The Sevana pension plan is a scheme adopted by the government of the state of Kerala with the aim of eradicating poverty. India is rapidly growing in terms of their economy but poverty still remains one of its biggest challenge. One of the main reason that India still faces this challenge is considered to the existing corruption in the administrative level. Generally corruption leads to divert the allocated funds which brings in problems like late payment or pension or duplication of the certificates and so on. The state of Kerala is one of the few states which took this matter seriously and adopted a scheme with tremendous results in the recent years. They were successful in minimizing the rate of poverty with the help of this scheme in their state.
The Sevana pension scheme is program which aims at distributing benefits to the people living below the poverty line in order for their welfare. The main goal of establishing this scheme was provide all the services related to social security given by the local government effectively. This includes total 7 types of plans among which there are 6 kinds of pension which is divided among 16 lac under-privileged class within the state for their benefit. The benefits of the social security services are distributed through local bodies such as Municipalities, the Grama Panchayats and the Corporations which use this scheme.
Schemes of the Sevana Pension Plan
The following list contains the schemes related to this welfare pension plan.
- Agriculture labor pension
- National old age pension
- Pension to mentally challenged persons
- Pension to physically challenged persons
- Pension to unmarried Women above 50 years
- Unemployment wages
- Widow pension
National Pension for the Old Age
The Department of Revenue of the State Government looked after the “Indira Gandhi National Old age pension” initially. But later on, they were vested on the Local Self Government Institutions according to the updated regulations. The parents are eligible for this pension even if they have any elder son who is capable of taking care of them. The amount of the pension is 1100 rupees and the people above 70 can avail 1500 rupees.
Conditions of Eligibility
The following conditions are to be met in order to avail this scheme.
- The minimum age has to be of 60 years or more
- Applicant must be below the poverty line
- Annual income of the family has to be Rs.1,00,000 or less
- Must be a permanent citizen of the state of Kerala for at least 10 years
- Anyone who has applied for or is receiving any other Welfare programs cannot ask for this program
- If the person has a habit of begging, they are not allowed to have this pension
- If the applicant belongs to a poor home, then he or she not eligible for this pension
The copy of the application is recreated below for reference.
Pension Scheme for the Widow
The Department of Social Welfare of the State Government looked after the “Widow Pension” according to the Sevana pension scheme. But later on, they were vested on the Local Self Government Institutions according to the updated regulations. The amount of the pension is 1100 rupees.
Conditions of Eligibility
The following conditions are to be met in order to avail this scheme.
- The applicant has to be a widow or someone divorced
- The applicant cannot be someone who has remarried
- The minimum age has to be of 60 years or more
- Applicant must be below the poverty line
- Annual income of the family has to be Rs.1,00,000 or less
- Must be a permanent citizen of the state of Kerala for at least 10 years
- Anyone who has applied for or is receiving any other Welfare programs cannot ask for this program
- If the person has a habit of begging, they are not allowed to have this pension
- If the applicant belongs to a poor home, then he or she not eligible for this pension
The copy of the application is recreated below for reference.
Pension Scheme for Unmarried Women above 50 Years
The Sevana pension scheme also covers the pension given to the women who are above 50 and still unmarried. This scheme is looked after by the State Government via the Government Order whose number is “GO (MS) 14/2001” starting from 2011, 31st March. The amount of the pension is 1100 rupees.
Conditions of Eligibility
The following conditions are to be met in order to avail this scheme.
- The minimum has to be 50 or more
- The applicant has to be an unmarried woman
- Applicant must be below the poverty line
- Annual income of the family has to be Rs.1,00,000 or less
- Must be a permanent citizen of the state of Kerala for at least 10 years
- Anyone who has applied for or is receiving any other Welfare programs cannot ask for this program
- If the person has a habit of begging, they are not allowed to have this pension
- If the applicant belongs to a poor home, then he or she not eligible for this pension
The copy of the application is recreated below for reference.
Pension Scheme for the Handicapped People
The medical officers work in the primary health care centers in order to examine and verify the physically or mentally handicapped people who wants to apply for this pension scheme. At the moment, the local government has been made in charge with the task or getting the application, processing the application, approving it and finally disburse the payment of the pension. People who are incapable by 40 percent are eligible for this Sevana pension. The amount of the pension is 1100 rupees. However, those who are handicapped above 80 percent are eligible for 1300 rupees of pension.
Conditions of Eligibility
The following conditions are to be met in order to avail this scheme.
- The applicant has to submit a certificate which verifies his or her disability
- Applicant must be below the poverty line
- Annual income of the family has to be Rs.1,00,000 or less
- Must be a permanent citizen of the state of Kerala for at least 10 years
- Anyone who has applied for or is receiving any other Welfare programs cannot ask for this program
- If the person has a habit of begging, they are not allowed to have this pension
- If the applicant belongs to a poor home, then he or she not eligible for this pension
The copy of the application is recreated below for reference.
Pension Scheme for the Agriculture Labor
The Department of Labor of the State Government looked after the “Agriculture Labor Pension” according to the Sevana Pension scheme. But later on, they were vested on the Local Self Government Institutions according to the updated regulations. At the moment, the local government has been made in charge with the task or getting the application, processing the application, approving it and finally disburse the payment of the pension. The amount of the pension is 1100 rupees.
Conditions of Eligibility
The following conditions are to be met in order to avail this scheme.
- The applicant must be a farmer or give agriculture labor under the supervision of landowners for at least 10 years or more.
- Has to be a member of the “Kerala Agricultural Workers Welfare Fund”
- The applicant cannot be any laborer working in the plantations
- The minimum age has to be of 60 years or more
- Applicant must be below the poverty line
- Annual income of the family has to be Rs.1,00,000 or less
- Must be a permanent citizen of the state of Kerala for at least 10 years
- Anyone who has applied for or is receiving any other Welfare programs cannot ask for this program
- If the person has a habit of begging, they are not allowed to have this pension
- If the applicant belongs to a poor home, then he or she not eligible for this pension
The copy of the application is recreated below for reference.
Process of Applying for the Pension Plans
Follow the steps given below in order to apply for the Sevana Pension plans.
Step 1: The form of application must be filled up with the necessary information accordingly.
Step 2: The applicant must submit their applications to the local bodies nearest to them. For example, the Grama Panchayat or the Corporation Secretary or the Municipality.
Step 3: It will take 45 days to conduct the enquiry of the application starting from the day of submission. The list of the beneficiaries has to be finalized within a span of 45 days starting from the day of receiving the receipt after the enquiry is done.
Step 4: Any appeal made against the list of the beneficiary will have to be submitted within a span of 30 days to the respective District Collector so that the Government can process the appeal and take the proper decision.
Step 5: On the basis of the availability of the fund, the applicant, after being approved, will begin to receiver his or her due pension from the first week of the following month.
Step 6: For the Sevana pension scheme, a fixed amount of pension will be approved for the pensioners and will be distributed accordingly by the Government of the state of Kerala.
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