21-Apr-2022: Atal Pension Yojana total enrolments crossed 4 crore

The total enrollments under APY Scheme have crossed 4.01 crore as on March 2022 out of which more than 99 lakh APY accounts were opened during FY 2021-22. The scheme had seen this tremendous success due to the active participation of all categories of Banks. Around 71% of the enrolments done by Public-sector banks, 19% by Regional Rural Banks, 6% by Private Sector Banks, 3% by Payment and Small Finance Banks.

State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Central Bank of India achieved annual target in the Public-sector Bank category.

While Vidarbha Konkan Bank, Tripura Gramin Bank, Jharkhand Rajya Gramin Bank , Paschim Banga Gramin Bank, Baroda UP Bank, Uttarbanga Ksheriya Gramin Bank ,Aryavart Bank, Baroda Gujarat Gramin Bank, Uttar Bihar Gramin Bank, Maharashtra Gramin Bank, Odisha Gramya Bank, Madhya Pradesh Gramin Bank, Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank, Chaitanya Godavari Grameena Bank, Telangana Grameena Bank, Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank, Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Gramin Bank, Rajasthan Marudhara Gramin Bank, Dakshin Bihar Gramin Bank, Prathama UP Gramin Bank, Punjab Gramin Bank, Puduvai Bharthiar Grama Bank, Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank, Manipur Rural Bank and Uttarakhand Gramin Bank achieved annual targets in the Regional Rural Bank category.

Also, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, AU Small Finance Bank,Shri Mahila Sewa Sahakari Bank, The Kalupur Commercial Co-Operative Bank, The Sabarkantha District Central Co-Operative Bank and Rajkot Nagarik Sahakari Bank achieved annual target in other bank categories.

Apart from the Banks, 9 State Level Banker’s Committees Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, West-Bengal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Tripura achieved annual targets under APY.

Out of the total enrolments under APY as on 31st March 2022, nearly 80% subscribers have opted for Rs 1000 pension plan and 13% for Rs 5000 pension plan. Out of the total APY subscribers 44 % are female subscribers while 56% are male subscribers. Further, out of the total APY subscribers, 45% are aged between 18 and 25 years.

On Independence Day 2021 speech our Hon’ble Prime-minister emphasized on the saturation of Government’s social security schemes including Atal Pension Yojana to each and every entitled person. PFRDA, in line with the Government’s saturation mission has undertaken to conduct outreach programs in co-ordination with all SLBCs and RRBs across the country. In the FY 2021-22, 13 such physical outreach programs were conducted and the remaining programs will be conducted in the current Financial Year.

PFRDA has strategized to target Jan Dhan accounts holders, promote digital mode of enrolment to target young population, involving other Central ministries, State Governments and agencies like NRLM/ SRLM for APY outreach programs through webinars and townhall meetings.

Atal Pension Yojana is the guaranteed pension scheme of Government of India administered by PFRDA. The scheme allows any Citizen of India between the age group of 18-40 years to join through the bank or post office branches where one has the savings bank account. Under the scheme, a subscriber would receive a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs.1000 to Rs. 5000 per month from the age of 60 years, depending upon his contribution. The same pension would be paid to the spouse of the subscriber after the demise of subscriber and on demise of both the subscriber and spouse, the pension wealth as accumulated till age 60 of the subscriber would be returned back to the nominee.

PFRDA is committed to take total enrolments under APY to greater heights and contribute towards making India a pensioned society.

14-Mar-2022: 3.89 crore subscribers enrolled under Atal Pension Yojana (APY) as on 07.03.2022

The number of subscribers enrolled under Atal Pension Yojana (APY) as on 07.03.2022 is 3.89 crore. This was stated by Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

The Minister stated that the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is a Government of India Scheme which was launched on 9th May, 2015, and was operationalised w.e.f. 1st June, 2015. The minimum age of joining APY is 18 years and maximum age is 40 years and the subscriber will receive pension benefit after the age of 60 years.

The Minister further stated that APY is being administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) which has taken several steps to create awareness and increase the outreach of the Scheme. Some of the steps are given below:

1. Conducting outreach programmes in collaboration with RRBs and SLBCs.
2. Conducting periodic meetings with bank officials for reviewing the progress of implementation of APY across the country.
3. Capacity building of bank branch officials/banking correspondents through various training programs so that information regarding the Scheme and its benefits can be disseminated to the potential/eligible population.
4. Periodic advertisements in print and electronic media.

