Press
Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
16-October-2017 16:57 IST
Over 69 lacs subscribers join Atal
Pension Yojana with contribution of Rs. 2690 crores
Secretary DFS: Still Scope for increasing pension coverage
Secretary DFS: Still Scope for increasing pension coverage
Atal Pension Yojana currently has over 69 lacs subscribers
with contribution of Rs. 2690.00 crores. Chairman, PFRDA Shri Hemant G
Contractor however emphasised the need of increasing the pension coverage in
India at a recently concluded conference on Atal Pension Yojana. The conference
organised by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) in the
national capital saw participation from all major banks, representatives from
NPCI, SCHIL, SIDBI, Access Assist and some major MFIs.
A large section of the society still does not have access to
pensions and this is a cause of concern for PFRDA and Government, Shri
Contactor said. Congratulating the winners of the contest organised by PFRDA
the Chairman said that APY has made progress in covering the intended
subscribers but much remains to be done. He mentioned that on an average, a
little less than 2% of the eligible population is covered under APY and hence a
lot has to be done to provide people a regular access to old age income. He
also touched upon the issues of persistence in the APY accounts and asserted
that the objective of the scheme is to provide pension and this will only
happen if the contribution in the account has been regularly paid. He urged the
APY Service Providers to educate the subscribers on the importance of the same.
He also urged upon the APY Service Providers i.e Banks and Post Offices under
Department of Post to achieve the targets allocated by government by putting in
their best efforts.
A video message of Shri Rajiv Kumar, Secretary DFS was
played during the occasion. Shri Rajiv Kumar mentioned that Atal Pension Yojana
is flagship program of the Government of India under financial inclusion and
financial security. The pension coverage in this country is at around 12% and banks
and other stakeholder need to work towards greater coverage under the scheme.
He also said that DFS is monitoring the progress under the scheme and targets
allocated under the scheme to banks should be accomplished. He touched upon the
subject of providing a digital platform for APY by PFRDA i.e e-APY. Secretary
Shri Rajiv Kumar congratulated the banks on their performance under the
campaigns and urged them to continue the work.
While the government has a pension scheme for the BPL
persons but the amount is meagre and is not sufficient for old age needs. 9% of
the population of India, i.e 110 million people are over 60 years and by 2030
this figure is expected to cross 180 million. The 60 plus age groups is the
fastest growing demographic in the country. With increase in longevity of the
people, disintegration of the joint family system in India and inflation, there
is greater need for old age than ever before. Currently pension benefits are
available India basically to the organised sector. Atal Pension Yojana
introduced in 2015 by Government of India provides a self- contributory savings
pension scheme with guaranteed pension of Rs. 1,000/- to Rs. 5,000/- with a
very low contribution by the subscriber. All banks and Department of Post have
pushed the product to the interiors of the country. APY has option for
increasing the pension amount from Rs. 1000/- to any other amount up to Rs.
5000/- as per the savings capacity of the subscriber, and further allows the
spouse to continue the account in the event of the death of the subscriber
before the age of sixty years. PFRDA has also been engaging with various State
Governments for providing co-contribution under the scheme. With the
introduction of e-APY through Aadhaar, the banks will be able to effectively utilise
the digital platform for greater coverage.
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