BHUBANESWAR: The state government has successfully disbursed pension benefits to more than 17.60 lakh beneficiaries under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), overcoming technical hurdles that had delayed payments during the transition to the new digital platform.
The disbursement of pension has brought relief to the beneficiaries including senior citizens, widows, and persons with disabilities (PwDs) living below poverty line (BPL) who were facing financial hardship for a living. While senior citizens and widows between 60 to 79 years are paid `1,000, those above 80 years of age get `3,500, per month.
Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities minister Nityananda Gond said the Ministry of Rural Development has selected the SNA-SPARSH platform for implementation of NSAP from the 2026-27 financial year.
However, the transition to the new system required extensive technical integration of the central government’s NSAP portal with the state’s Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) payment infrastructure.
The minister said pension disbursement initially faced delays due to technical glitches arising from the integration process. However, following the completion of preparatory work and successful system integration, direct transactions under the new framework have commenced.
Under the centrally-sponsored NSAP scheme, Odisha has a total of 19,22,525 beneficiaries. Of these, 17,60,435 beneficiaries, accounting for 91.5 per cent of the total, have already received their pension payments, including arrears for previous two months.
The payments released cover pensions for April and May 2026, while the process of disbursing pensions for June is currently underway. Gond said the state government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, is working diligently to ensure a smooth transition to the new payment mechanism and timely transfer of benefits to eligible beneficiaries.
Reiterating the government’s commitment to social security, the minister said efforts were underway to ensure that all remaining beneficiaries receive their dues at the earliest and the future pension payments are credited on schedule through the newly-integrated digital system.