BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that in the next budget, the old-age pension will be hiked from the existing Rs 1,200 per month. He was speaking at an event organised by the departments of Women and Child Welfare and Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens on the International Day of Older Persons on Sunday.
Earlier in the event, Minister for Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens Lakshmi Hebbalkar told Siddaramaiah, “There are over 48 lakh people aged above 60 in the state and getting the old-age pension of Rs 1,200 per month. The elderly have sought that it be increased to Rs 2,000.”
Siddaramaiah said the government will increase the old-age pension in the state budget 2024-25 but did not confirm what the revised pension amount would be. “We must treat our senior citizens with respect. We must follow their ideals. That is the biggest honour we can give them,” he said. Everyone should live as a ‘universal man’ and leave this world as a ‘universal man, he added.