Around 950 mn Indians beneficiaries of social security schemes: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that today, around 950 million people in the country are benefitting from one or another social security scheme.

 

In his monthly Mann ki Baat address, PM Modi said that until 2015, government schemes could reach even fewer than 250 million people. 

 

"Recently, an important report from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) was released. The report states that more than 64 per cent of India's population is now receiving some form of social protection benefit," he said. 

According to the ILO report, India’s social security coverage stood at 64.3 per cent in 2025, up sharply from just 19 per cent a decade ago. The report, released recently, assessed data from 32 central and state-level schemes.

 

These included 24 pension schemes, two maternity benefit schemes, and two child benefit programmes. Prominent among them are the Atal Pension Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Janani Suraksha Yojana, and PM POSHAN.

 

PM remembers Emergency days

 

During the programme, PM Modi played speeches of leading anti-Emergency politicians, including those of former prime ministers Morarji Desai, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and former deputy PM Jagjivan Ram. He said they should always be remembered as it inspires people to keep the Constitution strong.

 

PM Modi said those who imposed the Emergency not only "murdered the Constitution" but also made judiciary their puppet.

 

PM Modi on Yoga Day

 

PM Modi also highlighted the recent celebrations on the International Yoga Day, saying that more and more people are incorporating yoga in their daily lives.

 

"We saw many mesmerising images of this celebration. In Visakhapatnam, 3 lakh people performed Yoga together on the beach. Another incredible sight from Visakhapatnam was that over 2,000 tribal students performed 108 surya namaskars for 108 minutes. Imagine the discipline needed. A grand display of Yoga was showcased on our naval ships," PM Modi said.  (With inputs from agencies)