'Budget Should Reflect That Pensions Are Not a Dole, They Are a Right': Nikhil Dey

Rights activist Nikhil Dey talks about the many issues faced by the ageing poor in India today and how the Union Budget can help them.

Nikhil Dey

Feb 01 2025

Rights activist Nikhil Dey talks about the many issues faced by the ageing poor in India today and how the Union Budget can help them.

budget should reflect that pensions are not a dole they are a right nikhil dey

Representative image of activists who have worked to ensure pensions in Rajasthan. Photo: UN Women Asia and the Pacific/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED)

In the eleventh episode of 'Budget 2025: What's at Stake?', rights activist and founder member of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) Nikhil Dey talks about the many issues faced by the ageing poor in India today, with a pension system that is underfunded and excludes large numbers of people. He talks about the rise in Aadhaar-related exclusions, eKYC mismatches and biometric authentication failures, and outlines a Budget that would actually be sensitive to the needs of the elderly.

This series is a collaboration between the Centre for Financial Accountability and The Wire.

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