A majority of elderly poor do not benefit from government schemes

Most of the elderly do not benefit from any of the Central government schemes directed towards them. However, more than half of the seniors are aware of these schemes. This is according to the India Ageing Report 2023, prepared by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Population Studies (IIPS).

At the same time, around 28.7 per cent of the poverty-struck elderly (60 years and above) men and 53.5 per cent of elderly women do not have any source of income, the report said.

Schemes for the old

There are three major government schemes directed towards the elderly who fall in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category — the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS), and the Annapurna Scheme.

IGNOAPS is a non-contributory scheme in which the Central government gives a pension of ₹200 per month to people in the 60-79 years age-group and ₹500 to people above 80 years. The IGNWPS is also a non-contributory scheme, where the Central government provides a monthly pension of ₹200 to widows. Annapurna Scheme or the free food grains scheme, provides 10 kg food grains per month free of cost to persons aged 65 years and above, who are eligible for IGNOAPS but do not receive it.

Lack of awareness, fewer beneficiaries

These schemes are of little use if the elderly are unaware of them. The report stated that only 55 per cent of the elderly know about the old age pension, 44 per cent about the widow pension, and 12 per cent about the free food grains scheme.

Very few seniors benefit from these schemes. Only 28.7 per cent of the elderly benefit from old age pension, 23.7 per cent from widow pension, and just 2.3 per cent from free food grains scheme.

A lot of seniors chose to not avail the benefits of these schemes since the process was too complex. For the old age pension, 35.1 per cent of the elderly men and 36.5 per cent of the elderly women said the process was cumbersome. For widow pension, 47.4 per cent of elderly women were not eligible and for the free food grains scheme, 38.4 per cent of elderly men and 46.3 per cent of elderly women were said to be ineligible.

“Multiple administrative requirements that include excessive documentation and mandatory physical presence in the office do not make the schemes elder-friendly. Older persons, often, do not understand the nuances of the scheme and the staff, too, fail to communicate it effectively. Sometimes, they miss out on availing the scheme benefits due to incorrect status (like ‘not eligible’) or wrong documentation,” the report noted.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan had the most coverage under old age pension with 68.9 per cent of elderly benefitting from the scheme; Andhra Pradesh had the most coverage under widow pension with 51 per cent, whereas the elderly in Chhattisgarh benefited the most (10.7 per cent) under the free food grains scheme. This was computed based on the latest Longitudinal Ageing Study of India data, 2017-18.

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