Atal Pension Yojana

{{Short description|Indian national pension scheme}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}

{{Infobox project

| image= Atal_Pension_Yojana.png

| country = India

| key_people = Arun Jaitley, Nirmala Sitharaman

| launched = Original launch in 2010–11. Relaunched on {{Start date and age|2015|05|09|df=y}}

| website = {{URL|https://jansuraksha.gov.in/}}

| current_status = Active

}}

Atal Pension Yojana (APY, translation: Atal's Pension Scheme), formerly known as Swavalamban Yojana (SY, translation: Self-Support Scheme), is a government-backed pension scheme in India, primarily targeted at the unorganised sector. It was primarily launched as Swavalamban Yojana by UPA government , but renamed as Atal Pension Yojana in 2015 after the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Bajpayee. It was mentioned in the year 2015 budget speech of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.{{citation |title=Jan Suraksha: Social security for masses, pricing woes for insurers|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/jan-suraksha-social-security-for-masses-pricing-woes-for-insurers-115050900786_1.html |work=Business Standard|date=9 May 2015}} It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 May 2015 in Kolkata.{{citation |title=Banks advertise Pradhan Mantri Bima Yojana ahead of the roll out|url=http://www.livemint.com/Money/n6uNxsGr1kytGMNBXklVTI/Banks-advertise-Pradhan-Mantri-Bima-Yojana-ahead-of-the-roll.html |work=Live Mint|date=8 May 2015}} Its main objective is to help towards economic security of those people who become depressed after their working age and take retirement from professional life.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-21 |title=What is Atal Pension Yojana how to get pension, know details |url=https://www.prabhatkhabar.com/business/what-is-atal-pension-yojana-how-to-get-pension-best-retirement-plan-mdn |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=Prabhat Khabar |language=en-US}}

History

Swavalamban Yojana was a government-backed pension scheme targeted at the unorganised sector in India. It was applicable to all citizens in the unorganised sector who joined the National Pension Scheme (NPS) administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Act 2013.{{Cite web|url=http://www.southindianbank.com/userfiles/swavalamban_yojana_operational_guidelines.pdf|title=Swavalamban Scheme: Operational Guidelines|accessdate=6 April 2023}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/fm-to-launch-swavalamban-pension-scheme-tomorrow-110092500147_1.html|title=FM to launch Swavalamban pension scheme tomorrow|date=2010-09-25|work=Business Standard|access-date=2019-07-21}}

Under the scheme, the Government of India contributed {{INRConvert|1000}} per year to each NPS account opened in the year 2010–11 and for the next three years, that is, 2011–12, 2012–13 and 2013–14. The benefit was available only to people who joined the NPS with a minimum contribution of {{INRConvert|1000}} and maximum contribution of {{INRConvert|12000}} per annum. The scheme was announced by the Finance Minister in Budget 2010–11. It was funded by grants from the Government of India.

This scheme has been replaced with Atal Pension Yojana,{{Cite web|url=https://financialservices.gov.in/pension-reforms-divisions/Swavalamban-Scheme|title=Swavalamban Scheme|website=Department of Financial Services {{!}} Government of India|access-date=2019-07-21}} in which all subscribing workers below the age of 40 are eligible for pension of up to {{INRConvert|5000}} per month on attainment of 60 years of age.{{cite web |title=Atal Pension Yojana (APY)1 – Details of the Scheme |url=https://npscra.nsdl.co.in/nsdl/scheme-details/APY_Scheme_Details.pdf |website=npscra.nsdl.co.in}}{{Cite web |title=FAQ |url=https://www.npscra.nsdl.co.in/nsdl-faq.php |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=www.npscra.nsdl.co.in}} This scheme was named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former prime minister of India.

Scheme

To be eligible to avail the scheme, a person's age should be between 18 and 40 years. The pension of the person joining the scheme depends on the investment made in it and the time limit of investment.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-13 |title=atal pension yojana modi government scheme of get pension |url=https://www.prabhatkhabar.com/business/atal-pension-yojana-modi-government-scheme-of-getting-five-thousand-pension-6-crore-people-enrolled-mdn |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=Prabhat Khabar |language=en-US}} In order to incentivize people to enroll in this scheme and widen its reach, the government announced that it would co-contribute 50% of the total contribution or {{INRConvert|1|k}} per annum, whichever is lower, to each eligible subscriber account, for a period of 5 years. Only subscribers who had enrolled in APY between 1 June 2015 and 31 March 2016, were not beneficiaries of any social security schemes, and did not have taxable income, were eligible for this co-contribution.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/a-good-bet-for-lower-middle-class/article27104639.ece|title=A good bet for lower middle class|last=Gunasekaran|first=Dhuraivel|date=2019-05-12|work=The Hindu|access-date=2019-07-21|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/invest/atal-pension-yojana-eligible-for-same-tax-benefits-as-national-pension-system/articleshow/51108260.cms|title=Atal Pension Yojana eligible for same tax benefits as National Pension System|last=Mukerji|first=Chandralekha|date=2016-02-23|work=The Economic Times|access-date=2019-07-21}}

The minimum eligible age for a person to join APY is 18 years and the maximum is 40 years.{{Cite web|url=https://www.india.gov.in/spotlight/atal-pension-yojana|title=Atal Pension Yojana {{!}} National Portal of India|website=www.india.gov.in|access-date=2019-07-21}}{{Cite web |date=23 January 2022 |title=सरकारी जॉब्स पाए सबसे पहले sarkaribee.com पर |url=https://sarkaribee.com/ |archive-url=https://sarkaribee.com |archive-date=23 January 2022 |accessdate=6 April 2023}} An enrolled person would start receiving pension on attaining the age of 60 years. Therefore, a minimum period of contribution by the subscriber under APY would be 20 years.{{Cite web|url=https://revexpo.com/review/about-atal-pension-yojana-apy/|title=About Atal Pension Yojana-APY|website=revexpo.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-31}} The individual's Aadhaar card is the primary "know your customer" (KYC) document for identification of beneficiaries, spouses, and nominees to avoid entitlement-related disputes in the long-term. For proof of address, an individual may submit a copy of their ration card or bank passbook.

