Aadhaar must for Atal Pension Yojana

•  Aadhaar has now been made mandatory to get benefits of the Atal Pension Yojana. Those subscribing to the pension scheme will be required to furnish proof of possession of the unique ID or undergo the enrolment process to get the benefits.

About Aadhar :

• Aadhar is a 12 digit individual identification number. It serve as proof of identity and address, anywhere in India.
• Any person, irrespective of his/her age or gender, who is a resident of India, can enroll for Aadhar.
• Aadhar enrollment is free of cost.
• Aadhar card enables 'anytime, anywhere, anyhow' authentication of identity and thus give migrants mobility of identity.

About Atal Pension Yojna (APY):

• Benefit of APY: Fixed pension for the subscribers ranging between Rs. 1000 to Rs. 5000, if he joins and contributes between the age of 18 years and 40 years. The contribution levels would vary and would be low if subscriber joins early and increase if he joins late.
• Eligibility for APY: Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is open to all bank account holders who are not members of any statutory social security scheme.
• Age of joining and contribution period: The minimum age of joining APY is 18 years and maximum age is 40 years. Therefore, minimum period of contribution by the subscriber under APY would be 20 years or more.
• Focus of APY: Mainly targeted at unorganised sector workers.
• Enrolment and Subscriber Payment: All bank account holders under the eligible category may join APY with auto-debit facility to accounts, leading to reduction in contribution collection charges.
• Late payment: Late payments will be charged be Re1 to Rs10 per month depending on the contribution amount.
• Operational Framework of APY: It is Government of India Scheme, which is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. The Institutional Architecture of NPS would be utilised to enrol subscribers under APY.
• Funding of APY: Government would provide (i) fixed pension guarantee for the subscribers; (ii) would co-contribute 50% of the subscriber contribution or Rs. 1000 per annum, whichever is lower, to eligible subscribers; and (iii) would also reimburse the promotional and development activities including incentive to the contribution collection agencies to encourage people to join the APY.

By: Vishal