May 12, 2023: Over 5.2 crore people in the country subscribed to the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) as on April 26, 2023, the finance ministry said in a statement issued today. The statement comes in the backdrop of the scheme completing eight years ─ it was launched by prime minister Narendra Modi on May 9, 2015, from Kolkata, West Bengal.
Citing data on the eight anniversary of the scheme, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that 5.2 crore enrolments were done under the APY till April 26, 2023.
“APY enrolments have continuously shown an increasing trend since its inception. In new enrolments, there has been growth of 20% in FY 2022-23 over FY 2021-22 in comparison to a growth of 25% in FY 2021-22 over FY2020-21. As on date, the total assets under management (AUM) in APY is more than Rs 28,434 crore, and the scheme has generated an investment return of 8.92 % since inception of the scheme,” the ministry said in a statement released on May 11.
“It is encouraging to see that these schemes are being implemented through a targeted approach to maximise their reach. Our government is steadfastly dedicated to ensuring that the advantages of these social security schemes reach every eligible individual across the nation,” Sitharaman added.
The APY was launched to create a universal social security system. It is an initiative of the government to provide financial security and cover future exigencies for the people in the unorganised sector. The scheme is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) under the overall administrative and institutional architecture of the National Pension System (NPS).
The scheme is open to all bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 40 years who are not income taxpayers, and the contributions differ, based on pension amount.
Subscribers would receive the guaranteed minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000/ Rs 2,000/ Rs 3,000/ Rs 4,000/ Rs 5,000 after the age of 60 years, based on the contributions made by them after joining the scheme.
The monthly pension is available to the subscriber, and after him to his spouse. After the death of the spouse, the pension corpus, as accumulated at age 60 of the subscriber, would be returned to the nominee.
In case of premature death of subscriber (death before 60 years of age), spouse of the subscriber can continue contribution to the APY account for the remaining vesting period till the original subscriber would have attained the age of 60 years. Subscribers can make contributions to the APY on a monthly or a quarterly or a half-yearly basis.
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