Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh govt will accept applications for new social security pensions from Sept 7 to 16, giving another opportunity to eligible people who are currently not receiving pension benefits.Applicants can submit forms at Swarna Gramam and Swarna Ward centres across the state. The applications will be registered online and undergo e-KYC verification during the same period.Preliminary scrutiny of eligibility will be taken up from Sept 17 to 21, followed by physical and departmental verification from Sept 22 to 24. Budget proposals will be processed through SERP on Sept 25 and 26, after which pensions will be sanctioned in phases to eligible beneficiaries.Applicants should submit Aadhaar and a Rice Card or income certificate, along with category-specific documents. These include a death certificate for widow pensions, a SADAREM certificate showing at least 40% benchmark disability for persons with disabilities and relevant departmental certificates for fishermen, handloom workers, toddy tappers, Dappu artists and traditional footwear makers.Govt said 61,92,396 pensioners currently receive around Rs 2,694 crore every month under NTR Bharosa Pension Scheme. It claimed Andhra Pradesh has the highest level of pension distribution in the country in terms of pension amount, beneficiaries, monthly expenditure and annual allocation.Since assuming office, the coalition govt has spent Rs 73,508 crore on pensions up to Sept 1. Senior citizens and widows receive Rs 4,000 monthly, while pension amounts for other categories range from Rs 6,000 to Rs 15,000.
