Bhubaneswar/Baleshwar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Tuesday announced the expansion of the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY), bringing an additional 5,05,817 beneficiaries under the scheme, and launched the Unified Pension Management Portal (UPMP) to streamline applications, verification and monthly pension disbursements.
CM Majhi launched the portal and announced the expansion of the pension scheme at a state-level function in Baleshwar, attended by Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, MP Pratap Sarangi, ministers and MLAs from northern Odisha.
With the addition of new beneficiaries, the total number of people aged above 60 years covered under the MBPY has increased to 41,80,825.
Each beneficiary will receive a monthly pension of Rs 1,000, the chief minister said.
Earlier, around 36.75 lakh people were covered under the scheme. The expansion will entail an additional annual expenditure of Rs 625 crore for the state government, CM Majhi said.
He said the government had introduced several measures through the UPMP to simplify the pension application process, improve verification and ensure timely disbursement of benefits.
The newly enrolled beneficiaries will receive their pending pension dues from October onwards, the chief minister said.
Special pension distribution programmes will be organised at the district level on November 11 and 12 and at the block level on November 13 and 14.
“Beneficiaries who could not collect their pension during these programmes will receive the money in cash at their respective gram panchayat or urban ward offices November 15,” Majhi said.
He announced that all existing and newly enrolled beneficiaries would receive their pensions regularly on the 15th of every month from December.
People attaining 80 years of age will be eligible for an enhanced monthly pension of Rs 3,500 without having to submit a fresh application, he said.
Admitting that pension disbursements to some beneficiaries under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) had been delayed, Majhi said the government was working to resolve the pending cases.
The affected beneficiaries include those covered under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Yojana, Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Yojana and Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Yojana.
“There were certain issues relating to e-KYC because of which pensions could not be disbursed on time. Of the 20,35,959 beneficiaries under the central pension schemes, issues relating to around 19 lakh beneficiaries have been addressed so far. However, the remaining 1.30 lakh pensioners are yet to receive their money, and this will be resolved within a month,” the chief minister said.
The state government has also introduced a revised payment arrangement for beneficiaries covered under the NSAP to streamline pension disbursements.
Under the new arrangement, the state’s share of the pension amount will be distributed to beneficiaries in cash, while the Centre’s share will be directly credited to their bank accounts after the beneficiaries receive their dues, Majhi said.
“The state’s contribution for November 2026 onwards will be distributed in cash. Pending state contributions for October and November will be paid on November 15, followed by regular monthly disbursements on the 15th of every month from December,” he said.
The pension schemes primarily benefit senior citizens, widows, persons with disabilities and economically vulnerable sections of society.
Majhi also criticised the previous BJD government over its pension policy, alleging that the quota-based system for old-age pension beneficiaries had deprived many eligible people of timely benefits.
He explained that a particular gram panchayat was given a fixed number of beneficiaries. “If anyone attains 60 years, he or she has to wait for a vacancy. The vacancy is created after the death of a beneficiary. This is inhuman,” Majhi said.
“From today onwards, there is no need for aged, disabled and widowed people to wait for months and years to get benefits from the government. The Odisha government has taken historic steps to address these problems. In the last 25 years, many beneficiaries were deprived of benefits because of loopholes and shortcomings in the old quota system.
“No one will have to wait for a vacancy to get enrolled in the MBPY. As soon as a person attains 60 years of age, he or she can apply and get enrolled. Earlier, they had to wait for a vacancy,” he said.
PTI
