A war of words broke out between Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh over the effectiveness of the government retirement planning scheme Atal Pension Yojana (APY). It started when Ramesh pointed out that on March 24 in Bengaluru, Sitharaman praised the pension scheme named after veteran BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but she did not mention that 83 per cent of the subscribers were in the lowest slab level of ₹1,000 pension. Are. Citing a study by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, he said that about one-third of the subscribers who opted out of the pension scheme did so because their accounts were opened without any explicit permission.
Finance Minister denied these allegations
According to Livemint news, the study also shows that while 32 percent of customers left the Atal Pension Yojana account because they opened the account without the bank’s permission, 38 percent closed the account because they wanted more money and 15 percent did not have money to maintain the account.
The Union Finance Minister refuted these allegations and even referred to veteran economists Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. Sitharaman, in a post on social media platform X, wrote that Jairam Ramesh is unaware of the basic principles of designing a good pension account. Sitharaman discussed the following things regarding this scheme:
- Atal Pension Yojana has been designed based on the best practice option to continue premium payments automatically unless the subscriber chooses to opt out. That is, the contribution continues from year to year until the subscriber wishes to discontinue the scheme.
- This scheme offers a minimum of 8 percent returns irrespective of the prevailing interest rates. And if there is shortage then the government also gives subsidy to PFRDA.
- Sitharaman rejected the allegations of cheating and coercing investors. He said that the Congress party cheats in the name of vote bank politics or minority appeasement.
- On the allegation that most of the pension accounts are in the lower slab, Sitharaman also said that this scheme is for the poor and lower middle class.
Know what is Atal Pension Yojana
Atal Pension Yojana is a social security scheme launched by the Government of India. The objective of the Government of India is to provide a steady flow of income to all citizens of India after the age of 60 years. This scheme is kind of focused on the unorganized sector workers, under which, a minimum pension of Rs 1000 or 2000 or 3000 or 4000 or 5000 per month at the age of 60 years will be guaranteed depending on the contribution of the customers. To open an account under this scheme, the customer must have a savings account in a bank or post office. Keep in mind, in this, any Indian between the age of 18 years to 40 years can open an Atal Pension Yojana account by going to any bank or post office. In this scheme, the subscriber can make his contribution at monthly/quarterly/half yearly intervals through auto debit facility from the savings bank account/post office savings bank account of the subscriber.
It is mandatory to provide nomination details in Atal Pension Account. If the subscriber or customer is married, the spouse will be the default nominee. Unmarried customers can nominate any other person as nominee but after marriage they will have to provide details of their spouse. Aadhaar information of spouse and nominee can be provided. After the death of the subscriber, his spouse will be entitled to receive the same pension amount as him. After the death of both the subscriber and the spouse, the nominee will be entitled to receive the accumulated pension amount till the subscriber reaches the age of 60 years.
This is how you can open Atal Pension Yojana account
- Contact the bank branch/post office where the person has a savings bank or open a new savings account if he does not have one.
- Provide bank/post office savings bank account number and fill the APY registration form with the help of bank staff.
- Provide Aadhaar/mobile number. This is not required, but may be provided to facilitate communication about contributions.
- Make sure to maintain the required amount in the savings bank account/post office savings bank account for transfer of monthly/quarterly/half yearly contribution.
Latest figures related to Atal Pension Yojana
Under the new provision, from October 1, 2022, any citizen who pays or has been paying income tax will not be eligible to join the Atal Pension Scheme. A total of 6,17,96,389 subscribers have joined this scheme till January 20, 2024.
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