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Chief minister Jayalalithaa on Friday launched bio-metric smart cards to disburse monthly pension to old aged persons, destitute women and handicapped persons in the state to prevent pilferage and end the hardship faced by pensioners.

On a pilot basis, Ms Jayalalithaa launched the scheme through video conferencing in three taluks – Manapparai in Tiruchy, Kattumannarkovil in Cuddalore and Thovalai in Kanyakumari district. The AIADMK, in its manifesto, had promised to double the social security pension to `1,000 per month and disburse them through bank account of beneficiaries instead of postal money orders.

As per the new arrangement, a bank-appointed correspondent will deliver the cash at the pensioners’ doorstep hitherto done by postmen. All that the pensioner has to do is let the biometric machine with the staffer read his/her smart card that has a chip with the thumb impression. The machine will spit out a slip, like an ATM, and the staffer will hand out the cash. The transaction will be registered in the bank’s central server.

The revenue department has captured the fingerprints and images of the beneficiaries. There is also the option of remitting money fully or partly. The major advantage is that the pensioners will get a print-out like ATM transaction. A total of 23.94 lakh pensioners across the state have been getting a pension of over Rs.2,800 crore a year.