Context:
Atal Pension Yojana has surpassed 7 crore enrolment.
Atal Pension Yojana:
- Launched by – Ministry of Finance in 2015
- Objective – To create a universal social security system for all Indians, especially targeting the poor, under-privileged, and workers in the unorganised sector.
- Administered By – Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority through the National Pension System (NPS).
- Key Features –
- Eligibility – Open to all Indian citizens aged 18-40 years.
- Only individuals who are not covered by any other statutory social security scheme are eligible to join APY.
- Contribution levels vary based on the age of joining; lower contributions for early joiners, higher for late joiners.
- Benefits – Guaranteed minimum pension ranging from ₹1000 to ₹5000 per month after 60 years of age.
- Lifetime pension for the spouse upon the subscriber’s death.
- Full pension corpus paid to the nominee upon the death of both the subscriber and the spouse.
- Contributions to APY are eligible for tax benefits similar to those under the NPS.
- Eligibility – Open to all Indian citizens aged 18-40 years.
Source: PIB
Previous Year Question
Regarding ‘Atal Pension Yojana’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. It is a minimum guaranteed pension scheme mainly targeted at unorganized sector workers
2. Only one member of a family can join the scheme.
3. Same amount of pension is guaranteed for the spouse for life after subscriber’s death.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
[UPSC Civil services Exam – 2016 Prelims]
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Statement 2 is not correct. The scheme is open to all adults of a family.
