Now, pension for unmarried women of BPL families

The scheme, expected to come into force this financial year, envisages payment of Rs 1,000 as monthly pension to the eligible beneficiaries.

Unmarried women of the below poverty line (BPL) families in the age group 45-60 years without any source of income are eligible for the scheme. They should not have been covered by any other existing pension schemes of the State or Central government. Women lodged in destitute homes run by the government or government aided private institutions are also not eligible. However, if there are more than one eligible woman in a family, they are also eligible to receive pension.

Women suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS, cardiac problems, aplasic anaemia, haemophilia, thalassemia, etc, are eligible for the social security benefit if their applications are supported by medical certificates issued by a competent authority. The applicants must be residents of Karnataka at least for the past 10 years.

The State government had intended to launch the scheme in urban areas. However the plan
had to be shelved due to the difficulty in identifying the beneficiaries in cities and towns. The eligible beneficiaries in villages can be identified with the help of anganwadi workers and gram panchayats.  The Department of Women and Child Development has directed its officials to carry out an urgent survey of the prospective beneficiaries to finalise the modalities.