Delhi Government Expands Old-Age Pension Scheme To Benefit More Senior Citizens

Delhi Minister for Social Welfare Ravinder Indraj Singh has instructed officers to improve the process of adding new beneficiaries to the old age pension scheme. Singh held a review meeting with officials of the Department of Social Welfare to assess the progress of adding new beneficiaries. He has stressed the need to address cases where applications were rejected or pensioners did not receive their due amount.

In the review meeting, Singh also highlighted the importance of third-party verification of beneficiaries and the role of Common Service Centres in the verification process. He instructed officials to ensure pension applications are processed promptly and link beneficiary bank accounts with required documents to avoid problems during Direct Benefit Transfers. Officials were also directed to continuously monitor the system and actively collect feedback from pensioners to make improvements.

Revised Scheme

• Under the revised scheme, Senior citizens aged 60 to 69 years will receive a monthly pension of Rs 2,000

• Those aged 70 years and above will receive Rs 2,500 per month as pension

• Beneficiaries from marginalised groups that include Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and minority communities will receive an additional Rs 500 per month, ensuring increased financial support. This increase has been made for only the marginalised groups mentioned above.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta emphasised that Delhi offers the highest pension rates in the country, surpassing other states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat.

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for the pension scheme, applicants must meet the following conditions:

• Be at least 60 years old

• The eligible has to be a resident in Delhi for a minimum of five years prior to the application date

• They must possess an annual family income of less than Rs 1,00,000 from all sources

• Eligible candidates must hold a singly-operated bank account in Delhi, linked with their Aadhaar number, to facilitate direct benefit transfers through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS)

• To be eligible, the candidate must not receive any other pension or financial assistance from central or state governments or other governmental bodies.

Application Process

Eligible individuals can apply for the pension scheme through the Delhi government's e-District portal at edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in. The portal was launched to streamline the application process and has already received over 10,000 applications within the initial 24 hours. The application window has the target to receive 80,000 applications or for a maximum period of three weeks, whichever is achieved first.

Required Documents

Applicants need to upload the following documents during the application process:

• Proof of age like a birth certificate, Aadhaar card, or voter ID

• Proof of residence in Delhi for at least five years, which can be a ration card or any of the utility bills)

• Bank account details are required, and a solely operated account should also be linked with Aadhaar

• Income self-declaration must also be provided

• For SC/ST applicants aged 60-69, a caste certificate is required that verifies their community status