Union Cabinet approves ₹53,428 crore for NSAP and expands disability pension eligibility

The Union Cabinet has approved a ₹53,428 crore allocation to continue the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) for a five-year period, Hindustan Times reported. The cabinet cleared funding for NSAP from 2026-27 through 2030-31 and said the decision will extend support to roughly 3.20 crore people across 36 states and Union territories.

The ministry characterised the move as a renewal and revision of the long-standing central social assistance framework first launched on August 15, 1995. A central feature of the cabinet's decision was a substantial widening of disability pension eligibility.

The Hindustan Times said the government reduced the minimum disability threshold from 80% to 40%, and removed any minimum age for the disability pension, meaning people with qualifying disabilities can be eligible from birth. The change is presented in the article as a deliberate revision of norms intended to broaden access.

The cabinet also altered the quantum of monthly payments. According to Hindustan Times, beneficiaries aged 0-79 years will receive ₹375 per month under the revised scheme, up from ₹200 per month previously. Those aged 80 years and above will receive ₹625 per month, increased from ₹500 under the earlier arrangement.

The article states the existing pension arrangements for senior citizens and widows, and the family benefit scheme, have been retained. Hindustan Times reported the cabinet renamed the programme and its component schemes as part of the approval, though the article focuses principally on funding, eligibility and revised pension amounts.

The newspaper frames the package as both a continuation and a reworking of NSAP’s components to expand coverage and adjust benefit levels; it cites the numerical reach of 3.20 crore beneficiaries and the number of states and union territories covered.

The piece does not include reactions from opposition parties, implementing ministries, state governments or beneficiary groups, nor does it provide implementation timelines or administrative steps for enrolling newly eligible people.

It confines itself to the cabinet decision, the stated financial allocation, the eligibility threshold changes, and the revised monthly payment amounts as the core reported outcomes of the approval.

By quantifying beneficiaries and specifying new eligibility thresholds and payment rates, the Hindustan Times account conveys the cabinet’s intent to broaden NSAP coverage while preserving existing senior citizen, widow and family benefit provisions.

The article positions the changes as a central-government decision to both fund and revise a long-standing social assistance programme.