The flagship scheme National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) represents a significant step towards the fulfilment of the Directive Principles in Article 41 and 42 of the Constitution recognizing the concurrent responsibility of the Central and the State Governments in the matter. In particular, Article 41 of the Constitution of India directs the State to provide public assistance to its citizens in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of undeserved want within the limit of its economic capacity and development.

The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) represents a significant step towards the fulfillment of the Directive Principles in Article 41 of the Constitution. The programme introduced a National Policy for Social Assistance for the poor and aims at ensuring minimum national standard for social assistance in addition to the benefits that states are currently providing or might provide in future.

• Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS)
• Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS)
• Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS)
• National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS)
• Annapurna Scheme

Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS)

• Minimum eligible age - 60 years
• Monthly pension - Rs 200 for persons between 60 years and 79 years of age
• For persons who are 80 years and above the pension is Rs 500 per month

Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS)

• Minimum eligible age - 40 years and the pension is- Rs 300 p.m
• After attaining the age of 80 years, the beneficiary will get Rs 500 p.m

Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS)

• Minimum age - 18 years
• Disability - 80% Minimum
• Monthly pension - Rs 300 up to the age of 80 years and afterwards Rs 500 per month
• Dwarfs will also be an eligible category for this pension

National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS)

• Rs 20,000 is given as a lump sum assistance to the bereaved household in the event of death of a bread-winner
• Any event of death (natural or otherwise) would make the family eligible for assistance
• A woman in the family, who is a home maker is also considered as a bread-winner for this purpose

Annapurna Scheme

• 10 kgs of rice per month is given per month per beneficiary
• The scheme aims at providing food security to meet the requirement of those eligible old aged persons who have remained uncovered under the IGNOAPS
• Allocation of rice is not received from last two years

• Applications are proactively collected by reaching out to households
• Application is verified with respect to facts regarding eligibility
• The list of eligible beneficiaries with recommendations of the verifying authority is discussed in Gram Sabha
• The final list is placed before the sanctioning authority

A web based MIS is has been developed by Ministry of Rural Development to maintain data of beneficiaries. The MIS can be accessed at http://nsap.nic.in. All the beneficiary data has been uploaded in the MIS.

Click here to go to MIS

Click here to download guideline