-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: Hundreds of elderly poor, who had assembled in Jantar Mantar in Delhi's biting cold, have turned their hopeful eyes toward the new Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, to draw his attention to the plight 14 lakh elderly poor in Delhi. In a letter written to Kejriwal, the Pension Parishad, led by Baba Adhav, Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey among others, while congratulating Kejriwal, sought universalisation of pension...

-The Times of India Shanti is a small, bird-like woman with unkempt grey hair, a wizened face and an innocent, trusting smile. The constant smile is remarkable because her life is unbelievably difficult. She lives in a mud hut in Katihar district of Bihar with her paralyzed husband. Her daughter has been married off and her son has "gone away somewhere to find work", never to return. She has no land,...

-Frontline In a situation of increasing life expectancy and crumbling traditional support structures, a universal social pension scheme that does not rely on contribution by a person or an employer can help the elderly. INDIA prides itself on being a "young" society, likely to benefit from a demographic dividend as children and young people move into working age groups over the next decade. This optimistic view assumes that society will be able...

The Pension Parishad is holding a dharna in Delhi for the rights of elderly since 26 November. It has demanded that a Universal and Non Contributory Old Age Pension System should be established with a minimum dignified amount of monthly pension not less than 50% of minimum wage or Rs 2000/- per month, whichever is higher. Despite several rounds of talk held between the campaign leaders and the Government in...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Four million households in Maoist-affected districts are likely to get BPL status without having to wait for another two years when the Socio-Economic Caste Census is expected to be completed. The list of BPL will be revised based on the findings of the census. The shortcut inclusion in the 82 Maoist-affected districts is aimed at making the poor, who fell between the cracks of the poverty...