The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) was
launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at Kolkata on 9th
May, 2015. APY provides a minimum guaranteed 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, at the age group of 18-40 years.
Certain suggestions have
been received, including from the State Governments, regarding providing
certain relaxations for informal sector workers, having intermittent incomes,
from the provision of mandatory monthly contributions under the scheme of APY
and also removing the penal provisions for non-contribution under APY to make
the Scheme more viable. The matter has been examined and the necessary
revisions have been made in APY to increase the acceptability of the scheme
amongst informal sector workers.
The modified provisions
carried out in the scheme are as under:
·
The
individual subscribers shall have an option to make the contribution on a
monthly, quarterly, half yearly basis instead of on a monthly basis earlier
·
Discontinuation
of payment of contribution provision has been substantially modified in favour
of the subscriber. The account will not be deactivated and closed till the
account balance with self-contributions minus the Government co-contributions
becomes zero due to deduction of account maintenance charges and fees
·
Also
the penalty on delayed payment has been simplified to Rs. One (1) per month for
contribution of Rs. 100, or part thereof, for each delayed monthly payment
instead of different slabs given earlier
·
Similarly,
premature exit from the scheme before sixty years of age was not permitted
earlier except in exceptional circumstances, i.e., in the event of the death of
the beneficiary or terminal disease. Now the modified provision permits the
subscriber to voluntarily exit with the condition that –
·
he
shall only be refunded the contributions made by him to APY, along with the net
actual interest earned on his contributions (after deducting the account
maintenance charges) and ;
·
the
Government co-contribution, and the interest earned on the Government
co-contribution, shall not be returned to such subscribers
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DSM/KA