Social Security & Welfare
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Beyond the insurance/pension products already covered under Financial Inclusion, a separate cluster of welfare schemes targets non-contributory social assistance for the elderly, widowed, and disabled poor, plus maternity benefit support — mostly under Rural Development (NSAP) and Women & Child Development (PMMVY).
| Scheme | Year | Ministry | One-liner objective |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) | 1995 | Rural Development | Umbrella non-contributory pension scheme for elderly, widowed, and disabled BPL persons |
| Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) | 1995/2007 | Rural Development | Monthly pension for BPL persons aged 60+ (a sub-scheme under NSAP) |
| Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) | 2017 | Women & Child Development | Cash maternity benefit (₹5,000) to pregnant/lactating women for their first living child |
| Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) | 2017 | Finance (via LIC) | Assured pension return product for senior citizens (see also Financial Inclusion section) |
| Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)/Anganwadi Services | 1975 | Women & Child Development | Supplementary nutrition, pre-school education, and health referral via Anganwadi centres |
| Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana | 2015 | Finance | Small-savings scheme for the girl child's education/marriage, high fixed interest rate |
| Divyangjan Sashaktikaran (schemes for persons with disabilities) | Various | Social Justice & Empowerment | Assistive devices, scholarships, and accessibility support for persons with disabilities |
NSAP, launched in August 1995, is the oldest scheme in this section and functions as an umbrella covering several distinct sub-schemes — old age pension (IGNOAPS), widow pension (IGNWPS), disability pension (IGNDPS), and a national family benefit scheme — each with its own eligibility age/BPL criteria, a structure that examiners test by asking which sub-scheme covers which category. PMMVY, launched on 1 January 2017, is deliberately restricted to a woman's first living child (a design meant to encourage institutional delivery and adequate nutrition/rest during pregnancy rather than to function as a general child-benefit scheme) and pays out in instalments conditional on specific health/registration milestones.
Memory hook — "NSAP is the umbrella, IGNOAPS is one spoke": Old Age, Widow, Disability, and Family Benefit — four spokes under one NSAP umbrella, each carrying "Indira Gandhi National" in its full name except the family benefit component.
Practice Recall: Before reading on, name the year NSAP was launched and the ministry that runs it.
Answer: 1995, Ministry of Rural Development.