Odisha hikes pension by

Bhubaneshwar: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced a hike of Rs.500 in the monthly pension covered under various social security schemes. According to officials at the chief minister’s office, the CM announced a hike in the National Old Age Pension Scheme, Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme and Madhu Babu Pension Yojana.
Officials said 5.7 million beneficiaries under the schemes would receive the revised amount starting this month. The decision will have an annual financial burden of Rs.3,683 crore on the state coffers, they said.
According to officials, in Odisha, more than 2.3 million people are getting a pension under the old age pension scheme and widow pension scheme while more than 3.67 million people are getting pension under the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana, a state-sponsored pension scheme for old and infirm people of the state.
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Under the old age pension, those between the age of 60 and 79 years would get Rs.1,000 a month while those above 80 years would get Rs.1,200; under Madhu Babu which was launched in January 2008, those between 60 years of age and 79 years would get Rs.1,000; and widows, leprosy patients with visible signs of deformity or any person who is unable to do normal work due to his/her deformity or disability being blind, widow of AIDS patient and AIDS patient would also get Rs.1,000, officials said.
The announcement assumes significance with the state going to polls in a few months. Patnaik had made a similar announcement ahead of the 2019 elections when the monthly pension amount under the scheme was raised by Rs.200.