Increased welfare pension to beneficiaries from April in Andhra Pradesh

VIJAYAWADA: The new NDA govt in the state, which will officially take charge on Wednesday, has already readied budget estimations for disbursement of increased welfare pension from July. Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is likely to sign the file after the swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday.

The finance department, which was asked to ready the budget estimates, submitted the report to the chief secretary on Monday.Sources said officials have readied a separate file to take the signature of the chief minister soon after the completion of oath taking formality.
Naidu had promised to increase the pension amount to 4,000 per month for the elderly and 6,000 per month for the physically challenged. The pension amount given by the previous YSRCP govt was 3,000.
The TDP chief had also promised to implement it from April, which means the beneficiaries would receive a total amount of 7,000 in July (3,000 in arrears plus 4,000 regular pension).
Similarly, the physically challenged would receive 9,000 in arrears and 6,000 regular pension, totalling 15,000 for the month of July.
The previous govt had been spending around 1,939 crore per month for payment of welfare pensions to about 65 lakh beneficiaries, including about three lakh physically challenged beneficiaries.
Pension spending to touch 2,800 cr
Officials estimate that an additional 4,400 crore would be required for disbursement of arrears and increased pension amount in July. They have also estimated that monthly spending on pensions would touch 2,800 crore from August from the existing 1,939 crore - an increase of nearly 900 crore per month. Chief secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad has also directed the panchayat raj and municipal administration secretaries to submit proposals to bring people from SC, ST, BC, and minority communities between 50 and 59 years of age into the pension beneficiary bracket, which was also one of the Naidu's promises. The process is likely to take about three months.