Now Reading: Karnataka raises income ceiling for social security pensions to Rs 1.2 lakh
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Karnataka raises income ceiling for social security pensions to Rs 1.2 lakh
Karnataka raises income ceiling for social security pensions to Rs 1.2 lakh
The Karnataka government has raised the annual income ceiling for social security pensions from Rs 32,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh, a move expected to help around 20 lakh beneficiaries retain their pensions.…
The Karnataka government has raised the annual income ceiling for social security pensions from Rs 32,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh, a move expected to help around 20 lakh beneficiaries retain their pensions. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara issued the order on August 19 and directed officials to re-verify cases and restore pensions to the newly eligible.
Over 83 lakh people in the state receive social security pensions under schemes for old age, widows and the disabled. After cross-checking pension records with family data, the government flagged 23.1 lakh cases as doubtful. Pensions for 51,720 beneficiaries were cancelled, while 2.7 lakh were restored after verification. The remaining 20 lakh cases are under review.
The revision follows a question raised by KGF MLA Roopakala M in the assembly, who argued the old limit made lakhs of poor families ineligible. The new limit applies to Sandhya Suraksha, Manaswini and Maitri schemes. Some pensioners also urged the government not to count Gruha Lakshmi assistance as family income while determining eligibility.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The income ceiling for social security pensions had not been revised since February 2021, when the limit was set at Rs 32,000. In nine years, inflation and the introduction of guarantee schemes like Gruha Lakshmi have made the old limit unrealistic for many poor households. The key question now is how the verification of the remaining 20 lakh beneficiaries will be conducted and whether the government will also exclude guarantee scheme payouts from the income calculation, as beneficiaries have demanded. The next concrete step to watch is the completion of re-verification by village administrative officers and tahsildars, which will determine how many pensions are actually restored.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
