PFRDA: Eight Lakh APY Subscribers. Ten Thousand Accounts Added Daily.
A meeting was held between PFRDA and various banks of Kerala to discuss about the progress of Atal Pension Yojana (APY) and the role that banks have to play in popularizing the scheme to the unorganized sector in the country. The Chairman of PFRDA said that almost eight lakh citizens have availed the benefits of the scheme and this number is growing continuously.
The APY is a pension fund backed by the government of India, which aims to provide the social security and promote voluntary savings in the unorganized sectors of the country.
This conference was organized to address different banks of Kerala and instruct them about the importance of social security after reaching the retirement age. In the meeting, the importance of the dynamic role played by the banks in the promotion of this retirement scheme was highlighted. The chairman also discussed that every day; more than ten thousand subscribers are opting for the scheme.
The conference was held in Thiruvananthapuram, which was organized by PFRDA along with three other banks.
Under the APY, people falling in the age group of 18 to 40 years are eligible to subscribe for the scheme. With the population of 3.34 crores, Kerala has thirty four percent of people falling at the age group of 18-40. This alone creates an immense opportunity for the APY in Kerala.
The Chairman has emphasized that when it comes to the promotion of the APY, the banks can play a major role. Banks have their presence everywhere and communicate with all sectors of people. He further adds that bank can have an active contribution in popularizing the benefits of the APY and creating the awareness among people. Since Kerala has the most efficient banking system in the country, the Chairman asserts that the state can be a trendsetter.
Contractor also requested the support of the Chief Secretary and other Secretaries, to offer the benefits of APY to the unorganized sectors.
There have been many new features which were included in the scheme for the convenience of the subscribers. One of the features is the inclusion of quarterly and half yearly payment option for the convenience of the subscriber. With these features, the APY is expected to gain momentum in the coming months. As of now, Kerala has achieved only less than 5 percent of the target that was assigned to the state for APY.
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