The Centre and the pension regulator PFRDA are hopeful of bringing at least one crore subscribers by March 2018 under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) platform, which is one of the flagship schemes of the Central government.
APY is an extremely important tool for giving pension benefit at the age of 60 years and beyond. It was launched to encourage individuals from the weaker section to opt for pension, which would immensely benefit them during their old age. In the last two years since launch, APY has been able to mobilise 69 lakh accounts.
Addressing a national APY conference 2017, organised by PFRDA, Rajiv Kumar, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, said India was a huge country and a lot had to be done on the pension front. The pension coverage in the country is still low at 10-12 per cent, he added.
“We have fixed a target of 1 crore for APY to be achieved by March 2018. When we can achieve huge success in Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bhima Yojana (PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bhima Yojana (PMJJBY), there is no reason why we can’t achieve the target in APY,” Kumar said.
Kumar said that the Department of Financial Services has been closely monitoring the progress made on the APY enrolment.
BS Bhandari, Wholetime Member, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, later told BusinessLine that the pension regulator is hopeful of achieving the 1 crore target.
In April-September this year, a whopping 20 lakh APY accounts were opened, he noted.
Encouraging trendThis was an encouraging trend given that in 2015-16, the first year, as many as 25 lakh accounts were opened and in 2016-17 another 25 lakh accounts were opened. Registration for APY had started in June 2015.
“APY is picking up pace with more awareness. Banks are also playing an important role and offering online facility to push APY adoption,” Bhandari said.
The APY scheme can also be taken by individuals working in private sector organisations or by anyone who is self-employed. The APY scheme helps the weaker section to save up for their old age and get a guaranteed monthly pension amount. Under this plan, the subscriber will receive a fixed pension after the age of 60, depending on his contribution amount and tenure.