Karnataka Extends Social Security Pensions for Beneficiaries With Annual Income Up to ₹1.20 Lakh

BENGALURU — The Karnataka Revenue Department has officially ordered the continuation of social security pensions for eligible beneficiaries whose verified annual income ranges from above ₹32,000 up to ₹1.20 lakh. The decision applies to major welfare programs, including old-age, widow, and disability pension schemes.

Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara announced the decision on Wednesday, noting that the annual income ceiling for these schemes had remained capped at ₹32,000 for a prolonged period. This outdated limit had resulted in the exclusion of lakhs of residents from receiving financial assistance. By raising the annual income limit to ₹1.20 lakh, the state administration aims to address a long-pending issue for program applicants.

The policy update follows a data integration exercise conducted by the Revenue Department, which merged the State's Family Database with existing pension beneficiary records. This integration flagged over 23.14 lakh beneficiaries as doubtful cases. To manage the review process, the department developed the 'Samyojane' mobile application to assist with physical verification.

During the verification drive, pensions for more than 18.06 lakh beneficiaries were temporarily suspended. These suspensions occurred because individuals failed to produce required documents, were absent from their registered addresses, or did not submit income verification certificates.

Village Administrative Officers utilized the Samyojane app to conduct physical checks, after which concerned Tahsildars were instructed to complete further verification according to established rules. Physical checks of the 23,14,544 flagged cases revealed that a segment of beneficiaries earned above the historical ₹32,000 ceiling but remained below the updated ₹1.20 lakh limit.

Following directions from Deputy Chief Minister Parameshwara, the Revenue Department has formally issued an order to sustain pension disbursements for eligible individuals among these flagged cases, subject to standard verification and fulfillment of prescribed conditions.

"Revising eligibility income thresholds in public welfare schemes is a critical administrative step for aligning financial support with ground-level economic realities. For state programs, modernizing verification processes through dedicated digital tools like mobile apps ensures better resource allocation and transparency while safeguarding benefits for genuinely eligible populations." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes