RANCHI: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren announced on Friday that the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led government will soon
lower
the
age limit
for the state’s old-age pension from 60 years to 50 for SCs, STs and OBCs.
“Neighbouring states like Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Bengal are providing monthly pensions of Rs 250-Rs 300 to senior citizens. However, we are giving out Rs 1,000.
Now, we are going a step further and reducing the age limit to 50 years for Adivasi and Dalit beneficiaries,” the JMM leader told an event in Ranchi to mark four years of Grand Alliance government.
Currently, the state runs a universal monthly pension scheme for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, single women, widows and abandoned women, covering around 36 lakh beneficiaries.
On the occasion, Soren handed over letters to lab technicians, trained graduate teachers and over 300 health department officials, besides inaugurating infrastructure projects worth Rs 4,500 crore. “We are giving away government jobs to nearly 7,000 beneficiaries today,” the chief minister said.
Soren also unveiled plans to recruit cooks in colleges and universities in the state’s hinterlands. “Our children in far-flung areas have to cook their meals and carry them to colleges. They lose valuable time for studies. Now, we will be hiring cooks so that they can get their meals in their institutes and need not worry about cooking,” the CM said.
