Current Affairs

Centre renames three pension schemes that carried Indira Gandhi's name

15-10-2026 · English

Centre renames three pension schemes that carried Indira Gandhi's name

Topics: Welfare Schemes · 15 October 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)

News

While approving the continuation of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) for 2026–31 on 14 Oct 2026, the Union Cabinet renamed three pension schemes that carried Indira Gandhi's name: Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme → 'PM Vridhavastha Pension Yojana'; Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme → 'PM Vidhawa Pension Yojana'; Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme → 'PM Divyangjan Pension Yojana'. NSAP became 'PM Samajik Sahayata Yojana' and the National Family Benefit Scheme 'PM Parivar Labh Yojana' – 5 renamings in all.

Key facts

Old ageIGNOAPS → PM Vridhavastha Pension (60–79: ₹200; 80+: ₹500)
WidowIGNWPS → PM Vidhawa Pension (age 40–79, ₹300)
DisabilityIGNDPS → PM Divyangjan Pension (40% disability, from birth; ₹375 / ₹625)
Other renamingsNSAP → PM Samajik Sahayata Yojana; NFBS → PM Parivar Labh Yojana
Outlay₹53,428 crore (2026–27 to 2030–31); about 3.2 crore beneficiaries

Background

  • History: NSAP began on 15 Aug 1995 with three parts – the National Old Age Pension (NOAPS), National Family Benefit (NFBS) and National Maternity Benefit (NMBS); in 2007 NOAPS was renamed after Indira Gandhi and extended to all BPL persons; the widow and disability pensions were started as new schemes in 2009.
  • Other renamings: MGNREGA was replaced in 2025 by the 'VB-G RAM G' Act (guaranteed work raised from 100 to 125 days); Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana → PM Matru Vandana Yojana (2017).
  • Indira Gandhi: India's first (and so far only) woman PM (1966–77, 1980–84); the 'Garibi Hatao' slogan (1971); bank nationalisation in 1969; Bharat Ratna in 1971.

Tamil Nadu link: Tamil Nadu adds its own top-up to the central pension and pays social-security pensions to the elderly, widows and the disabled through its Revenue Department. (The continuation and disability-pension changes were item 6 of the 14.10.2026 set.)

Source: Business Standard, Outlook Money, Oneindia Tamil, 14–15 Oct 2026; Wikipedia

Join our UPSC classroom or online batch: UPSC coaching in Coimbatore · Fees · Call 99941 46662.

Share with friends & study groups
Link to this page from your website / blog (HTML code)
More news from the same day
› CM Vijay releases Tamil Nadu Semiconductor Ecosystem Scheme – State incentives on top of 'Semicon India 2.0' › Himachal Pradesh's first battery-integrated solar project opened in Spiti valley › Proposed bauxite mine in Odisha's Balda hills threatens the rare Jeypore ground gecko › Gujarat's Barda Wildlife Sanctuary emerging as a second home for Asiatic lions › DRDO successfully tests Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) platform on a live network at Chandipur, Odisha › Jindal Steel Limited wins worldsteel's 2026 Steelie Award for 'Excellence in People' › India's largest integrated phenol–acetone plant opens at Haldia › IMF, World Bank and Bank of Thailand release the 'Bangkok Blueprint for Fraud-Resilient Financial Services' All current affairs →

TNPSC Achievers

  • P. VISALACHI

    TNPSC TNPSC