The State government will decide on hiking the monthly pension amount for the differently abled based on the Centre’s decision, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda told the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
In response to a question from BJP member Y.M. Satish, the Minister said Karnataka was among the States paying the highest number of pensions in the country.
“The State government is spending ₹10,500 crore towards social security pensions to about 78.14 lakh beneficiaries. During the pre-Budget meeting, I raised the issue of enhancing the contribution of the Centre towards pensions and increasing the number of persons eligible for pensions. The Centre’s contribution to pension was last revised in November 2012 and it is around ₹200 to ₹300 whereas the State contribution ranges from ₹1,400 to ₹2,000. Also, the Centre has accepted that only 13.96 lakh pensions need to be enhanced,” explained the Minister.
He said that the Union Finance Minister seemed convinced about the need to enhance the pension amount. “We will take the decision based on what the Centre decides on it.”
Earlier, Mr. Satish urged the government to enhance the disability pension of ₹1,400 to those with 40% to 75% physical disability and ₹2,000 provided to those suffering from over 75% disability or mental illness. “The pension was last revised in 2021 and it needs to be revised periodically,” he said.
