Eight lakh people subscribe to APY nationally: PFRDA

The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has so far been subscribed by nearly eight lakh people and over 10,000 accounts are getting added on a daily basis, PFRDA chairman Hemant G Contractor said here today.
"At the national level, the scheme has been subscribed by nearly eight lakh people and more than 10,000 accounts are getting added on a daily basis', he said, addressing various bankers from Kerala.
APY is a government backed pension fund, launched by the Union government, targetting the unorganised sector.
Contractor said Kerala should implement the National Pension Scheme more inclusively among the Rural, Urban and Local bodies and institutions in the state, he said.

The conference on APY for Banks in Kerala was organised by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) in coordination with SLBC-Kerala-Canara Bank.
Public Sector banks, private banks, regional rural banks, state apex cooperative bank and district central cooperative banks in the state participated in the conference.

Contractor briefed participants about the contours of Old Age income security and advised all of them to play an active part in outreach of the scheme.
V Prabhakaran Nair, General Manager, Kerala State Apex Cooperative Bank, highlighted the importance of adopting APY by the District Central Cooperative Banks of Kerala and elaborated on various facets of financial inclusion.

Kerala has a population of 3.34 crore, 34 per cent of which is in the age group of 18-40 years, which provides a huge opportunity for APY.
The Chairman also met Chief Secretary, Jiji Thomson and Secretaries of various departments to solicit their support in offering the pension scheme to the unorganised workforce attached to the departments.
The Chief Secretary had evinced interest in the long-term benefits of APY and assured the state government's support in all possible ways for a wide reach.
With added subscriber friendly features recently included under the APY Scheme, including convenient modes of payment like quarterly and half yearly, the APY scheme is expected to gain traction in the coming months.

As on date, Kerala has more than 26,000 NPS subscribers employed in various departments and have contributed more than 101.70 crore into NPS.
The State has adopted NPS for government employees, Public Sector Undertakings (State), autonomous bodies, boards and Universities, effective from Apr 1, 2013. There are 26 State Autonomous Bodies registered under NPS.
Kerala has also sourced more than 23000 accounts under APY, which is less than five per cent of the target specified for the state.