Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has included 5,324 new beneficiaries from the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) area under the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY), taking the total number of beneficiaries in the state capital to 27,112.
Previously, 21,788 people were receiving pensions under the scheme in the BMC area. The newly selected beneficiaries include eligible applicants who had been waiting for pension benefits for nearly two years.
Of the 5,324 new beneficiaries, 3,229 are senior citizens aged 60 years and above, while 33 are aged 80 years and above. The list also includes 1,378 widows, 244 persons with disabilities across different disability categories, 122 unmarried women, 81 destitute and divorced women, and two transgender persons.
Under the scheme, beneficiaries will receive monthly pensions ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,500, depending on their eligibility. Senior citizens aged 80 years and above and persons with 80 per cent or more disability will receive Rs 3,500 each. Those with 60-79 per cent disability will get Rs 1,200, while beneficiaries in other eligible categories will receive Rs 1,000 per month.
To streamline pension delivery, the state government has introduced the Unified Pension Management Portal (UPMP), which will facilitate application processing, eligibility verification, beneficiary selection and pension disbursement. Under the revised system, eligible applicants submitting applications every month will be able to receive pension benefits within a month of applying.
At a pension distribution programme held on the occasion, ministers, MLAs and the Bhubaneswar Mayor distributed pension assistance to one beneficiary from each ward. The dignitaries also highlighted the role of the UPMP portal in ensuring a transparent and time-bound pension delivery mechanism.
The initiative is expected to provide financial security to senior citizens, widows, persons with disabilities, transgender persons and other vulnerable sections of society.
