Govt may give old age pension to 60 yrs in BPL

NEW DELHI: The government is considering a proposal to provide pension to everyone who are 60 years of age and belong to below poverty line (BPL) category.

Minister of state for rural development Chandra Sekhar Sahu informed Lok Sabha today that the proposal under consideration was related to Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS).

Currently the age limit for pension seekers belonging to BPL households under the programme is 65 years.

"The proposal is at the stage of inter-ministerial consultation," Sahu said in a written reply.

He said funds are released to states for National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) in a combined manner, which includes IGNOAPS and other schemes of the ministry like National Family Benefit Scheme and Annapurna.

The Minister informed the Lower House that under the 11th Five Year Plan, a provision of Rs 1,00,000 crore has been made for implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).

Sahu also said under the Union Budget 2008-09, a provision of Rs 16,000 crore has been made for NREGA. This is Rs 4,000 crore more than the budget provision made for NREGA for the year 2007-08.