The Andhra Pradesh government distributed social security pensions to 50.40 lakh beneficiaries on Monday. The volunteers handed over pensions worth ₹1280.20 crore to beneficiaries by 5.30 p.m.
The volunteers covered 80.28% of the total beneficiaries on the first day of distribution of pensions at the door steps. The distribution of social security pensions began at the dawn and continued till evening.
Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister B. Mutyala Naidu said that the government had allocated ₹1596.76 crore for 62.79 lakh pensioners this month. The amount was deposited into the accounts of secretaries of village and ward secretariats.
The government is implementing an Artificial Intelligence-based Real Time Beneficiary Identification System (RBIS) for authentication of the pensioners. If both systems—biometric and RBIS—fail to authenticate the identities of beneficiaries, the authorised biometric of the family members of the pensioner would be considered.
Social security pensions are being given to old age persons, widows, toddy tappers, weavers, single women, fishermen, ART (PLHIV) persons , traditional cobblers, disabled persons, transgenders and Dappu artists.