Jammu Kashmir Identifies 5.46 Lakh Unorganised Workers for Pension Scheme

SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo today reviewed the Finance Department’s progress on financial inclusion and social security schemes, revealing that nearly 5.46 lakh unorganised workers have been identified for enrolment under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PMSYM) scheme, which assures a monthly pension of Rs 3,000 after the age of 60. The meeting also noted steady growth in key welfare schemes, including 77,208 new Jan Dhan accounts, 4.3 lakh new enrolments under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), and 1.57 lakh under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) across Jammu Kashmir.

During the meeting, Dulloo emphasised universal enrolment of eligible workers, particularly from the unorganised sector, and directed district administrations to mobilise local Labour Offices, EPFO and ESIC units as facilitation centres for mass awareness and registration drives. He instructed the Finance Department to share comprehensive datasets of potential beneficiaries such as construction workers, MDM workers, and street vendors with banks to accelerate enrolment.

Principal Secretary, Finance, Santosh D. Vaidya, informed that the total number of Jan Dhan accounts in JK has reached 23.13 lakh, PMSBY enrolments 27.64 lakh, and PMJJBY enrolments 11.06 lakh. Over 33,500 new subscribers were added under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), taking the total to 2.81 lakh.

It was noted that 5.9 lakh construction workers have been registered under the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCWW) Welfare Board till October 2025, while the Social Welfare Department has extended old-age, widow, and disability pensions to 8.6 lakh beneficiaries, achieving a beneficiary ratio of about 600 per 10,000 population in the Union Territory. Dulloo commended the progress and called for intensified efforts to achieve full saturation under all welfare and financial inclusion schemes in a time-bound manner.