Nature: Centrally Sponsored social assistance scheme.

Target Group: Poor senior citizens who are eligible for old-age pension but are not receiving pension under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS).

Key Objective: To provide food security to indigent elderly persons who are left out of the old-age pension system.

Eligibility: Senior citizens aged 65 years and above under the original scheme guidelines, subject to the prescribed conditions.

Benefit: 10 kg of foodgrains per person per month, provided free of cost.

Type of Benefit: Food-grain assistance rather than a cash pension.

Recent Developments

• The focus in recent years has been on improving Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and strengthening transparency in social assistance delivery.
• Aadhaar-based identification has been promoted to improve beneficiary identification and reduce duplication.
• Digitisation of beneficiary records has been encouraged for better monitoring and administration.
• States are encouraged to supplement Central assistance with their own contributions where applicable.
• The scheme focuses on providing food security to elderly persons who are eligible for old-age assistance but remain outside the regular pension system.