The Centre has decided to link payment of pension for the elderly, widows and disabled persons to the Aadhaar to ensure timely delivery.

The decision was taken here on Tuesday at a meeting chaired by Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh. The present structure of payment is a time-consuming one and does not allow for monthly payment of the pension of Rs.200 to those eligible under these three categories.

Usually, these payments are made in bulk, at times after a gap of six to eight months, defeating the purpose of the scheme.

The architecture of the route taken by the money to reach the beneficiary will also be revised. The system will be so developed that the funds the States receive from the Centre are directly paid to the beneficiary through micro ATMs, which are now used to make wage payment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in a few districts on a pilot scheme basis.

The new system will be evolved by March 10 and launched on a test basis in some States before it is expanded to cover the entire country by the next financial year.