The government has fixed a target of 1 lakh (100,000) subscribers under the pension scheme for senior citizens through the Life Insurance Corporation, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

Appealing to members, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said they should make efforts to promote the scheme in their region.

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He said so far nearly one-third target has been met covering 34,000 subscribers.

Expressing unhappiness over the present coverage, he said it was 80 per cent in urban areas and 20 per cent in rural and the aim was to make it 50 per cent in both.

He said the gap between what the policy assures and ultimately delivers is the subsidy which currently amounts to Rs 200-300 crore (Rs 2-3 billion) per annum for 100,000 subscribers.

The minister said the government was fully committed to meeting the subsidy.

When pointed out that the interest rate on the assured amount was very low and not very attractive, Singh said: "This is a voluntary scheme and if a member does not find it attractive, he need not invest in it."