Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme in Haryana

What is the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme?

Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) is a component of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. IGNOAPS was introduced in 2007 and provides monthly central assistance to elderly persons from below-poverty-line households. The scheme is funded by the Centre but implemented entirely by state governments, which decide the delivery mechanism and almost always add a state top-up.

Central assistance under IGNOAPS is Rs 200 per month for beneficiaries aged 60 to 79 years and Rs 500 per month from 80 years of age. These figures have not been revised for many years, which is why the amount a pensioner actually receives depends far more on the state top-up than on the central share.

How does IGNOAPS work in Haryana?

Haryana does not run IGNOAPS as a separately visible pension. The Directorate of Social Justice and Empowerment lists fifteen social security pension schemes, and the old-age pension among them is the Old Age Samman Allowance, paid at Rs 3,200 per month with effect from 1 November 2025. The central NSAP share for eligible below-poverty-line pensioners is absorbed into that single payment and claimed administratively by the state; the pensioner sees one credit, not two.

This matters practically for three reasons:

• There is one application, filed on the Antyodaya-SARAL portal, not a separate IGNOAPS form.
• The amount credited in Haryana is Rs 3,200 a month, far above the central Rs 200 or Rs 500, because the state pays the difference from its own budget.
• The flat rate applies at every age above 60. The central scheme's step-up at 80 years does not change what a Haryana pensioner receives.

Anyone searching for "IGNOAPS Haryana", "NSAP old age pension Haryana" or "Budhapa Pension" is therefore looking at the same benefit: the Old Age Samman Allowance. Departmental figures for 2023-24 record 17,85,137 old-age pensioners in Haryana against a budget of roughly Rs 5,538 crore.

Who is eligible for the old age pension in Haryana?

You can get the pension if all of the following are true:

• You have completed 60 years of age, with no upper age limit.
• You are domiciled in and a resident of Haryana.
• Your income and your spouse's income, from all sources together, does not exceed Rs 3,00,000 a year. The state's own ceiling.
• For the central IGNOAPS component specifically, your household is below the poverty line as defined by the Government of India.

The income test counts more than salary. The department includes accumulated earnings, provident fund receipts and annuities paid by banks or insurance companies, so a senior with a modest annuity can cross the ceiling without any job income at all.

You cannot apply if:

• You are under 60 years old.
• You already draw a pension from any government, local body or statutory body, or from an organisation substantially financed by one of these. A hard exclusion in the departmental scheme note.
• Your combined household income exceeds Rs 3,00,000 a year.
• You are not domiciled and resident in Haryana. NSAP pensions are paid by the state of residence, so a person who moves states must apply afresh there.

A retired government or PSU employee drawing any service pension is not eligible, however small the amount. Private savings without an attached government or statutory pension are tested only against the income ceiling.

What documents are required?

The Parivar Pehchan Patra is the gatekeeper. Haryana reads the applicant's date of birth and verified family income from the PPP database, and a stale income entry or a wrong date of birth stops the case regardless of what paper documents are attached. Correct the PPP at meraparivar.haryana.gov.in before filing.

How to apply for the old age pension in Haryana

1. Update your Parivar Pehchan Patra at meraparivar.haryana.gov.in so the date of birth shows 60 years or more and the verified family income is within Rs 3,00,000 a year.
2. Open the Antyodaya-SARAL portal at saralharyana.gov.in and register with your mobile number and email, or sign in to an existing account.
3. Select Apply for Services and search for the Old Age Samman Allowance service of the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, this is the form that covers the IGNOAPS component too.
4. Enter your Family ID, Aadhaar number, date of birth, residence details and bank account particulars.
5. Upload the scanned age proof, residence proof, BPL or income document and the first page of the bank passbook.
6. Submit and save the Application Reference ID shown on screen and sent by SMS.
7. Wait for verification and sanction by the District Social Welfare Officer, who cross-checks the age and income against the PPP record.

How to apply offline

1. Visit your nearest SARAL Kendra, Common Service Centre, Gram Panchayat or Urban Local Body office, or the District Social Welfare Office, with originals and one set of copies.
2. Ask the operator to file the old-age pension application on Antyodaya-SARAL on your behalf. The counters use the same system as the website.
3. Give your OTP or biometric confirmation and collect the printed acknowledgement carrying the Application Reference ID.

Haryana also generates many old-age pensions automatically from the Parivar Pehchan Patra: when a registered family member turns 60 and the recorded income is within the ceiling, the system flags the case and, with the family's consent, starts the allowance without a separate application. If that has not happened within a couple of months of the 60th birthday, file the application yourself rather than waiting.

How much is paid and when?

Haryana credits Rs 3,200 per month to every sanctioned old-age pensioner from 1 November 2025. Payment runs through the Public Financial Management System into the pensioner's own Aadhaar-seeded bank account. The central IGNOAPS share of Rs 200 or Rs 500 is not paid separately and is not visible as a distinct credit.

No annual re-application is needed. The pension continues while the beneficiary is alive, remains resident in Haryana and stays within the income ceiling. Rate revisions apply automatically. The Rs 200 increase notified in 2025 reached existing pensioners with retrospective effect from 1 November without any fresh form.

How to check status and payment

1. Open saralharyana.gov.in and enter your Application Reference ID in the Track Application Status box.
2. Or sign in to your SARAL account and open Track Application Status for the full case history.
3. After sanction, check the bank passbook first if money has not arrived.

Common reasons a case fails

• PPP income above Rs 3,00,000 — correct the entry through the PPP grievance route, then re-apply.
• Date of birth mismatch between the PPP record and the age document.
• Already drawing a government or statutory pension, a hard exclusion.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT credit fails after sanction.
• Account not in the pensioner's own name; joint or relative accounts are rejected for DBT.
• Residence not established; submit a domicile certificate rather than a utility bill.

Where to complain

• Antyodaya-SARAL helpline: 0172-3968400, and saral.haryana@gov.in, working 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday.
• District Social Welfare Officer, the sanctioning authority for the pension.
• CM Window, Haryana's central grievance platform, for cases stuck beyond the normal processing period.
• Parivar Pehchan Patra grievance redressal at meraparivar.haryana.gov.in for wrong income or date-of-birth entries.

Applying is free. No official will ask for money, and no agent can guarantee sanction. The case turns on age, the PPP income record and domicile alone.