Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Today, Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha, approved a proposal to expand the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY) to include four lakh additional participants. This will raise the overall number of MBPY beneficiaries from the current 32.75 lakh to 36.75 lakh. The monthly cost to the state government will be Rs 190.20 crore. During his visits to several districts, 5T and Nabin Odisha Chairman Kartik Pandian received requests from locals in those locations for the inclusion of more participants under the scheme. The Chief Minister has given his approval to the plan to expand the MBPY beneficiary count in response to public demand.
It’s important to note that the Chief Minister added 4.13 lakh more people to this program in August 2023. Different groups of persons receive social security benefits from the state government. These groups include elderly people, widows, people with disabilities (PwDs), single women, people who have recovered from AIDS and leprosy, divorced women, transgender people, and COVID orphans. Under this initiative, beneficiaries, who might be as young as 79 years old, can get up to Rs 500 every month. Those who are 80 years of age or above receive Rs 700 a month.
In the case of PwDs, those with 40 to 59 per cent disability get Rs 500 per month, while those with 60 per cent or more disability get Rs 700. People above 80 years of age with more than 60 per cent disability get Rs 900 per month.
