Govt clears ₹53k-cr for social aid scheme; revises disability pension norms

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an outlay of ₹53,428 crore for the continuation of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) for five years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31, while widening eligibility for disability pensions and renaming the programme and its component schemes.

The decision, the government said will benefit 3.20 crore people across 36 states and Union territories.

It also reduced the minimum disability threshold for eligibility from 80% to 40%, while also removing the minimum age requirement, allowing people with qualifying disabilities to receive assistance from birth.

Under the revised scheme, beneficiaries aged 0-79 years will receive ₹375 a month from the earlier ₹200 a month, while those aged 80 years and above will receive ₹625 a month, up from ₹500 per month before. The government said detailed guidelines covering eligibility, beneficiary numbers and assistance rates would be issued and implemented within three months.

The Cabinet has retained the existing pension arrangements for senior citizens and widows, as well as the family benefit scheme.

The programme will be renamed the Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana. Its old-age, widow and disability pension schemes will be renamed the Pradhan Mantri Vridhavastha Pension Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Vidhawa Pension Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Divyangjan Pension Yojana, respectively. The National Family Benefit Scheme will become the Pradhan Mantri Parivar Labh Yojana.

The approval continues a central social assistance programme launched on August 15, 1995, to provide financial support to poor households, including elderly people, widows and persons with disabilities, as well as families that lose their primary breadwinner.