Old Age Assistance Scheme (Old Age Pension), Andaman and Nicobar Islands

What is the Old Age Assistance Scheme in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands?

Old Age Assistance Scheme is the social security pension run by the Directorate of Social Welfare, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, for elderly residents of the islands who have little or no income of their own. Readers often search for it as the "old age pension" or "vridha pension" of Andaman and Nicobar; the scheme's official name in Administration records is the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Old Age Assistance Scheme.

Old Age Assistance Scheme pays a fixed monthly amount to every sanctioned beneficiary. According to the scheme details published for the Union Territory, the assistance is Rs 2,500 per month for beneficiaries in the 60 to 79 age group and Rs 3,000 per month for beneficiaries aged 80 years and above. The higher slab starts automatically once the beneficiary's records show that they have crossed 80, so no fresh application is needed for the upgrade.

The Union Territory scheme sits alongside the centrally sponsored National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), under which the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme is also administered locally by the Directorate of Social Welfare. The Administration's own rates are substantially higher than the bare central NSAP contribution because the UT budget tops them up. In practice an applicant files one application with the Social Welfare office and the Directorate decides which head the sanction falls under.

What the scheme is designed to do

• Give a predictable monthly cash income to elderly islanders with no earning capacity.
• Reduce dependence on family members and informal borrowing for food and medicine.
• Deliver the money straight into the beneficiary's own bank account, so no middleman handles it.

Who is eligible for the Andaman and Nicobar old age pension?

You can apply if:

• You are 60 years of age or above on the date of application.
• You are a permanent resident of the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, or you have resided in the Union Territory for more than 10 years at the time of applying.
• Your household income does not exceed Rs 4,000 per month. This is the income of the whole household, not just your own earnings.
• You are not receiving any other financial assistance, pension or grant from the government or from any other source.

You cannot apply if:

• You are below 60 years of age. There is no relaxation for illness or disability under this particular scheme; disability assistance is a separate head with the same Directorate.
• Your household's monthly income is above Rs 4,000.
• You already draw a service pension, family pension, widow pension, disability assistance or any similar grant. Double benefit is expressly excluded.
• You are not a permanent resident and cannot show 10 years of continuous residence in the islands.
• You cannot produce an income certificate or a residence document. An application without these is treated as incomplete and returned rather than rejected on merit.

Beyond the printed criteria, the Directorate's field staff verify the household position on the ground before a sanction is issued. Cases where the elderly person lives with a household that is clearly above the income line are the ones most often turned down at the verification stage.

What documents are required for the old age pension?

Keep a photocopy set of all of the above plus the filled form. The acknowledgement slip that the receiving office stamps is the only proof you have that the application was submitted, so it should be stored carefully until the first payment arrives.

How to apply for the Andaman and Nicobar old age pension

1. Collect the application form for the Old Age Assistance Scheme from the Directorate of Social Welfare in Port Blair, from the Tehsildar's office, or from the Assistant Commissioner's office covering your island.
2. Obtain the income certificate and residence certificate from the revenue authority first. These two take the longest and hold up most applications, so start with them rather than with the form.
3. Fill the form completely in block letters, full name as printed on Aadhaar, date of birth, address, tehsil, bank account number and IFSC, and paste the photograph in the space provided.
4. Attach self-attested copies of the age proof, residence proof, income certificate, Aadhaar card and bank passbook, and sign the declaration that you are not drawing any other pension.
5. Submit the complete set at the Social Welfare office or the Tehsil office and collect the stamped acknowledgement with the date of receipt.
6. Cooperate with the field verification. A welfare officer or revenue official visits or calls to confirm your age, residence and household income before the file goes for sanction.
7. Check the sanction and the first credit. Once the sanction order is issued, the pension is credited by Direct Benefit Transfer into the bank account given in the form.

Applications for old age pension in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also listed as a citizen service on the National Government Services Portal, which routes the applicant to the Administration's own process. Even where an online listing exists, the supporting certificates still have to be produced physically at the Social Welfare or Tehsil office.

How do I check the status of my old age pension application?

Status enquiries for this scheme are handled locally, not through a national tracking website. The practical steps are:

1. Take your acknowledgement slip to the office where you filed the application and quote the receipt number and date.
2. Ask the dealing assistant at the Directorate of Social Welfare whether your file has cleared field verification and whether the sanction order has been signed.
3. If the sanction is already issued but no money has arrived, check with your bank branch whether the account is active and Aadhaar-seeded, and whether any credit was returned.

Because payment runs on DBT, a failed credit almost always shows up at the bank end. Print a fresh statement before assuming the Directorate has not released the money.

Why old age pension applications get rejected or payments stop

• Income certificate above the Rs 4,000 monthly household limit — the single most common ground for rejection.
• Residence not established. Fewer than 10 years in the islands and no permanent residence certificate means the application fails at scrutiny.
• Another pension already being drawn by the applicant, discovered during cross-checking.
• Age proof that does not match across Aadhaar, the ration card and the application form.
• Bank account closed, dormant or not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT credit bounces back.
• Life certificate or re-verification not completed when the Directorate calls for it, payment is held, not cancelled, and usually resumes once the verification is done.

Most of these are fixable. A name or date-of-birth mismatch is corrected by updating Aadhaar and submitting the fresh copy to the Social Welfare office. A bounced credit is fixed at the bank branch by reactivating the account and completing Aadhaar seeding, then informing the Directorate in writing.

Where do I complain if the pension is delayed?

• Directorate of Social Welfare, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, Port Blair, the sanctioning authority and the first place to raise a written grievance.
• Tehsildar or Assistant Commissioner's office of your tehsil, for applications filed outside Port Blair and for certificate-related delays.
• Public grievance route of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration, for complaints that have not moved after a written reminder to the Directorate.

Applying for the Old Age Assistance Scheme is free. No fee is charged for the form or for the sanction, and no agent can charge you for "getting your pension sanctioned". Certificate fees, where any are levied, are payable only at the revenue office counter against a receipt.