District lags much behind in Atal Pension Scheme

The Pradhan Mantri Atal Pension Scheme has received only 1,279 applications so far mainly because of the apathy of the implementing agencies and scheme's failure to convince the potential beneficiaries. Though the installment is very low, very few people have participated in it. As per the figures shared by the district lead bank, Bank of India, 608 applications from rural areas have received for the scheme while 671 from urban areas. Out of...

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Centre releases Rs 2,000 crore for pension scheme

This is in addition to the Rs 250 crore contributed by the central government as grant-in-aid for providing minimum pension of Rs 1,000 to the pensioners of Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995. The union government has released Rs 2,000 crore to the Employees' Pension Scheme as its contribution for the year 2015-16, Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya said on Monday. This is in addition to the Rs 250 crore contributed by the central government as grant-in-aid for providing minimum pension of Rs 1,000 to the pensioners...

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Banks to calculate, disburse 6 % dearness relief to pensioners

New Delhi, All pension disbursing authorities including nationalised banks have been asked to calculate the quantum of dearness relief payable to pensioners, after the recent six per cent increase in it by the government. The move comes following a decision by the Union Cabinet early this month regarding six per cent hike (from existing 113 to 119 per cent) in dearness allowance (DA) to central government employees and dearness relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from July 1, 2015.  With the increase, central government employees and pensioners...

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APY the subscriber may actually be getting a sub optimal return

In the recent budget, the Finance Minister announced the Atal Pension Yojana, which promises a fixed pension of at least Rs.1,000 at age 60 if subscribers contribute pre-defined amounts over their working life. The APY suffers from five problems. 1. Clarity of objective The NPS-Swavalamban (NPS-S) has been the flagship pension scheme for the informal sector since 2010. While it has taken root over the last few years, problems in the design and...

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India aims to created under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana to extend insurance

The Government of India is joining the UN-based Better Than Cash Alliance. The announcement comes on the First Anniversary of the Prime Minister  Narendra Modi’s flagship financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). Under PMJDY, in one year, about 180 million new accounts have been opened, with deposits totaling more than $3.4 billion (223 billion Rupees). The new partnership with the Better Than Cash Alliance,...

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Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has been modified to make it more acceptable

Pension scheme Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has been modified to make it more viable and acceptable for informal sector workers with intermittent incomes, an official statement said on Thursday. The provision of mandatory monthly contributions and penal provisions for non-contribution towards the scheme by subscribers have been removed and the new rules allow individual subscribers to make monthly, quarterly or half yearly contributions instead, a finance ministry statement said. The discontinuation of monetary contribution towards the pension...

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India’s retired military men keep interest rates higher in Asia’s third-largest economy?

Will a new multi-billion dollar bill to take care of India’s retired military men keep interest rates higher in Asia’s third-largest economy? Since New Delhi agreed over the weekend to demands from members of the military for a more generous pension scheme, analysts have aired doubts about the ability of the government to stick to its fiscal plans. Any concern that the government is unable to stick to its fiscal targets could delay a lowering...

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