The Cabinet decision of 14 October 2026 continues the National Social Assistance Programme for 2026-27 to 2030-31, with ₹53,428 crore allocated. It also renames the programme Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana. The main substantive revision concerns disability pension: the benchmark becomes 40 per cent under the disability-rights law of 2016, replacing 80 per cent. The former minimum age of 18 is removed. Approved central monthly assistance is ₹375 for ages 0-79 and ₹625 from 80 years. Disability-scheme coverage rises from 8.33 lakh to 27.48 lakh.
Cabinet Continuation and Revised Scheme Names
On 14 October 2026, the Union Cabinet accepted the Department of Rural Development’s continuation proposal. Funding of ₹53,428 crore supports the period 2026-27 through 2030-31. The approval combines programme continuation with changes to its name and disability-pension provisions.
The decision has distinct parts: a new umbrella name and component names, revised disability-pension eligibility and assistance, and continuation of the other benefits on their existing terms. Keeping these elements separate helps explain which entitlements change and which remain in place.
The umbrella programme is Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana. Its components are Pradhan Mantri Vridhavastha Pension Yojana for older people, Pradhan Mantri Vidhawa Pension Yojana for widows, Pradhan Mantri Divyangjan Pension Yojana for persons with disabilities, and Pradhan Mantri Parivar Labh Yojana for family benefit.
The old-age, widow and family-benefit components retain their existing form. Disability pension is the component with approved changes to the qualifying disability threshold, age condition, beneficiary coverage and central assistance. The new names alone should therefore be distinguished from a change in every benefit.
How the Social Assistance Framework Operates
NSAP began on 15 August 1995. It gives effect to Article 41 of the Constitution concerning public assistance in circumstances such as old age, sickness and disability. The centrally sponsored programme provides 100 per cent central assistance for its central benefit. It establishes at least a minimum level of support for eligible below-poverty-line households in rural as well as urban areas.
The components have different purposes. Old-age, widow and disability benefits are recurring monthly pensions. Family benefit is a single payment following the death of the household’s primary breadwinner. Applicants need to identify the appropriate component rather than assume that all support is paid as a pension.
States and Union Territories administer the benefits, usually through social welfare departments. Other implementing arrangements involve rural development, women and child development, revenue or labour departments. Panchayats and urban local bodies assist with identifying beneficiaries, while payments are made predominantly through direct benefit transfer.
State additions supplement the central amount. The backgrounder reports that, in September 2026, top-ups ranged from ₹50 to ₹5700 per beneficiary each month, with pensions around ₹1100 in most states and Union Territories. The central assistance is a baseline, so the total received depends on the applicable state contribution.
Earlier coverage was about 3.09 crore beneficiaries, subject to component-wise ceilings. The allocation for 2025-26 was ₹9,652 crore, including ₹290 crore for disability pension. The approval dated 14 October 2026 places overall coverage at 3.20 crore across 36 states and Union Territories.
Disability pension was introduced in February 2009 under the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme. The earlier framework used severe disability, defined in Section 2(o) of the National Trust Act 1999 at 80 per cent or more. Pension eligibility accordingly required 80 per cent disability and an age of at least 18 years. Central monthly support was ₹300 up to age 79 and ₹500 from 80 years.
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 implements the relevant United Nations convention. Section 2(r) defines benchmark disability as not less than 40 per cent of a specified disability, certified by the designated authority. That definition provides the standard used for the revised pension threshold.
The change aligns the pension with the benchmark in the 2016 Act. Eligibility based on 40 per cent disability broadens the qualifying threshold from the earlier severe-disability condition, while certification and the household’s poverty status remain relevant.
Under the 14 October 2026 decision, Pradhan Mantri Divyangjan Pension Yojana removes the minimum age requirement and extends eligibility from birth. Approved central payments become ₹375 monthly through age 79 and ₹625 from age 80. The component’s beneficiary figure increases from 8.33 lakh to 27.48 lakh.
The government said revised guidelines covering eligibility, beneficiary numbers and assistance rates would be issued and implemented within three months. Applicants should distinguish this approved policy decision from the detailed implementation instructions to be issued through the welfare system.
Who Benefits from the Approved Changes
People in below-poverty-line households certified with disability between 40 and 79 per cent come within the expanded threshold approved on 14 October 2026. This is the group newly included by the change from severe disability to benchmark disability.
Children with certified benchmark disability in eligible poor households can qualify from birth under the approved rules. Their families previously had to wait until the child reached 18. The removal of that age condition is separate from the change in disability percentage.
Existing pension recipients also benefit from higher central assistance. The approved monthly rates of ₹375 and ₹625 apply according to the relevant age category, while the implementation guidelines set out the revised arrangements.
Disability certification is still required because the 2016 Act uses an assessed and certified percentage. The household must remain below the poverty line. Applications continue through state welfare administration, so the approved expansion does not remove these conditions or create automatic payment to every person with a disability.
Alignment with the Wider Disability-Rights Framework
Census 2011 counted 2.68 crore persons with disabilities, representing 2.21 per cent of the population. The schedule to the 2016 Act recognises 21 specified disability types. These background figures explain the wider policy context rather than identify the scheme’s enrolled beneficiaries.
The 2016 Act took effect on 19 April 2017. Its 40 per cent benchmark is used across specified disability entitlements. The decision of 14 October 2026 brings disability pension into alignment with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, alongside the framework already relevant to areas such as education, public employment and housing.
The forthcoming revised guidelines will bring the qualifying conditions, coverage and rates together. Beneficiaries should use those official instructions and the relevant state welfare department’s process when checking implementation of Pradhan Mantri Divyangjan Pension Yojana.
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Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry Sources
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