Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that the government would roll out a pension scheme for shopkeepers whose annual turnover is below Rs 1.5 crore. The programme was announced as part of the Union Budget 2019 tabled in Parliament on Friday.

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Nirmala said the scheme would be called the Pradhan Mantri Man Dhan Scheme. She added that it is expected to cover three crore shop owners. The scheme had been approved by the new Modi Cabinet in its very first meeting. The pension scheme was a key part of the BJP's election manifesto aimed at small traders.

Small traders between the ages of 18 and 40 will be eligible to sign up for the scheme. They will be assured of a monthly pension of Rs 30000 per month after they reach the age of 60. Reports have said the scheme would be implemented on a 50:50 share in terms of contribution to the pension fund. That means, the government will contribute an equivalent amount that the small trader pays monthly towards the pension scheme.

Pradhan Mantri Man Dhan Scheme may be seen as part of the Modi government's efforts to expand the social security structure to cover an increasing number of sectors. The government had in its first term launched other pension schemes like the Atal Pension Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan Pension Yojana, which are aimed at workers in India's vast unorganised sector.