Decode Politics: Why Congress is showcasing Jharkhand pension scheme as a ‘game changer’ The All India Congress Committee (AICC) recently highlighted the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government’s pension scheme, calling it a “groundbreaking moment” in India’s social security architecture. The AICC’s general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said Jharkhand is showing the path ahead for India, even as he praised the efforts of the JMM-Congress coalition government in the state, which is going to the Assembly polls on November 13 and November 20.
Various states give pensions to a large number of people. However, Jharkhand, which has an estimated population of 4 crore, is one of the leading states on this score as it What is significant about the First, the Soren government has increased the pension provided by the Centre under the National Social Have there been any hiccups in Despite the Jharkhand government’s move to conduct the “Sarkar Aapke Dwar” programme – the doorstep delivery of government schemes – thrice in all districts involving a majority of the panchayats, there have been gaps in the coverage of the pension scheme due to mismatch in the Aadhaar data leading to the exclusion of many beneficiaries.
Sources said that despite the state’s efforts, thousands have been out of the pension scheme as certain discrepancies in data, such as age, could not be rectified in many cases leading to non-opening of their bank accounts. Many widows have been excluded from the pension umbrella due to the cumbersome process of obtaining the death certificates of their husbands. Some activists had written to former Women, Child, Development and Social Security Minister Jobha Manjhi to empower the village headmen to attest for the correctness of age or husbands’ deaths among others for expediting the redressal of the pension beneficiaries’ grievances.
However, the government has not accepted their suggestion so far.