As AP Govt Sets Record In Pension Distribution, While Opposition Continues Fake Propaganda

The distribution of pensions across Andhra Pradesh as a part of the YSR Pension Scheme commences on the first of every month without fail, where the Village/ward Volunteers set out to disburse the monthly assistance right at the doorsteps of the beneficiaries even as the Opposition parties try to mislead the public with fake news about the pension scheme and beneficiaries.

The total number of pensioners in the state as of state bifurcation in June 2014 was at 43.11 lakhs. When you examine the number of pensioners four years later in the month of February 2018, the then Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party government granted pensions to only 39.38 lakh people out of 44.44 lakh pensioners. The amount disbursed at that time was Rs. 447.26 crore. Even in January 2019, just a month before the notification of the General Assembly Elections, the pension amount distributed by Chandrababu Naidu's govt was Rs. 514 crores only.

In comparison to the current AP government the number of beneficiaries under various categories- grandparents, widows, disabled, chronically ill, etc., has increased to a record level since YS Jagan Mohan Reddy became Chief Minister. In 2019, the number of pensioners in the state increased to more than 61 lakh in just less than a year after YS Jagan took charge as the Chief Minister. For three and a half years, the government has been disbursing pensions to more than 61 lakh beneficiaries every month. 

In the month of December this year, the Government sanctioned pensions to 62.69 lakh people, out of which Rs.1,577.07 crore has been distributed to 62.02 lakh people. Another 2,31,989 people have also been sanctioned pension, this time. Among them, more than 83,000 are old people, 75,000 widows, more than 37,000 disabled people, 20,000 AIDS patients, and few beneficiaries in other categories. 

Along with these, the number of people receiving pensions from January 1, 2023, has increased to 64,45,226. The monthly expenditure incurred by the AP Government on these pensions is Rs. 1,775.85 crores.

The government continues to disburse pensions diligently based on the eligibility of beneficiaries as the main criteria irrespective of parties, regions, and castes. Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) officials revealed that including the newly granted pensioners, a total of 22.31 lakh people have been granted new pensions in these three and a half years.

In another important change in the Social Security pension system, the minimum age for old age pensioners was reduced from 65 years to 60 years. With this  6.12 lakh, new pensioners were added in the month of January 2020, apart from the new beneficiaries list. Looking at the additions from 2020 the beneficiaries have been increasing. In February - 1.31 lakh people, in June 2020 -1.16 lakhs, in July 2020- 2.42 lakhs, and in September 2021 it went up to 2.20 lakhs. 

To ensure that there is proper distribution of pensions to the deserving and eligible beneficiaries the Government has been conducting a social audit every six months. As part of this, the Government is also giving opportunities to those who have been receiving pensions even though they are not eligible, to prove their eligibility as per the rules, instead of canceling their pensions. 

When the pension distribution is being carried out in a systematic and transparent manner and the Government conducts the social audit to find out the eligibility of 64 lakh beneficiaries, the Telugu Desam Party, Jana Sena Party,  and a section of the media spread false propaganda that the government was canceling lakhs of pensions under the pretext that they were dead or were being declared ineligible. 

The AP Government has been spending Rs.1,770 crores on pensions as against a meager Rs.400 crores allotted by the TDP regime which gave only a monthly pension of Rs.1,000 to 39 lakh persons. The monthly pension amount has been enhanced to Rs. 2750  by the AP Government and the number of pensioners has gone up to 62, 70,000. Nonetheless, the Opposition and its allied Yellow Media continue to mislead the people by spreading false propaganda against the pension disbursement and the AP Government.

Also Read: CM YS Jagan Lists Out Pending AP State Demands In Meeting With PM Modi