Understanding the Government Social Pension Scheme

The question asks to identify a Government of India scheme providing financial assistance, specifically a social pension, to the elderly, widows, and persons with disabilities.

Scheme Analysis

Let's analyze the options based on their objectives:

• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS): This scheme focuses on the health, nutrition, and early education of children and mothers. It does not primarily offer social pensions to the elderly, widows, or disabled individuals.
• National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP): This is a central government scheme launched in 1995. Its primary goal is to provide social assistance, including pensions, to vulnerable sections of society. Key components include pensions for the elderly (Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme), widows (Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme), and persons with disabilities (National Disability Pension Scheme). This directly matches the question's description.
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY): This is a financial inclusion initiative aimed at ensuring access to financial services like banking, savings, credit, and insurance for all households. While it facilitates access to various government schemes, it is not itself a direct social pension scheme for the specific groups mentioned.
• National Pension Scheme (NPS): This is a voluntary, defined contribution pension system focused on providing retirement income security. It targets individuals seeking to build a retirement corpus, primarily the working population, rather than offering immediate social pensions to specific vulnerable groups like widows or the disabled.

Conclusion

Based on the analysis, the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) is the Government of India scheme specifically designed to provide financial assistance in the form of a social pension to the elderly, widows, and persons with disabilities.