8-Feb-2022: More than 71 lakh subscribers enrolled under Atal Pension Yojana upto 24.01.2022

As per information received from Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), 71,06,743 subscribers have been enrolled under Atal Pension Yojana (APY) up to 24.01.2022, during the financial year 2021-22. This was stated by Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

Giving more details, the Minister stated the number of subscribers enrolled under APY during last five years, given as under:

The Minister further stated that the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is a Government of India Scheme launched on 9th May, 2015, with the objective of creating a universal social security system for all Indians, especially the poor, the under-privileged and the workers in the unorganised sector. The Scheme became operational w.e.f. 1st June, 2015, and is being administered by the PFRDA. It is open to all citizens of India between 18-40 years of age having a savings bank account in a bank or post-office.

There are five pension plan slabs available under the scheme namely, Rs 1000, Rs 2000, Rs 3000, Rs 4000, and Rs 5000 guaranteed by Government of India to the subscriber at the age of 60 years. On death of subscriber, same pension to spouse is guaranteed by Government of India, the Minister stated.

22-Mar-2021: Rs 57,078.22 lakh disbursed under Atal Pension Yojana till February 2021

The Government has made a co-contribution amount of Rs 57,078.22 lakh disbursed till February 2021 under Atal Pension Yojana, this was stated by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Giving more details, the Atal Pension Yojana is a Government of India Scheme launched on 9th May, 2015, and became operational w.e.f. 1st June, 2015. It is open to all citizens of India between 18-40 years of age, having a savings bank account in a bank or post office. The benefits of the scheme will arise to the subscribers on attaining the age of 60 years. Five pension plan slabs are available under the scheme namely, Rs 1000, Rs 2000, Rs 3000, Rs 4000, and Rs 5000 guaranteed by Government of India to the subscriber at the age of 60 years. On death of subscriber, same pension to spouse is guaranteed by Government of India. Return of full pension corpus to nominee in the event of death of both subscriber and the spouse. If the actual returns during the accumulation phase are higher than the assumed returns for minimum guaranteed pension, such excess will be passed to the subscribers.

The Minister further stated that the Central Government co-contributes 50% of the total contribution or Rs. 1000 per annum, whichever is lower, for those subscribers who have joined the scheme during the period 1st June, 2015 to 31st March, 2016, and who are not members of any statutory social security scheme and who are not income tax payers. The State-wise details of the funds disbursed under Government Co-contribution for the period June, 2015 to February, 2021 is enclosed at ANNEXURE A.

The Minister listed out the following measures being taken by the Government to increase the enrolment under APY:

1. Changing the mode of payment of contribution by subscriber from only monthly to monthly, quarterly, and half yearly, keeping in consideration the seasonal income earners.
2. Subscribers now can upgrade or downgrade the Pension amount at any time during the financial year. This facility can be availed once during the financial year.
3. Official mobile app to access APY accounts, as well as Value Added Facilities like E-PRAN and E-SOT to access PRAN and Statement of transactions under the APY account online.
4. As a step towards easing the APY subscribers on-boarding, an alternate paper-less mode for on-boarding bank’s existing SB customers under Atal Pension Yojana has been approved by PFRDA, without using net-banking of banks.
5. Around 17 banks providing on-boarding facility using Net-Banking are identified. The NSDL has been advised to enable the on-boarding of subscribers using APY App using the net banking URL of these banks.
6. APY app is now live on Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) platform.
7. Periodic advertisements in print and electronic media in English, Hindi and regional languages, are being made.
8. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) officials conduct regular review meetings with bank officials for reviewing the progress of implementation of APY across the country.
9. Grievance Module is available for APY Subscribers
10. Capacity building of bank branch officials through various training programmes.

11-May-2020: Marking 5 Years of Successful Implementation

The flagship social security scheme of Government of India ‘Atal Pension Yojana’ (APY) has completed five years of successful implementation. Launched on 9th May 2015 by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi with an objective of delivering old age income security particularly to the workers in the unorganised sector and Government providing guarantee of minimum pension after 60 years of age, the scheme even after garnering 2.23 crores workers under the ambit of pension still remains unequivocally relevant for addressing the challenges of rapidly increasing aging population of India. Apart from remarkable enrolments, the scheme has been implemented comprehensively across the country covering all states and Union Territories with male to female subscription ratio of 57:43.

The journey of APY over these five years has been phenomenal and as on 9th May 2020, the total enrolment under the scheme stood at 2,23,54,028.  During the first two years of its launch, almost 50 lacs subscribers were enrolled which doubled to 100 lacs in the third year and the milestone of 1.50 crore was achieved in the 4th year. In the last financial year, almost 70 lacs subscribers were enrolled under the scheme.

