India's social pensions are fiscally modest but administratively complex. Examine the case for indexing NSAP benefits to inflation in light of the 2026 revision.

The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) puts Article 41 (DPSP) into practice and is fully funded by the Centre [1]. The 2026 revision gives an outlay of ₹53,428 crore for 2026-31 and renames it PM Samajik Sahayata Yojana, but it reforms only the disability pension [1]. That strengthens the case for inflation indexing.

2026 revision: what changed, what did not

• The disability pension is aligned with the RPwD Act, 2016: the threshold drops from 80% to 40%, there is no minimum age, and the amount rises to ₹375/₹625 [1].
• Old-age, widow and family-benefit rates are unchanged, so most pensioners (221 lakh old-age, 67 lakh widows) get no increase [1][2].

Case for indexing

• Falling real value: the central old-age rate is still ₹200 a month [3], and inflation shrinks it every year.
• Parliamentary backing: the Estimates Committee (2014) asked for ₹300, "indexed to inflation and raised regularly" [4].
• Affordable: the 2026-27 BE (budget estimate) is just ₹9,671 crore [5], so small automatic yearly increases are affordable.
• Federal equity: State top-ups range from ₹50 to ₹5,700 a month [2]. An indexed central base reduces dependence on States' ability to pay.
• Predictability: a fixed rule replaces occasional increases, much as dearness allowance does for government employees.

Administrative complexities

• Beneficiary caps: each State has a fixed cap [2]. Indexing alone will not help newly eligible persons with disabilities who are kept on waiting lists.
• Delivery gaps: CAG found ₹61.71 crore underpaid to 92,602 beneficiaries, no door-to-door surveys and weak social audit [6].
• Targeting: BPL lists are out of date. The Committee recommended using SECC data instead [4].
• Cost-shifting: States may cut their top-ups once the central share rises, so the Centre and States need to coordinate.

Way forward

• Raise the old-age rate to ₹300 now, then link it to CPI with a review every five years.
• Fix State caps according to demand, using the number of disability certificates issued.
• Extend DBT (direct transfer to bank accounts) from 94% [2] to all payments, and match pension lists with death records.

NSAP's low cost makes indexing affordable; its harder problems are delivery and coverage. If price-linked rates come with demand-based caps and the delivery fixes CAG asked for, the 2026 renaming can become real reform. That would fulfil Article 41 and SDG 1.3 on social protection for all.