K Chandrasekhar Rao said that the new scheme will come in effect from April. (File Photo)
In a first of its kind initiative, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has announced Rs 1,000 per month pension as living wages of single women who were unmarried or abandoned by their family and leading a lonely life.
The new scheme, announced by the Chief Minister in the state assembly on Friday, will come into effect in April.
"There are around 3 lakh such women in the state. We are launching this unique welfare scheme to help them," Mr Rao said.
So far, there are pensions for women with disabilities, aged and widows under the Asara scheme. Women
beedi (Indigenous Indian cigarettes) workers are also eligible for the pension.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao claimed that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi is going beyond the promised made in its election manifesto and extending benefits to the needy.
He also said that suitable allocations would be made in the state budget, scheduled in March. The legislators and district collectors have been asked to identify those eligible for pension.