Thousands of elderly and vulnerable pensioners across Odisha could face delays or complete stoppage in receiving their monthly social security pensions if their Aadhaar is not immediately linked to their bank accounts.
In a major proactive step, the state government has directed all District Collectors to complete the pending Aadhaar-bank linkages at the earliest to prevent any disruption from the 2026-27 financial year onwards.
Principal Secretary of the Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Department, Suresh Kumar Vasisth, has issued a clear directive stating that from the next financial year, all National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) pensions will be disbursed exclusively through the Aadhaar-based payment system on the SNA-Sparsh platform.
Currently, more than 3,35,850 NSAP pension beneficiaries are still receiving payments through the old account-based system, but their Aadhaar numbers remain unlinked to their bank accounts. Without this linkage, continuing pension payments on the new platform will not be possible.
The challenge is particularly acute for many elderly and bedridden beneficiaries who are unable to visit banks for Aadhaar updates or linkages. To address this, district administrations have been asked to identify such vulnerable pensioners using data from the NSAP-PPPS portal through District Social Security Officers (DSSOs). Special arrangements will be made to facilitate the process for them at their doorstep wherever required.
The government has also instructed that Aadhaar seeding and e-KYC processes be completed on priority at the block level before final bank linkages. District Aadhaar coordinators will provide all necessary support to resolve any technical issues.
This timely intervention aims to ensure smooth, transparent, and uninterrupted delivery of pensions to the state’s most vulnerable citizens.
