Joy Bangla Pension Scheme: Eligibility, Benefits, and How to Online Apply

There are many pension schemes managed and run by central and state governments to support people through their rough times.  One such scheme, the ‘Joy Bangla Pension scheme’ was introduced by the West Bengal Government on April 1, 2020 for the poor and needy people of the state.

The plan is popularly known as ‘WB Joy Bangla Pension Scheme’ and is introduced in two separate stages targeted at assisting the Scheduled tribes and Scheduled caste people, who are usually regarded as socially backward classes.

Taposali Bandu pension scheme is the name of the plan for the Scheduled Caste (SC) category, while Jai Johar Scheme is the name of the category meant for the Scheduled Tribes of West Bengal.

Joy Bangla Pension Scheme – Eligibility Criteria

To get the benefits of Joy Bangla old age Pension scheme, there are some eligibility criteria that an applicant has to satisfy.

• Since this scheme has been announced by the state government of West Bengal, only the permanent residents of the state can avail the benefits of the plan
• Only the people belonging to the backward community of SC and ST can apply for the Joy Bangla Pension Scheme
• The applicant has to be people living below the poverty line
• Moreover, the applicant must be 60 years and above to be eligible for the scheme as per government yardstick
• The applicant must also have a bank account so that the process of transaction could be done effectively
• Another yardstick states that the applicant applying for Joy Bangla Scheme should not be registered under any other government pension scheme

Joy Bangla Pension Scheme – Key Features

Here are some key features of the Joy Bangla old Pension scheme:

• The Pension scheme supports the needy people across the state with financial aid
• It also supports the elderly, widows as well as the people with disabilities
• The government pays INR 1000 to all applicants per month as pension under the Jai Johar Scheme, while it pays INR 600 per month for the applicants availing Taposali Bandhu Pension Scheme
• The pension amount under this scheme gets transferred to the beneficiary account directly. Hence, the beneficiary must have a bank account to avail its benefits

Joy Bangla Pension Scheme – Advantages

The Joy Bangla pension scheme of West Bengal government presents several benefits as mentioned below:

1. Death Benefit – The Joy Bangla old Pension Scheme offers death benefit, wherein the nominee of the account holder can receive the pension benefit in case of demise of the beneficiary. For this, there are certain steps to be taken;

• Once the government officials are informed about the demise of a beneficiary, they would verify the same and take appropriate action to fix the pension amount
• Once the action is taken, the nominee would be made the new beneficiary of the account and would receive the pension amount

2. Monthly contribution – Being a government run scheme, especially meant for the needy people of the backward category, no monthly contribution is required to be paid by the beneficiary to receive the pension. The plan allows the beneficiary to earn a regular amount every month offered by the West Bengal government.

Joy Bangla Pension Scheme – Documents Required

Below is a list of documents required to apply for the scheme:

• Copy of caste certificate
• Passport size photograph
• Copy of Aadhaar card
• Copy of digitised ration card
• Copy of Voter ID
• Residential certificate
• Income certificate
• Copy of bank passbook etc.

Joy Bangla Pension Scheme – How to Apply

Below are the steps required for the application Process:

• Visit the Joy Bangla official portal and download a copy of the application form
• Alternatively, one can collect the application form from a government office
• Fill in the required details such as scheme type to avail, beneficiary name, income details, address etc.
• Attach copies of documents that needs to be submitted
• Submit the application in a government office such as;
• Block Development Officer (for rural applicants)
• Sub Divisional officer (for applicants living in areas outside the municipal corporation region)
• Municipal Corporation, Kolkata Commissioner (for applicants living within the Municipal corporation area of Kolkata)
• The applicant is supposed to offer correct and complete details in the form in block letters only
• The applicant must fill all necessary columns without fail
• The applicant must submit the self-attested copies of the required documents along with a passport size photo

Once the application is submitted, the below steps are carried out:

• The application form is checked by the Commissioner/Block Development Officer/Sub-Divisional Officer
• This way, the eligibility of the beneficiary is ensured
• The eligible forms are digitised and uploaded on the portal of the state scheme
• In the next step, the eligible applicant’s names are recommended
• The applications are forwarded to the Nodal Department to get sanctioned
• Once an application is sanctioned, the pension amount is credited directly to the applicant’s bank account every month.