Odisha’s Madhu Babu Pension Yojana: State Govt To Add New Beneficiaries, Launches Unified Portal

The Odisha government has expanded the state’s old-age pension scheme, Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY), removing the restriction on the number of beneficiaries. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced that over half a million (5 lakh) beneficiaries will be added under the social security scheme. The minister also launched an online portal, Unified Pension Management Portal (UPMP), to simplify pension applications and make verification and disbursal faster.  

The welfare pension scheme covers old age pension, widow pension and pension to persons with disabilities. After removal of the restriction on the number of beneficiaries, the total number of senior citizens covered under the scheme has increased from roughly 3.67 million to 4.18 million. The scheme offers Rs 1,000 to each beneficiary, and the expansion of the scheme would mean an additional government expenditure of Rs 625 crore for the state government.

The newly enrolled pensioners will be given their pension dues with effect from October. For an effective rollout of the benefits, the state government is organising district-wise and block-wise distribution programmes from November 11 and 12 to November 13 and 14, respectively. Any beneficiary who is not able to collect the funds during these sessions can get the cash payments from their respective gram panchayat or urban ward offices on November 15.  

From next month, all the beneficiaries (existing and new) of MBPY will receive their monthly pension on the 15th of every month. Those who are 80 years or older will receive a higher pension of Rs 3,500 per month. They are not required to submit any application for this (higher pension).

The CM referred to the previous quota-based pension system as ‘inhuman’ as it required an eligible senior citizen to wait until a vacancy is created by another beneficiary’s death. As the new policy for welfare pensions in the state allows all eligible applicants to receive a pension by removing the quota system, more senior citizens, widows, and persons with disabilities can enrol immediately under the scheme.

While the minister attributed the delay under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) schemes, including Indira Gandhi National Old Age, Widow, and Disability Pension Yojanas, to e-KYC verification issues, he informed that under the revised structure of the scheme, the state’s portion of the pension will be disbursed in cash and the central government’s share will be credited directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts following the cash distribution. Any pending state contributions for October and November will be paid in cash on November 15.

Out of the total 2.04 million central scheme beneficiaries, technical issues for nearly 1.9 million people have been addressed, and the remaining 130,000 cases will be resolved within a month.