Shri Supratim Bandyopadhyay, Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), which administers Atal Pension Yojana, said ‘this feat of bringing in the most vulnerable sections of the society under the coverage of pension was possible only with the untiring efforts of Public & Private Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Payments Banks, Small Finance Banks, Department of Posts and the support extended by the State Level Bankers’ Committees’.

APY can be subscribed by any Indian citizen in the age group of 18-40 years having a bank account and its uniqueness is attributable to three distinctive benefits. First, it provides a minimum guaranteed pension ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 on attaining 60 years of age, Secondly the amount of pension is guaranteed for lifetime to spouse on death of the subscriber and lastly, in the event of death of both the subscriber and the spouse, entire pension corpus is paid to the nominee.

The PFRDA Chairman (Shri Supratim Bandyopadhyay) said ‘going forward we have a humongous task of increasing the pension coverage as only five per cent of the eligible population has been covered under APY till date and recognising the social importance of this scheme, we continuously undertake proactive initiatives for achieving exponential growth and addressing unexpected scenarios as an when they arise.’

About PFRDA: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is the statutory Authority established by an enactment of the Parliament, to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the National Pension System (NPS) and pension schemes to which this Act applies. NPS was initially notified for central government employees recruits w.e.f 1st Jan 2004 and subsequently adopted by almost all State Governments for its employees. NPS was extended to all Indian citizens (resident/non-resident/overseas) on a voluntary basis and to corporates for its employees.

As on 30th April 2020, the total number of subscribers under NPS and Atal Pension Yojana has crossed 3.46 crore and the Asset under Management (AUM) has grown to Rs 4,33,555crore. More than 68 lakhs government employees have been enrolled under NPS and 22.60 lakhs subscribers have subscribed to NPS in the private sector with 7,616 entities registered as corporates.

11-Feb-2020: Subscribers in Atal Pension Yojana

As per Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) the number of subscribers in Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has increased during the last three years from 4,883,829 subscribers in FY 2016-17 to 15,418,285 subscribers in FY 2018-19.

Shri Thakur said that as informed by PFRDA, the State-wise details of subscribers under APY are available and the number of subscribers enrolled under APY in the State of Rajasthan as on 27th January, 2020, is  9, 47,104.

5-Sep-2018: Atal Pension Yojana indefinitely extended

The Union Cabinet decided to indefinitely extend the Atal Pension Scheme, which lapsed in August, while doubling the accident insurance and relaxing the age criteria by five years to further incentivise the scheme.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is a social security scheme launched by the government in 2015 to provide a defined pension between Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the media after the cabinet meeting that the scheme in its new avatar will expand its focus to target individuals, instead of households.

According to government data, over 1 crore people have benefited from the government's flagship scheme. "The scheme, which was earlier for four years, lapsed in August 2018. But seeing the mass participation in this runaway-success scheme, the cabinet has decided to extend it and keep it open-ended".

To further incentivize people's participation in the scheme, Jaitley said the government had decided to relax the age criteria for participation in the scheme. Earlier, people of age 18 to 60 years were entitled to enroll in the scheme. But looking at the rise in average age-expectancy, now the government has relaxed it further to 65 years.

All accounts opened after August 28 will have an accident insurance limit of Rs 2 lakh, double the earlier Rs 1 lakh limit. Government has also increased the overdraft facility of the scheme from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000".

Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana is "the largest financial inclusion initiatives in the world". The scheme had in the last four years changed lives of millions of Indians. Those who were left out of financial system must be brought within it for realising the dream of New India. The NDA government is committed to make life of every Indian better than before. The benefits of the scheme speak loudly about the same.

Out of the 32.41 crore accounts have been opened under the scheme, 53 per cent account holders are women, 59 per cent accounts belong to rural and semi-urban areas, and 83 per cent accounts are Aadhar seeded with 24.4 crore having RuPay debit cards.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has been a boon to rural households, especially women, as they are the largest beneficiaries of this scheme, which has not only given them financial independence but has led to empowerment.

15-May-2018: Atal Pension Yojana crosses 1 crore subscribers in 3 years

Atal Pension Yojana has added over 1 crore subscribers since its launch in May 2015, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) said in a statement.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY) was launched in May 2015 and current number of subscriber stands at 1.10 crore. Till date, the APY has collected Rs 3,950 crore of contribution from subscribers. The scheme has generated around 9.10 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) since inception till March 2018, it said further.

A guaranteed pension scheme for citizens of India announced by the government on May 9, 2015, APY is focused on the unorganised sector workers which constitute more than 85 per cent of the workforce.

