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Centre begins work to widen pension cover
Why is it in news?
- The Union government launched an evaluation as part of measures to double the number of people covered by its pension scheme from the current 3.09 crore to more than six crore.
- The measure is in line with proposals made in the last budget, which, however, did not include additional financial allocation.
- Now, with an upcoming hearing in the Supreme Court on a petition demanding universal pension coverage and higher allocation, the government hopes its study will throw up some concrete proposals, in time for the next budget.
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- In its last order on September 12, the Supreme Court had said: “As far as the National Social Assistance Programme is concerned, even though it is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, the contribution made by the Central government is minuscule.”
- The Centre’s contribution to the monthly pension is ₹200, an amount that has remained unchanged for the last 11 years.
- SC would like the Union of India to obtain all necessary information from each of the States and not take unnecessary time to obtain information.
- The Union of India should also ascertain the amount of pension and the coverage.
Sources
The Hindu