Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced on Friday that the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led government will soon lower the age limit for the state’s old-age pension. The age limit will be reduced from 60 years to 50 years for scheduled castes (SCs), scheduled tribes (STs), and other backward classes (OBCs).

Soren highlighted that neighboring states like Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Bengal are currently providing monthly pensions of Rs 250-Rs 300 to senior citizens, whereas Jharkhand is providing Rs 1,000 per month. He emphasized that the JMM government is now going a step further by reducing the age limit to 50 years for Adivasi and Dalit beneficiaries.

Currently, the state runs a universal monthly pension scheme that covers around 36 lakh beneficiaries, including senior citizens, persons with disabilities, single women, widows, and abandoned women.

During the event in Ranchi to mark four years of the Grand Alliance government, Soren distributed letters of appointment to lab technicians, trained graduate teachers, and over 300 health department officials. Additionally, he inaugurated infrastructure projects worth Rs 4,500 crore and announced the provision of government jobs to around 7,000 beneficiaries on the same day.

Soren also unveiled plans to tackle an issue faced by college students in far-flung areas. He revealed that students in these areas have to cook their meals and carry them to college, leading to a loss of valuable study time. As a solution, the government plans to recruit cooks in colleges and universities in the state’s hinterlands. This move will ensure that students receive meals in their institutes and can focus more on their studies.

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