Under this scheme, the guaranteed minimum pension of Rs 1,000 per month or Rs 2,000-5,000 per month will be given at the age of 60 years depending on the contributions by subscribers.

The spouse of a subscriber is also eligible for pension and the nominee receives the accumulated pension wealth.

On completion of three years of the scheme, the PFRDA in coordination with 'Department of Financial Services organised a massive outreach campaign 'APY Formation Day' across the country to enhance the enrolments in APY by banks and Department of Posts.

The subscriber base in APY has grown manifold to reach the current position and APY is offered by all the banks and post offices. Across the country, 1.60 lakh branches which includes 20,000 post offices offer the services of opening APY account for their customers.

Out of this branch network, nearly 90 per cent of the branches have mobilized one or more APY account in the last three years.

The top ten states in APY mobilisation are Uttar Pradesh (1,401,631); Bihar (1,061,660); Tamil Nadu (814,917); Maharashtra (758,695); Karnataka (686,504); Andhra Pradesh (686,504); West Bengal (551,471); Madhya Pradesh (498,111); Rajasthan (497,962) and Gujarat (486,465).

27-Jan-2018: Small finance banks and payment banks to offer Atal Pension Yojana

Payments Banks and Small Finance Banks are now allowed to sell Atal Pension Yojana (APY). Finance ministry opined that given the strength, expertise and reach of these new age banks, they can play a pivotal role in outreach of subscribers under APY. At present there are 11 Payment Banks and 10 Small Finance Banks.

Participation in APY not only builds a pensioned society but also adds sustainable fee income to banks by way of attractive incentive for mobilizing Rs 120-150 for each APY Account.

At present there are more than 84 lakh subscribers registered under the APY scheme with an asset base of more than Rs 3,194 crore.

The scheme follows the same investment pattern as applicable to the NPS contribution of Central government employees. During the year 2016-17, it has earned a return of 13.91%. At present 233 Banks and Department of Post are involved with the implementation of the scheme.

The scheme which became operational from June 2015 is available to all Indian citizens in the age group of 18-40 years. Under the scheme, a subscriber would receive a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 per month, depending upon his contribution, from the age of 60 years.

The highest contributing State is Uttar Pradesh with 11.41 APY account followed by Bihar & Tamil Nadu with 8.87 lakh & 6.60 lakh subscribers respectively.

10-Nov-2017: “People First” campaign to increase APY outreach

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has planned to conduct State specific APY mobilization Campaigns under the title “People First”. The People First campaign will be a series of campaigns conducted at various states across the country to increase APY outreach.

To begin with, People First Campaign is being conducted in the State of Uttar Pradesh from 7th- 14th November 2017. In the first three days, more than 15,000 APY accounts have been sourced in UP. All the banks and its branches and postal branches are participating in the Campaign with enthusiasm. UP has more than 17,000 APY touch points which include all bank branches and post offices in the State. Out of 17,000 branches, more than 15000 branches have sourced at least one APY account in the current year.

At the end of the Campaign, PFRDA has planned to recognize the achievers under the criteria given below.

UP is the largest State in the country with a population of 7.1 crore in the APY scheme age group of 18-40 years. UP State is the largest contributor so far in the scheme, with nearly 7 lacs enrolment. There is however considerable scope for future growth in APY enrolments in the State.

Overall, APY subscriber base has reached 71 lacs and more than 10,000 APY accounts are getting opened every day.

Based on the success of the Campaign, PFRDA is planning to roll out similar campaigns in other States such as Bihar, MP and Rajasthan in the next few weeks.

30-Aug-2017: Atal Pension Yojana (APY) surges ahead with 62 lakh enrolment

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) through its ‘One Nation One Pension’ Mobilization Campaign has sourced approximately 3.07 lakh APY accounts which led to a total of 62 lakh enrolments under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) as on date. This campaign was organized all over the country by PFRDA from 2nd August to 19th August 2017 in association with the APY Service Provider Banks. Increasing enrolment is attributed to financialization of assets and driving the people to pension products which has Govt of India implicit guarantee to give an assured pension to the subscriber, spouse and return of corpus to the nominee.

Under the campaign some of the largest banks in the country namely, State Bank of India helped source 51,000 APY accounts and other prominent banks like Canara Bank which has sourced 32,306 APY accounts, Andhra Bank at 29,057 APY accounts, in other private banks category, Karnataka Bank at 2641 APY accounts, in RRB's category, Allahabad UP Gramin Bank at 28,609 accounts followed by Madhya Bihar Gramin Bank at 5,056 APY accounts , Baroda Uttar Pradesh Gramin Bank at 3,013 APY accounts, Kashi Gomti Samyut Gramin Bank at 2,847 APY accounts & Punjab Gramin Bank at 2,194 APY accounts.

