Summary:
Under the scheme every poor household with no source of income was to be given a monthly pension of Rs 500. It was to be increased by Rs 50 every year with an upper limit of Rs 750 per month. Around 15 lakh Dalits and around 4 lakh upper caste also benefited from the scheme. The then SP government roped in cine star Vidya Balan to promote the scheme.According to government records, of the total 50 lakh beneficiaries, 22 lakh belonged to the OBC category, while over 10 lakh were Muslims. The department submitted before the house that of the total over 50 lakh beneficiaries, more than 4 lakh were found to be ineligible, while over 43,000 who were given pension were actually dead.The Samajwadi Pension scheme was one of the key poll promise of the SP when it stormed to power in UP in 2012 assembly elections..