Hike in pension for senior citizens and widows

Tue, Mar 25 01:20 AM

BUDGET 2008 brings with it a hike in pension amount for senior citizens. Pensioners would now get Rs 600 per month as compared to Rs 400 before the announcement.

The government has also decided to further enhance the monthly pension for widows from Rs 600 to Rs 1,000 per month. In addition to this, the eligibility condition of employment exchange registration for two years has also been removed and their allowance has been increased from Rs 600 to Rs 1,000 per month from April 1.

The Ladli Scheme for promotion of sex ratio, institutional birth and education of girls also got a big boost. Under this scheme, at the time of birth of a girl child in a hospital or nursing home in Delhi, a sum of Rs 11,000 will be deposited in the child's name.

In addition to this, another sum of Rs 5,000 will be deposited each time the girl gets admission in standard I, VI and IX. Once she passes her Class X examination and gets admission in Class XII, an amount of Rs 5,000 will be deposited again.

The amount will be redeemed at about Rs one lakh once the girl reaches the age of 18 years. The state share of Anganwadi workers has also been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000.

They will now get Rs 2,500 per month from April. The number of Anganwadi centres in the city has also been increased from 4,428 to 6,106 to provide essential nutrients to needy children and women.

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