An activist of Pension Parishad, an initiative to ensure universal pension to all workers in India, told IANS: "Under the Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme those above 60 get Rs.200 a month and those above 80 get Rs.500 per month as pension.
"This amount is too less and the scheme covers only below-poverty line citizens. Only 18 million of the elderly population benefit from this scheme. We are demanding a programme for pension irrespective of whether a person belongs to below poverty line or above poverty line."
The activist who did not want to be named said union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that the Rs.200 pension amount was "an insult" to the individual since it's too low an amount.
While the Pension Parishad, of which social activist Aruna Roy is a member, is fighting for reducing the age limit for pensions to 55, Minister Jairam Ramesh is not in agreement. He wants it to remain at 60 years.
