Lok Sabha Question No. 3787 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-12
Subject: National Social Assistance Programme
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Mani A

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3787 ANSWERED ON 12/08/2025

## NATIONAL SOCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME

3787. Shri Mani A:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the  number  of  beneficiaries  currently  covered  under  each component of National Social Assistance Program (NSAP);
- (b) whether the NSAP has achieved its objective of providing social assistance to the poor;
- (c) the  impact  of  the  program  on  reducing  poverty  among  the elderly, widows, and  persons with disabilities;
- (d) whether any independent evaluation or assessment of NSAP has been conducted and if so, the key findings of such evaluations;
- (e) whether technology has been integrated into the implementation of NSAP;
- (f) if  so,  the  details  of  measures such as Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and online  beneficiary management systems; and
- (g) the extent to which such measures have improved transparency and efficiency?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a): National  Social  Assistance  Program  (NSAP)  comprises  of the  five schemes viz. Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS) , Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS), National Family Benefit Scheme  (NFBS) and Annapurna Scheme. The Scheme-wise ceiling of no. of beneficiaries under each component of NSAP is given below:

|   IGNOAPS |   IGNWPS |   IGNDPS |   NFBS |   Annapurna |
|-----------|----------|----------|--------|-------------|
|  22130687 |  6783469 |   833751 | 358840 |      831722 |

(b) to (d): NSAP was launched with an objective of providing a basic level of financial support to the most vulnerable groups of citizens. Pensions  ranging  from  Rs.  200-500  per  month  are  provided  under NSAP. As per NSAP guidelines, States/UTs are also encouraged to provide  top-ups  over  and  above  the  central  assistance.  Presently, States/UTs are adding top-ups ranging from Rs. 50/- to Rs. 5700/- per month  per  beneficiary  under  the  pension  schemes  of  NSAP.  As  a result, NSAP pensioners are getting monthly pension on an average of Rs. 1100/- in several States/ UTs. From time to time, various impact assessment and evaluation studies have been carried out to assess the impact of NSAP schemes.  As per the findings of these studies, NSAP  helps  in  reducing  poverty  and  bridging  the  gap  between vulnerable  groups  viz.  elderly,  women  &  disabled  and  the  general population.  It also helps in improving living standards and healthcare access for beneficiaries.  The programme along with other welfare schemes of the Govt. has impacted the life of the poor and destitute positively.

(e) to (g): A  Web-based  pension  payment  portal,  National  Social Assistance Programme-Pension Payment System (NSAP-PPS) operationalized by the Ministry as an end-to-end digital tool for Direct Benefit  Transfer  (DBT)  mode  disbursal  of  pension  through  Public Financial Management System (PFMS) has helped in ensuring speedy and efficient disbursal of pension assistance directly to the beneficiary. More than 90% pension disbursal under NSAP is through DBT mode. Digitization of beneficiary data along with Aadhaar/Mobile seeding  has  resulted  in  removing  duplication  of  beneficiaries  and leakage of resources. An Aadhaar based Mobile Application has been launched  for  digitizing  the  process  of  annual  Life  Certification  of pension beneficiaries.

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