Government Schemes and Allowances

SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE to every local physically challenged person The State Government of Sikkim through the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment & Welfare provides a sum of rupees 600/- per month as SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE to every local physically challenged person whose degree of disability has been assessed to be 40% and above. Criteria for the Scheme:   Applicant should be local having Sikkim Subject Certificate or Certificate of Identification. Degree of disability as assessed by the Medical Specialist concerned should be 40% and above. Applicant should belong to Below Poverty Line (BPL) family. Documents required:  Disability Certificate. Copy of SSC/COI. Income Certificate. Passport size Photograph (3 nos.). An application Form is available at the respective Office of the BDOs and, the office of the Social Welfare Officers and also from at Social Welfare Division at Head Quarter, Gangtok.

Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme The Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme is provided to widows in the age group of 40 to 64 years belonging to a household of Below Poverty Line category. The Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India provides a sum of Rs. 200/- per month. In addition to this the State Government too grants an amount of Rs. 300/- per month, thus a beneficiary receives an amount of Rs. 500/- per month.

Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension (IGNOAP) The Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme is provided to persons above the age of 65 and belonging to a household of Below Poverty Line category. The Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India provides a sum of Rs. 200/- per month. In addition to this the State Government too grants an amount of Rs. 400/- per month, thus a beneficiary receives an amount of Rs. 600/- per month. Specific Conditions: For purposes of claiming assistance under IGNOAP, the following are the criteria : Minimum age of the applicant (male or female) shall be 65 years or higher belonging to a household of BPL category. The applicant must be a destitute in the sense of having little or no regular means of subsistence from his/her own sources of income or through financial support from family members or other sources. In order to determine destitution, the criteria, if any, currently in force in the State/UT Government of India reserves the right to review these criteria and suggest appropriate revised criteria. Village Panchayats and relevant Municipalities shall report every case of the death of a pensioner immediately after its occurrence to the appropriate sanctioning authority. The sanctioning authority shall ensure that payments are stopped thereafter. The sanctioning authority shall have the right to stop/recover payments of any pension sanctioned on the basis of false or mistaken information about eligibility.

Scheme for Providing Pension to Unmarried Women (45 years and above) The Sikkim government has announced a monthly pension of Rs 500 for single women aged between 45 and 60 years with BPL cards. The pension will be stopped when a beneficiary becomes 60 or gets married. “The scheme is applicable to those aged between 45 to 59. Once the unmarried women attain the age of 60 years, they will be entitled to the benefits of old age pension. To avail themselves of the scheme, women should fill up a form at the local BDO office and produce the required documents along with a bank account number.  Online application form can be downloaded from this link: http://www.sikkimsocialwelfare.in/General/SocialWelfare/PDF/Forms/Pension_Unmarried_Women.pdf

National Family Benefit Scheme Under the National Family Benefit (NFBS), A ONE TIME GRANT OF Rs. 10, 000/- is provided to a family living below poverty line. This is provided on the demise of the primary breadwinner in the bereaved family. The death of such primary breadwinner should have occurred while he or she is within the age group of 18 to 64 years of age. Specific Conditions: For purposes of determining Central assistance for NFBS the following criteria shall apply: The ‘primary breadwinner’ will be the member of the household-male or female-whose earnings contribute substantially to the total household income. Death of such a primary breadwinner should have occurred whilst he or she is in the age group of 18 to 64 years i.e. more than 18 years of age and less than 65 years of age. The bereaved household qualifies for assistance if it is below poverty line according to the criterion prescribed by the Government of India. The Central assistance under the scheme will be Rs. 10,000/- of the primary breadwinner. The family benefit will be paid to such surviving member of the household of the deceased who, after due local inquiry, is determined to be the head of the household. For the purpose of the Scheme, the term ’household’ would include spouse, minor children, unmarried daughters and dependent parents. In case of death of an unmarried adult, the term household would include minor brothers/sisters. The sanctioning authority shall have the right to recover payments made on the basis of false or mistaken information about eligibility. Application form can be download from this link: http://www.sikkimsocialwelfare.in/General/SocialWelfare/PDF/Forms/NFBS.pdf