HIV / AIDS Pension Scheme

What is the HIV / AIDS Pension Scheme in Puducherry?

HIV / AIDS Pension Scheme is a social security pension run by the Government of Puducherry for people living with HIV and AIDS in the Union Territory. The scheme was introduced so that a person who is unable to work normally because of the illness has a fixed monthly amount to meet personal and medical expenses without depending on relatives or moneylenders.

The scheme sits within the social defence and pension work of the Directorate of Social Welfare and the Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Puducherry, and is delivered in close coordination with the Puducherry AIDS Control Society and the Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Centres in the territory. Locally the scheme is often referred to simply as the AIDS pension, and readers searching in Tamil for the eydhs oyvoothiyam will land on the same programme.

Puducherry runs the pension alongside a small package of allied benefits. A travel allowance for reaching the ART Centre, nutrition support, and funeral assistance, so a single household can draw more than one of these at the same time.

How much does the HIV / AIDS Pension Scheme pay?

According to the announcement made by the Chief Minister of Puducherry in August 2025 during the launch of a two-month HIV/AIDS awareness campaign:

• Monthly financial assistance for children affected by AIDS was raised to Rs 3,000 per month.
• The travel allowance for AIDS patients attending treatment was raised from Rs 400 to Rs 1,000.
• Nutritious food worth Rs 1,300 is supplied to beneficiaries.
• Rs 15,000 funeral assistance is given to families of AIDS patients.

Adult pension rates in Puducherry are aligned with the territory's other social security pensions, which are revised by government order from time to time. The Directorate of Social Welfare is the authority for the rate currently in force, and you should confirm the figure for your own category at the office before you apply rather than rely on a third-party listing.

Payment is made by direct credit to the beneficiary's own bank account. There is no cash counter and no agent is involved in disbursement.

Who is eligible for the HIV / AIDS Pension Scheme?

You can get the pension if:

• You are a person living with HIV or AIDS, including a child living with HIV or a widow living with HIV.
• You are registered at the ART Centre at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute (IGMC&RI), Puducherry, or at a Link ART Centre such as the one at JIPMER, and you collect your ART drugs and attend follow-up regularly.
• You are a resident of the Union Territory of Puducherry. The Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam region.
• You hold a bank account in your own name for the credit.

You are not eligible if:

• You are not registered at an ART Centre in Puducherry, or you are registered elsewhere and take treatment outside the Union Territory.
• You cannot produce a certificate from the ART Medical Officer confirming registration and adherence.
• You are not a resident of Puducherry. A person who moves out of the territory permanently ceases to be eligible.
• You are already drawing the same category of assistance under another Puducherry pension for the same reason, since duplicate pensions for the same ground are not sanctioned.

Residence and treatment are the two hard tests. Income is looked at as a supporting factor in some regional offices, but the scheme is built around the medical condition rather than a fixed income ceiling.

What documents are required?

Take originals along with self-attested photocopies. The office keeps the copies and returns the originals after verification.

How to apply for the HIV / AIDS Pension Scheme

1. Visit your ART Centre at IGMC&RI Puducherry or your Link ART Centre and ask the Medical Officer for the certificate confirming that you are registered and taking treatment regularly. Ask the ART counsellor for the pension application form at the same visit.
2. Collect your supporting papers; Aadhaar card, residence proof (ration card or voter ID), bank passbook and recent photographs. Keep one self-attested photocopy of each.
3. Fill in the application form in full. Enter your bank account number and IFSC code exactly as printed in the passbook, since a single wrong digit is the commonest cause of a failed credit.
4. Submit the completed form with all enclosures to the regional welfare office. In the Puducherry region this is the Deputy Director (Social Defence) handling the pension section; in Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam it is the regional Social Welfare office. Many beneficiaries submit through the ART counsellor or the Puducherry AIDS Control Society, which forwards applications in batches.
5. Collect the acknowledgement and note the reference number written on it. This is what you quote when you follow up.
6. Follow up after about a month. The office verifies the ART certificate with the treating centre before sanction, so allow time for that check.

How do I check the status of my application?

1. Carry the acknowledgement slip with its reference number.
2. Contact the Directorate of Social Welfare on +91-413-2205871 or write to socwel[at]py[dot]gov[dot]in, quoting the reference number.
3. If you applied through the ART Centre or the AIDS Control Society, ask the counsellor there — they usually hold the batch acknowledgement.
4. Once sanctioned, check your bank passbook or use your bank's SMS alerts to confirm the monthly credit.

Why applications get rejected, and how to fix it

• No ART Medical Officer's certificate, or a certificate that does not mention regular treatment. Go back to the ART Centre and get the wording corrected.
• Residence not established. A ration card or voter ID with a Puducherry address usually settles this; a residence certificate from the Revenue department is the fallback.
• Bank details wrong or account not in the applicant's name. Joint accounts and accounts in a relative's name are a common reason credits fail. Give an account in your own name.
• Duplicate claim. If another Puducherry pension is already running on the same ground, the second application is stopped.
• Break in treatment. A long gap in ART visits shows up when the office verifies with the centre. Resume treatment and reapply with a fresh certificate.

Key dates and renewal

The scheme has no annual application window; it is open all year and applications are processed as they come in. Beneficiaries are expected to continue treatment, and the department periodically re-verifies the ART status of everyone on the roll. If you change your address within Puducherry, or change your bank account, inform the sanctioning office in writing straight away so that the credit does not stop.

Help and grievance redressal

• Directorate of Social Welfare, Government of Puducherry: +91-413-2205871, socwel[at]py[dot]gov[dot]in
• Official website, socwelfare.py.gov.in
• ART Centre, IGMC&RI Puducherry, your counsellor is the first point of contact for the certificate and for confidentiality concerns.
• Puducherry AIDS Control Society; routes applications and handles grievances for people living with HIV.

No fee is charged to apply for the HIV / AIDS Pension Scheme, and no agent can charge you for getting your name added. If someone asks for money, report it to the Directorate of Social Welfare.