Wait till AugustAbout 40% spent the cash on immediate food and grocery expenses, which could leave them bereft until pension payments begin again in August. Odisha supplements the Centre’s pension payments to give ₹500-700 per month to all poor people above 60 years. In late March, it said it would give the advance pension to all beneficiaries as a lump-sum amount to alleviate the hardship imposed by the lockdown. A telephonic survey of 1,701 beneficiaries in 30 districts found that 95% of them had received the advance pension by the first week of May. About 40% of pensioners spent the entire advance pension immediately, most on food, groceries and medicine.

Source: The Hindu June 11, 2020 18:26 UTC