Crosslinks Foundation launches pension contribution drive for ASHA workers in Odisha

Bhubaneshwar, March 31, 2020 - Crosslinks Foundation, a registered charitable trust working in the areas of financial inclusion and rural development, today announced that it will sponsor the monthly old-age pension contributions of ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) workers in Balianta block for next five months in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Crosslinks will extend this benefit to both existing and new enrollments in Government of India's old-age pension product (PM-SYM) for the informal sector that includes community health workers (ASHA).
PM-SYM (Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan Yojana) is a voluntary and contributory old-age pension scheme for unorganized workers in healthcare, domestic services, education, agriculture, construction, street vending, cottage industries and similar occupations. Any unorganized sector worker between 18 and 40 years of age earning less than INR15,000 per month is eligible to join the PM-SYM scheme and will receive a guaranteed monthly pension of INR3,000 in old age by making monthly age-specific contributions till h/she turns 60. As per Ministry of Labour and Employment, the PM-SYM subscriber base in Odisha is over 1.5 lacs while the pan-India enrollment has crossed 43 lacs as on 19th March, 2020.
Santosh, Chairman and Trustee at Crosslinks Foundation said, "Odisha has over 46,000 ASHA workers who are the frontline warriors in the state's battle against the novel Coronavirus pandemic. ASHA workers are taking on enormous personal risks while educating both urban and rural households through door-to-door visits about this deadly contagion, its symptoms and precautionary measures to be undertaken. Crosslinks' new pension contribution initiative is a small token of appreciation for their tremendous commitment to the cause of public healthcare in spite of significant personal hardships."
Crosslinks Foundation has been working in the social security area for over 5 years and has recently completed a large old-age pension project in 400 villages of Odisha and Karnataka states. The project employed novel digital and behavioral interventions to successfully enroll 1500+ low-income rural households in Government of India's Atal Pension Yojana (APY) scheme. The project was supported by innovation grants from SIDBI/PSIG and USAID/DIV and was executed in partnership with ISEC (Institute for Social and Economic Change), an All-India Institute for Inter-disciplinary Research and Training in the Social Sciences in Bangalore established in 1972.
Soumyaprakash Das, State Head (Odisha) at Crosslinks Foundation added, "ASHA workers are paid a monthly honorarium for their duties but their work is extremely demanding and critical in these difficult times. The objective of this pension funding drive is to supplement their income so that they do not have to dip into their limited savings in order to pay their PM-SYM contributions for the next few months. While Crosslinks will sponsor the contributions of ASHA workers in Balianta block through its own resources, our organization intends to mobilize additional funds through corporate CSR partnerships, private donations and online crowdfunding to support workers in other parts of the state."

Crosslinks Foundation
4053, Sobha Daffodil, Somasundarapalaya,
HSR Layout, Bangalore, India PIN - 560102
crosslinksfoundation@gmail.com
Press Contact: Akrur Nandi

About Crosslinks Foundation
Founded in 2014, Crosslinks is a registered charitable trust with a vision to harness modern technologies and policy toolsets to deliver lasting social change. Crosslinks focuses on inter-disciplinary social sector challenges in critical developmental areas related to financial inclusion, poverty alleviation and rural development. Crosslinks is working with its national and international partners on a portfolio of projects that involve a strong community outreach component, use of next-generation mobile/web/sensor technologies, and an evidence-based practice through randomized field experiments.
Website: www.crosslinksfoundation.org E-mail: crosslinksfoundation@gmail.com

This release was published on openPR.