled to equal rights and dignity rather than charity. “Attaching the Prime Minister’s name to welfare schemes cannot substitute for improving people’s material conditions,” the statement said.
The organisations demanded the expansion of pension coverage to all elderly people except income-tax payers, with eligibility extended at a minimum to households that do not meet any of the seven economic well-being criteria under the Socio-Economic and Caste Census. They also called for the removal of the central beneficiary ceiling to prevent eligible people from being excluded because state quotas had been exhausted.
Demanding regular revisions to protect purchasing power, they said pensions should be linked to inflation and raised to at least Rs. 5,000 per month at current prices.
The statement also called for proactive identification of eligible beneficiaries, reduced documentation requirements and annual renewals through Gram Sabhas and ward-level institutions. It stressed that digital systems should facilitate access rather than create obstacles.
The organisations urged the government to substantially increase pension amounts and allocations and establish a reliable social security system for elderly people, widows and persons with disabilities, asserting that fiscal considerations must not override the right to live with dignity.
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