They Fought for Freedom. Government Ups Their Pension to Ensure They Need Not Fight for Survival

This Sunday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the pension of freedom fighters or their dependent families has been increased after a hike in Dearness Allowance. Here is more. 

A few days before Independence Day, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had some good news to share with the country. He said that the pension of freedom fighters or their dependent family members has been increased by the government. He made this announcement on the occasion of 73rd anniversary of Quit India movement, on Sunday.

The pension has been increased after the introduction of a 218 percent hike in the Dearness Allowance (DA) in 2014-2015.

Source: Flickr

The Freedom Fighters’ Pension Scheme (FFPS) was first introduced on August 15, 1972, and was initially only meant for those who needed financial assistance, because of very less earnings. This was up till July 31, 1980 and the minimum pension for a freedom fighter was Rs. 200 per month. The pension benefit was then modified for all fighters as a token of respect, from August 1, 1980, under the Swatantarta Sainik Samman Pension Scheme.

The revised pension after the increment in DA from 193 percent to 218 percent is as follows:

• Rs. 23,309 per month for Ex-Andaman political prisoners
• Rs 20,129 for freedom fighters/spouses
• Rs 4,770 for unmarried/unemployed daughters
• Rs 10,064 for two spouses

There were total of 11,434 central freedom fighters pensioners on January 1, 2015 and 24,466 widows and eligible dependents. Today, 6,204 freedom fighter pensioners live in Telangana, which is the highest number, followed by 6,031 in Andhra Pradesh and 4,394 in West Bengal. Many pensioners reside in Maharashtra, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh as well.

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