At a time when the interest rate on various financial instruments including Savings Bank is declining, Atal Pension Yojana as a pension scheme offers a guaranteed rate of 8% assured return for the subscribers and also the opportunity of higher earnings in case the rate of return is higher than 8% at the time of maturity, after staying invested in the scheme for 20-42 years. Department of Financial Services in association with Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has been organizing various APY campaigns to give thrust through which the population not covered by any pension scheme is approached by APY Service Provider banks and Department of Posts to inform about the salient features and benefits of the APY scheme and are encouraged to get enrolled in the scheme.

The objective of PFRDA is to cover the maximum possible population uncovered by any pension scheme under the APY scheme so that India as a nation can move from a pension less to a pensioned society and the citizens can live a life of dignity in their vulnerable years.

5-Jun-2017: Aadhaar made mandatory for Atal Pension Yojana

The Aadhaar card has now been made mandatory for Atal Pension Yojana. Those who contributing for the pension scheme will now be required to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo the enrolment process to get the benefits. For the Atal Pension Yojana, the deadline for getting the Aadhaar is June 15.

However, till an Aadhaar card is obtained, ration card, driving licence, voter identity card, Kisan passbook with photo, job card issued under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and a certificate issued by a gazetted officer or a tehsildar will be considered as proof of identity for the benefits.

The decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for this scheme will prevent leakages of subsidies and ensure that the beneficiaries get their due. For this, the central government has invoked Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, which mandates that when the government gives subsidy, benefit or service from the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI), an individual can be asked to undergo authentication or furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar.

Under the Atal Pension Yojana, which is available to all the citizens in the age group of 18-40 years, a subscriber would receive a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 per month, depending upon his contribution, from the age of 60 years. The same pension would be paid to the spouse of the subscriber and on the demise of both the subscriber and the spouse, the accumulated pension wealth is returned to the nominee.

25-Apr-2017: Online Statement Of Transaction (e-SOT) and the e-PRAN card launched for Atal Pension Yojana (APY) subscribers

With a view to digitally empower the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) subscribers and improve the quality of service, the facility of online viewing of the statement of transaction(e-SOT) and also the e-PRAN card have been launched. More than 45 lacs APY subscribers are likely to be benefitted.

By providing the APY/PRAN Acct details and Savings Bank Account number details, the APY subscriber can view one's APY Account Statement. Even for the APY subscriber who does not have his APY PRAN number readily available can also avail these facilities by providing one's Date of Birth and Savings Bank Account number details. This online tool enables the Subscribers to view his complete details of APY account like transaction details, pension amount, pension commencement date, nominee name, associated bank name etc. Even though the feature is a self-servicing tool but the service providers can also access the feature on behalf of their customer to improve the quality of customer service. APY Subscribers can print their e PRAN card and get it laminated for their future reference if needed. In case of any changes in the demographic details in the APY account, the subscribers can re-print their e-PRAN which shows the updated subscriber records.

 The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) Scheme is being implemented through 235 APY-Service Providers all over the country consisting of 27 Public Sector Banks (PSBs), 19 private banks, 1 foreign bank, 56 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), 109 District Cooperative Banks (DCBs), 16 State Cooperative Banks(SCBs), 6 Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) and the Department of Posts. All the APY-SPs are partners in achieving the APY outreach through-out the length and breadth of the country. Presently, there are more than 45 lacs subscribers registered in the Scheme. About 10000-15000 APY subscribers are getting enrolled into the Scheme every day.

 The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) was launched by the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi on 09th May, 2015 and became operational from 1st June, 2015. APY is available for all citizens of India in the age group of 18-40 years. Under the APY, the subscribers would receive a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs. 1000 to Rs. 5000 per month from the age of 60 years, depending on their contributions, which depends on the age of the subscriber at the time of joining the APY. The Same amount of pension is paid to the spouse in case of subscriber’s demise. After the demise of both i.e. Subscriber & Spouse, the nominee would be paid with the pension corpus. There is option for Spouse to continue to contribute for balance period on premature death of subscriber before 60 years, so as to avail pension by Spouse. There are tax benefits at entry, accumulation and pension payment phases. If the actual returns on the pension contributions during the accumulation phase are higher than the assumed returns for the minimum guaranteed pension, such excess returns are passed on to the subscriber, resulting in enhanced scheme benefits.