As per the Bharatiya Janata Party’s promises in the Sankalp Patra for the West Bengal Assembly polls, starting August 1, genuine beneficiaries will receive enhanced old-age, widow, and disability allowances amounting to Rs 1,500 per month, up from the previous Rs 1,000. The West Bengal Panchayat Affairs and Rural Development Department has issued a notification regarding the increased limits for the three pension schemes under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP). The beneficiaries will receive the enhanced amounts retroactively from April 1.
Under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, Indira Gandhi National Widows Pension Scheme, and Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme, beneficiaries will now receive an additional Rs 500 per month as per government guidelines. The state government will cover the additional expenditure for these welfare schemes from the budgetary allocations for the state panchayat affairs and rural development department for the financial year 2026-27. The funds will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts through the DBT system.
To ensure prompt implementation, the District Magistrates, district panchayat and rural development officers, implementing agencies, and state urban development agency have been instructed to expedite the process of delivering the revised pension amounts to all eligible beneficiaries. West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta proposed the increase in monthly pensions for the elderly, widows, and the disabled by Rs 500 in the budget for the financial year 2026-27, with a formal notification issued by the state Panchayat Affairs & Rural Development Department.
