DADA-DADI BONDS
TO RUN SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH VARISHTHA SCHEME
Finance Minister Jaswant Singh has indicated
that the proposed 'Dada-Dadi bonds' for pensioners, scheduled
to be launched in April, will run side-by-side with LIC's
Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana.
"The Varishtha scheme will continue
next fiscal. It will be in addition to the proposed Dadi-Dadi
bonds," Singh told PTI, while seeking to allay fears
that LIC's pension scheme would be discontinued after the
new bond was issued.
RBI is working out the modalities of the
scheme, which would offer higher return than most of the savings
instruments in the country.
Pensioners were hit hard by the falling interest rates in
the last few years as their only source of income -- interest
on savings instruments -- have gone down drastically.
In view of the hardship faced by elders,
Singh announced the Dada-Dadi bonds in his mini-budget on
January 9, which would offer a higher return to elders.
Last year, the government unveiled the
subsidised Varishtha scheme to provide a 9.0 per cent assured
return to senior citizens in the form of a monthly pension
ranging between Rs 250-2,000.
Life Insurance Corporation has already
mopped up Rs 4,500 crore in premium from the Varishtha scheme
after selling 2.5 lakh policies, and targets to collect Rs
5,500-6,000 crore by March end.
To continue its support to LIC in the
next fiscal for the Varishtha scheme, the Finance Ministry
has also decided to increase the subsidy amount for the scheme
to Rs 150 crore during next fiscal.
