Business News Desk – NPS “Vatsalya” program has been launched today. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched this scheme on Tuesday. Under the NPS Vatsalya scheme, parents have been given an opportunity to save for the future of their children by investing in pension accounts. Parents can invest in NPS Vatsalya scheme online or by visiting a bank or post office. The minimum contribution to open a Vatsalya account is Rs 1,000. After this, shareholders will have to contribute Rs 1,000 per year.
The finance minister launched the scheme
Guidelines for withdrawal of money from National Pension System (NPS) accounts are still being finalised. Launching the NPS Vatsalya Yojana at an event, Sitharaman said pension schemes have given good returns and it is a good income option to ensure future income. In the last 10 years, NPS has grown to 1.86 million subscribers and AUM is Rs 13 lakh crore.
Child pension account can be opened
NPS Vatsalya Yojana is an extension of the already existing NPS scheme for children. In this, accounts can be opened for children below 18 years of age who can automatically create a normal NPS account after attaining the age of 18 years. However, pension in the account opened under NPS Vatsalya Yojana will be given only on attaining the age of 60 years.
This scheme was launched in the budget
Sitharaman said the NPS has achieved returns of 14 per cent, 9.1 per cent and 8.8 per cent on investments in equity, corporate debt and government securities, respectively. The finance minister announced the launch of the NPS Vatsalya scheme while presenting the full budget for the financial year 2024-25 in July.
These banks offer the possibility of opening NPS Vatsalya Account
Several banks, including ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda and Axis Bank, offer the ‘NPS Vatsalya’ scheme. It has partnered with pension fund regulator PFRDA for the offer. ICICI Bank launched the scheme by registering some children’s accounts in NPS Vatsalya at its service center in Mumbai. On this occasion, Financial Services Secretary Nagaraju Maddirala said that the government will improve the pension scheme keeping in mind the feedback of the customers.
