NTR Bharosa Pensions to Cover More People, Says Kondpalli Srinivas

Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is proposing to extend the NTR Bharosa pension scheme to cover more beneficiaries across the state, said minister for MSME and NRI affairs Kondpalli Srinivas on Saturday.

The minister distributed pensions to beneficiaries in Jinnamgram village under Gajapathinagaram mandal of Vizianagaram district, a day ahead of the scheduled date as Sunday was a holiday.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said the doorstep delivery of pensions was helping the government understand the problems faced by beneficiaries at the grassroots level. He recalled that the Chief Minister himself had been personally distributing pensions and interacting with people during earlier programmes.

Referring to agricultural practices in the region, Srinivas advised farmers to take up horticulture crops as a second crop instead of traditional paddy to increase their income.

The minister said the government was facilitating bank loans to women to promote their economic empowerment. He added that efforts were also under way to create employment opportunities for youth to prevent migration to major cities such as Hyderabad.

Srinivas said the Bhogapuram International Airport was nearing completion due to the initiatives taken by Chandrababu Naidu and would play a key role in the overall development of the district.

He said pensions were distributed to 520 beneficiaries in the district, amounting to Rs 22,15,500. Across the state, a total of 62,94,844 beneficiaries received pensions worth Rs 2,724 crore.

Former minister Padala Aruna was present at the programme.