On 14 October 2026 the Union Cabinet approved the continuation of the National Social Assistance Programme for five years, and renamed it. NSAP is now the Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana, and all four of its pension schemes carry new names with it.
The approval runs from 2026-27 to 2030-31 with an outlay of Rs 53,428 crore, and takes the programme's coverage to 3.20 crore beneficiaries across all 36 States and Union Territories.
Most of what you will read about this decision gets one thing wrong, so it is worth stating plainly at the top: three of the four pensions did not change at all. Only the disability pension was revised. The rest is a renaming.
The four new names
| What it was called | What it is called now | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Old Age Pension (IGNOAPS) | Pradhan Mantri Vridhavastha Pension Yojana | Elderly persons below the poverty line |
| Widow Pension (IGNWPS) | Pradhan Mantri Vidhawa Pension Yojana | Widows below the poverty line |
| Disability Pension (IGNDPS) | Pradhan Mantri Divyangjan Pension Yojana | Persons with benchmark disability, BPL |
| Family Benefit Scheme | Pradhan Mantri Parivar Labh Yojana | One-time benefit on a breadwinner's death |
If you are already drawing one of these pensions, the new name changes nothing about your entitlement. You do not re-apply, and you do not need a new sanction order.
What actually changed, and what did not
| Item | Status after 14 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Old age pension | Continues in its existing form — no change |
| Widow pension | Continues in its existing form — no change |
| Family benefit | Continues in its existing form — no change |
| Disability pension | Revised — eligibility, age and rate all changed |
| Programme name and sub-scheme names | Renamed |
| Funding pattern | Still 100 per cent central assistance |
The Divyangjan pension: three real changes
This is the substance of the decision, and it is a large one. Until now the disability pension used the definition of severe disability in Section 2(o) of the National Trust Act 1999 — 80 per cent or more. A person assessed at 50 or 60 per cent got nothing.
- The bar drops from 80 per cent to 40 per cent. The pension now uses benchmark disability under Section 2(r) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 — not less than 40 per cent of a specified disability, as certified by the certifying authority.
- The minimum age of 18 is removed. Eligibility now runs from birth. A child with a benchmark disability certificate in a BPL household is eligible, where the family previously had to wait until the child turned 18.
- The central rate goes up. From Rs 300 to Rs 375 a month for ages 0–79, and from Rs 500 to Rs 625 a month at 80 and above.
The effect on coverage is the number worth remembering. Beneficiaries under this sub-scheme rise from 8.33 lakh to 27.48 lakh — more than three times as many people.
What you will actually be paid
Here is the part almost every page on this subject skips. Rs 375 is not your pension. It is the floor.
The Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana pays central assistance, and States and Union Territories add their own top-up on top of it. As on September 2026 those top-ups ranged from Rs 50 to Rs 5,700 per month per beneficiary, which puts the average monthly pension at around Rs 1,100 in most States and UTs.
So two people with identical certificates and identical BPL status, one in Andhra Pradesh and one in another State, can receive very different amounts. The central component is the same everywhere; the State component is not. When you check what you are entitled to, check your State's rate, not the central figure.
Who gains from the 40 per cent change
Three groups, and they are worth keeping separate because the action each needs to take is different.
- Persons certified between 40 and 79 per cent, in BPL households. These people were excluded by the old 80 per cent rule and are now inside the scheme. This is the largest group, and it is the one that has to make a fresh application.
- Children, from birth. A child holding a benchmark disability certificate in a BPL household now qualifies. The family no longer waits for the 18th birthday.
- Persons already drawing the pension. They move to the enhanced rates of Rs 375 and Rs 625. No fresh application; the revision should reach them through the existing sanction.
Three conditions are unchanged for all three groups. A disability certificate is still required, because benchmark disability is a percentage certified by a certifying authority and not a self-declaration. The household must still be below the poverty line. And the application route is still the State welfare department.
How to apply — and the mistake to avoid
There is no central application portal for these pensions, and no "PM Samajik Sahayata Yojana" website that accepts forms. Any page offering you an online application link for this scheme is not describing how it works.
The schemes are implemented by States and Union Territories, mainly through their social welfare departments, and in several States through the rural development, women and child development, revenue or labour departments. The practical route is:
- Get the disability certificate if you do not already hold one, from the certifying authority — usually the district medical board. With the bar at 40 per cent, many people who were told years ago that they did not qualify now will.
- Confirm the household's BPL status in the State records. This is the condition that fails most applications.
- Apply through your Gram Panchayat or municipality, or the State social welfare office. Panchayats and municipalities take an active part in identifying beneficiaries, which is why the local office is the right first stop rather than a State headquarters.
- Give a bank account you control. Payment is largely by direct benefit transfer.
When the new rates start
Not immediately, and this matters if you are about to apply. The Cabinet approved the decision on 14 October 2026, and the PIB release states that revised guidelines carrying the eligibility criteria, the number of beneficiaries and the rates of assistance will be issued and implemented within three months.
Three months from 14 October 2026 is mid-January 2027. Until those guidelines are issued, the district office may still be working to the 80 per cent rule, simply because the instruction has not reached it yet. If you are in the 40–79 per cent band, start collecting the certificate and the BPL proof now, so that the application is ready the day the guidelines land.
What the programme is, for context
The National Social Assistance Programme was launched on 15 August 1995. It gives effect to Article 41 of the Constitution, which directs the State to provide public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement.
It is a fully funded centrally sponsored scheme carrying 100 per cent central assistance, so that a person below the poverty line receives at least a minimum support anywhere in the country. It covers both rural and urban areas, and the common condition across every component is that the household is below the poverty line.
The programme covered about 3.09 crore beneficiaries and was allocated Rs 9,652 crore for 2025-26, of which the disability pension accounted for Rs 290 crore. The 14 October approval raises coverage to 3.20 crore.
Why the 40 per cent figure, and not some other number
Because 40 per cent is already the measure used everywhere else. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 came into force on 19 April 2017, and since then its 40 per cent benchmark has governed disability entitlements in higher education, government employment, and land and housing. Its Schedule specifies 21 types of disability.
The disability pension, introduced in February 2009 as the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme, was the outlier still running on the 1999 Act's 80 per cent test. The 14 October decision brings the government's oldest social assistance programme onto the same measure as the rest of the welfare system.
For scale: Census 2011 recorded 2.68 crore persons with disabilities in India, 2.21 per cent of the population.
Questions people are getting wrong
"Did the old age pension amount increase?" No. The old age pension, the widow pension and the family benefit scheme continue in their existing form. Only the disability pension rate was revised.
"Is there a new scheme to apply for?" No. This is the same programme under a new name, plus a revision to one of its four components. There is no new registration.
"I was rejected before at 50 per cent disability. Can I apply again?" Yes, and you should. The 80 per cent rule that rejected you has been replaced by a 40 per cent benchmark. Wait for the revised guidelines, and apply with your certificate and BPL proof.
"Will I get Rs 375 or Rs 1,100?" Rs 375 is the central assistance. What reaches your account is that plus whatever your State adds, and State top-ups ran from Rs 50 to Rs 5,700 a month as on September 2026.