Atal Pension Yojana
(a) whether the salient features of Atal Pension Yojana (APY);
(b) whether APY is more lucrative for beneficiaries/investors than other Government and private pension schemes;
(c) if so, the details thereof along with the number of beneficiaries registered under APY in the country especially in Maharashtra, State/District-wise;
(d) whether the progress of the scheme is quite slow and if so, the reasons therefor along with the measures taken by the Government for the expansion of the said scheme;
(e) the steps taken by the Government to increase the number of registrations by opening accounts of more beneficiaries under the said scheme in all banks and post offices of the country; and
(f) whether the tax benefits of APY are equivalent to that of the existing National Pension Scheme (NPS), if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 869 ANSWERED ON: 14.12.2018
Atal Pension Yojana
BANSHILAL MAHTO
A.T. (NANA) PATIL
LAKHAN LAL SAHU
Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:-
(a) whether the salient features of Atal Pension Yojana (APY);
(b) whether APY is more lucrative for beneficiaries/investors than other Government and private pension schemes;
(c) if so, the details thereof along with the number of beneficiaries registered under APY in the country especially in Maharashtra, State/District-wise;
(d) whether the progress of the scheme is quite slow and if so, the reasons therefor along with the measures taken by the Government for the expansion of the said scheme;
(e) the steps taken by the Government to increase the number of registrations by opening accounts of more beneficiaries under the said scheme in all banks and post offices of the country; and
(f) whether the tax benefits of APY are equivalent to that of the existing National Pension Scheme (NPS), if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
The Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance
(a) and (b) The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) was launched in May, 2015. The salient features of the Atal Pension Yojana are as under:
(i) Indian Citizens between the age group of 18 to 40 years are eligible to join APY through their savings bank account or post office savings bank account.
(ii) Depending upon the pension plan selected, each subscriber under APY shall receive a Central Government guaranteed minimum pension of Rs. 1000 per month or Rs. 2000 per month or Rs. 3000 per month or Rs. 4000 per month or Rs. 5000 per month, after the age of 60 years until his/her death.
(iii) After the subscriber’s demise, the spouse of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the same pension amount as that of the subscriber until the death of such spouse.
(iv) After the demise of both the subscriber and his/her spouse, the nominee of the subscriber so named shall be entitled to receive the accumulated pension wealth, as accumulated till attaining the age of 60 years by the subscriber.
(v) If the actual returns during the accumulation phase are higher than the assumed returns for minimum guaranteed pension, such excess will be passed on to the subscriber.
(c) As on 10th December, 2018, 133,53,464 subscribers have been enrolled under APY, out of which 10,36,350 subscribers have been registered in the state of Maharashtra. The State-wise enrolment under APY, as on 10th December, 2018, is provided at Annexure A. The District-wise list of enrolment in the State of Maharashtra as on 1st December, 2018, under APY is enclosed at Annexure B.
(d) Within 3 years of its launch, APY has been successful in enrolling more than 1.33 crore subscribers under the Scheme.
(e) The steps taken by the Government to increase the number of registrations under APY inter-alia include:
• Changing the mode of payment of contribution by subscriber from only monthly to monthly, quarterly, and half yearly, keeping in consideration the seasonal income earners
• Official mobile app to access APY accounts, as well as Value Added Facilities like E-PRAN and E-SOT to access PRAN and Statement of transactions under the APY account online
• Periodic advertisements in print and electronic media in English, Hindi and regional languages, are being made.
• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) officials conduct regular review meetings with bank officials for reviewing the progress of implementation of APY across the country.
• PFRDA is also conducting various promotional campaigns among the service providers (Banks and Post Offices) like Log-in Days, Elderly Day-Campaigns etc to popularize and create awareness about the scheme.
• Grievance Module for APY Subscribers
• Capacity building of bank branch officials through various training programs.
• Participating in town hall meetings, SLBC meetings.
(f) APY provides the same tax benefits as available to pension schemes such as NPS. The notification dated 19th February, 2016, in respect of the same is attached as Annexure C. The tax benefits available under APY include:
• Tax deduction for periodic contributions under Section 80CCD(1) for an amount up to Rs. 1.5 lakh and under Section 80 CCD (1B) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for an additional amount of Rs. 50,000/-
• Tax exemption on the entire amount received by nominee after death of the subscriber and spouse of the subscriber, under Section 80 CCD (3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
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Source: Loksabha
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