The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing an umbrella scheme, namely, AtalVayoAbhyudayYojana (AVYAY), for the welfare of the senior citizens across the country. A total of 37,77,133 beneficiaries have benefited during the last five years i.e., from Financial Year(FY) 2020-21 to 2024-25, under the said scheme.

The Ministry of Rural Development implements the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP). Under, one of the components of NSAP, namely, Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) financial assistance of ₹ 200/- per month to persons in the age group of 60-79 years and ₹ 500/- per month to persons of 80 years and above is provided. The pension amount released during the last five years (FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25) under the IGNOAPS is Rs. 32,409 Crores.

Under the Integrated Programme for the Senior Citizens (IPSrC), a component of the AVYAY Scheme, a recurring amount of Rs. 25,04,355, Rs. 24,64,755 and Rs. 24,38,355 is given to the organizations for running and maintenance of the 25-bedded Senior Citizen Homes in X, Y and Z category of cities. A recurring amount of Rs. 42,11,228, Rs. 41,51,282 and Rs. 41,12,228 is given to the organizations for running and maintenance of the 50-bedded Senior Citizen Homes in the X, Y and Z category of cities. 

X, Y and Z are the three categories of cities for drawing of the House Rent Allowance in the Central Government.

A non-recurring grant of Rs. 3,09,105 for 25-bedded Senior Citizen Home and Rs. 4,12,140 is provided for the 50-bedded Senior Citizen Home in all the three categories of the cities (X, Y and Z).

An amount of Rs. 532.45 Crores has been released under the IPSrC component of AVYAY Scheme during the last five years (FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25).

The Government implements various schemes aimed at the welfare of senior citizens, which are periodically reviewed to ensure effective implementation and enhanced outreach. The Third-party evaluations are mandatorily conducted before the commencement of each Financial Cycle to assess the functioning of these schemes. The targets are fixed on the basis of the findings and recommendations of such evaluations.

 

This information is given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri  B.L. Verma, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

 

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