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Odisha has expanded its social security pension coverage by scrapping the quota system, bringing the total number of recipients under the state’s flagship Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY) to 4.18 million.
In a major policy shift aimed at ending the exclusion of eligible elderly people and other vulnerable sections due to administrative and beneficiary-quota restrictions, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday announced the inclusion of 505,817 additional beneficiaries under the MBPY scheme.
This marks the government’s move towards universal coverage of the pension scheme, backed by an additional annual budgetary provision of ₹625 crore. More significantly, the government has abolished the earlier quota-based system under which eligible applicants often had to wait indefinitely for a vacancy to emerge after a beneficiary’s death before being admitted to the pension rolls.
The expansion addressed one of the longstanding structural constraints in the delivery of social security benefits in Odisha, where a fixed ceiling on the number of beneficiaries at the state and district levels had restricted the inclusion of new applicants despite their eligibility.
Under the previous arrangement, the number of pension beneficiaries in a particular area was governed by a predetermined quota. A new applicant could be accommodated only when an existing pensioner died or vacated the position for another reason.
Consequently, even people who had attained the prescribed age or fulfilled other eligibility conditions had to remain on waiting lists, sometimes for years, without receiving financial assistance. The system effectively made the availability of a vacancy, rather than eligibility alone, a determining factor in accessing social security.
Addressing the gathering at a state-level programme in Baleshwar, Majhi said the era of waiting for government assistance had ended and a new chapter of respecting the rights of senior citizens and disadvantaged people had begun.
He said the earlier system had created an unnecessary barrier for deserving beneficiaries and that his government had decided to remove it completely. “The reform is significant for elderly people who cross the qualifying age threshold, widows, persons with disabilities and destitute individuals, for whom even a modest monthly pension provides an important source of financial support,” Majhi said.
The latest expansion takes the number of beneficiaries under MBPY from around 3.67 million to 4.18 million. The additional beneficiaries will require an estimated ₹625 crore annually from the state exchequer.
Defending the additional expenditure, the chief minister said it was inappropriate to make elderly citizens suffer for want of ₹500 crore-₹600 crore when substantial amounts were being spent on other government programmes. He described the additional allocation as an investment in the welfare, dignity and social security of senior citizens rather than a financial burden.
The expansion also fulfils the commitment made in the state Budget for 2026-27 to bring more eligible people under the social security umbrella. The government has now declared the MBPY scheme fully saturated, meaning that all identified eligible beneficiaries have been brought within its coverage.
According to data placed before the Odisha Assembly, 728,729 applications for social security pensions were awaiting approval. These included around 711,123 applications under the MBPY and another 17,606 under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP).
Earlier, around 3.67 million people were receiving pensions under MBPY and 1.92 million under NSAP. Ganjam district accounted for the highest number of pending applications, followed by Mayurbhanj, Kataka and Baleshwar.
Apart from the quota restrictions, application verification, administrative processing and coordination between implementing agencies had also influenced the pace of enrolment and delivery.
Odisha’s social security pension framework primarily rests on two major programmes — the state-funded MBPY and the Centre-sponsored NSAP. MBPY covers elderly people, widows, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable categories. The scheme was introduced in 2008 by merging two earlier state pension programmes — the Old Age Pension Scheme and the Odisha Disability Pension Scheme.
The second major programme is NSAP, which provides central assistance for old-age, widow and disability pensions through three principal components — Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS) and Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS).
These programmes operate alongside the state’s own pension arrangements, with the Centre and state governments sharing financial responsibility under NSAP. Monthly pension assistance across these programmes ranged from ₹1,000 to ₹1,200, with enhanced assistance of ₹3,500 for beneficiaries aged 80 years and above and persons with disabilities exceeding 80 per cent, effective from January 2025.
Alongside the expansion, the chief minister also launched the Unified Pension Management Portal (UPMP) to simplify the application, verification and disbursement process. He rolled out two months’ combined pension assistance and flagged off the MBPY awareness Rath.
The digital platform will provide a more streamlined interface for pension applicants and implementing authorities, reducing procedural difficulties and improving transparency in beneficiary management.
Eligible people can apply through the portal or approach their nearest Jan Seva Kendra or the office of the Block Development Officer (BDO). The government has assured that approved applicants will start receiving their pensions from the month immediately following their application.
Under the revised arrangement, beneficiaries attaining the age of 80 years will automatically become eligible for the enhanced monthly pension of ₹3,500 without having to submit a fresh application. This is expected to eliminate an additional layer of paperwork for elderly beneficiaries who otherwise have to navigate administrative procedures to access the higher pension entitlement.
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