Subscribers are required to opt for a monthly pension from {{INRConvert|1|k}} to {{INRConvert|5|k}} and ensure payment of the stipulated contribution regularly (monthly, quarterly, or half-yearly basis). Subscribers can opt to decrease or increase pension amount during the course of the accumulation phase, as per the available monthly pension amounts. However, the option to switch is only provided once a year during the month of April.

This scheme will be linked to the bank accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana scheme and the contributions will be deducted automatically.{{cite news|title='Jan Suraksha schemes to help eliminate Jan Dhan's zero balance accounts'|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/jan-suraksha-schemes-to-help-eliminate-jan-dhan-s-zero-balance-accounts-115050801384_1.html|access-date=9 May 2015|work=Business Standard|date=8 May 2015}}

Subscribers & subscription amount

class="wikitable sortable"

!Year

!Swavalamban Scheme subscription (Cr)

!Swavalamban Scheme subscriber

!Atal Pension Scheme subscription (Cr)

!Atal Pension Scheme subscriber

2012{{cite web|url=https://www.pfrda.org.in/myauth/admin/showimg.cshtml?ID=50|access-date=6 April 2023|website=pfrda.org.in

|title=Annual report 2012-2013}}

!141

!968755

!-

!-

2013

!436

!1779944

!-

!-

2014{{cite web|url=https://www.pfrda.org.in/myauth/admin/showimg.cshtml?ID=459|access-date=6 April 2023|website=pfrda.org.in|title=Annual report 2014}}

!844

!2816027

!-

!-

2015{{cite web|url=https://www.pfrda.org.in/myauth/admin/showimg.cshtml?ID=1162|access-date=6 April 2023|website=pfrda.org.in|title=Annual report 2015}}

!1606

!4146880

!-

!-

2016{{cite web|url=https://www.pfrda.org.in/myauth/admin/showimg.cshtml?ID=1165|access-date=6 April 2023|website=pfrda.org.in|title=Annual report 2016}}

!2108

!4480014

!506

!2,484,895

2017{{cite web|url=https://www.pfrda.org.in/myauth/admin/showimg.cshtml?ID=1434|access-date=6 April 2023|website=pfrda.org.in|title=Annual report 2017}}

!2639

!4429342

!1885

!4863699

2018{{cite web|url=https://www.pfrda.org.in/myauth/admin/showimg.cshtml?ID=1594|access-date=6 April 2023|website=pfrda.org.in|title=Annual report 2018}}

!3006

!4395000*

!3818

!9606000*

2019{{cite web|url=https://www.pfrda.org.in/myauth/admin/showimg.cshtml?ID=1737 |access-date=6 April 2023|website=pfrda.org.in|title=Annual report 2019}}

!3409

!4,362,538

!6,860

!14,953,432

2020{{cite web|url=https://www.pfrda.org.in/myauth/admin/showimg.cshtml?ID=1924|access-date=6 April 2023|website=pfrda.org.in|title=Annual report 2020}}

!3728

!4331000*

!10526.26

!21142000*

2021{{cite web|url=https://www.pfrda.org.in/myauth/admin/showimg.cshtml?ID=2168|access-date=6 April 2023|website=pfrda.org.in|title=Annual report 2021}}

!4,354.38

!4302000*

!15,687.11

!28049000*

2022{{cite web|url=https://www.pfrda.org.in/myauth/admin/showimg.cshtml?ID=2391|access-date=6 April 2023|website=pfrda.org.in|title=Annual report 2022}}

!4687

!-

!20923

!36276704

2023{{Cite web |date=11 May 2023 |title=Over 5.25 crore subscribers enrolled in APY marking 8 years of successful implementation |url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1923447®=3&lang=1 |website=Press Information Bureau {{!}} Government of India}}

!-

!-

!-

!5.2058cr

  • The figure is not specified precisely, it is approximate.

Post-Covid-19, the number of beneficiaries joining the Atal Pension Scheme has increased. More than 90 lakh people joined in 2021 and more than 1.2 crore people joined in 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/atal-pension-yojana-sees-higher-demand-post-pandemic-shows-data-123012200570_1.html#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20enrolments%20in,from%209.2%20million%20in%202021&text=The%20Atal%20Pension%20Yojana%20(APY,enrolments%20rising%2036%20per%20cent. | title=A first: Atal Pension Yojana logs 10 million enrolments in a calendar year | date=22 January 2023 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pf/pfrda-expects-aum-of-rs-9-trillion-by-end-of-fy23-shows-data-123010601147_1.html | title=PFRDA expects AUM of Rs 9 trillion by end of FY23, shows data | date=6 January 2023 }}

See also

References

{{reflist}}