Lok Sabha Question No. 31 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-07-18
Subject: Pension Scheme for Workers in Unorganised Sector
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: DUSHYANT CHAUTALA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 31

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2016

## PENSION SCHEME FOR WORKERS IN UNORGANISED SECTOR

## 31. SHRI DUSHYANT CHAUTALA:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)whether Contributory Pension Scheme/New Pension Scheme (NPS) has been implemented/proposed to be implemented by the Government for the workers engaged in the unorganised sector in the country;
- (b)if so, the details thereof along with the beneficiaries enrolled under the scheme  since inception and the fiscal allocation made  by  the Government for the last two years and the current year; and
- (c)the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  ensure  optimum  utilisation  of this  scheme  and  to  enroll  more  number  of  unorganised  workers thereunder?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI BANDARU DATTATREYA)

- (a) & (b): The Government of India has implemented the New Pension System, now called 'National Pension System' (NPS), with effect from 1st January, 2004, through a notification dated the 22nd December, 2003, for new entrants to Central Government service, except the Armed Forces. The Swavalamban Scheme and the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) launched by the Government, inter alia, cover the unorganized sector. The scheme details are as under:
-  Swavalamban Scheme: The Swavalamban Scheme was announced in the  Budget  of  2010-11  to  address  the  longevity  risks  among  the workers  in  unorganized  sector  and  to  encourage  these  workers  to voluntarily save for their retirement. The scheme was operationalized through the existing NPS architecture wherein the subscriber's entry was  through  Aggregators  i.e.  a  set  of  grass  root  intermediaries registered with PFRDA to function as subscriber interface under NPS architecture.  The  model  was  termed  as  'NPS-Swavalamban'.  Under
- the  scheme a subscriber contributing Rs 1000/- to Rs 12,000/-  would get  Rs.  1000/-  from  Government.  Consequent  upon  the  launch  of  the Atal Pension Yojana in 2015, fresh registration under this Scheme has been discontinued with effect from 01-04-2015.
-  Atal  Pension  Yojana  (APY):  In  May,  2015,  the  APY  was  launched  by Government of  India  to  provide  a  defined  pension,  depending  on  the contribution, and its period. The registration of subscribers under the Scheme started from 1st June, 2015. Under the APY, the subscribers would receive the fixed minimum pension of Rs. 1000 per month to Rs. 5000  per  month,  from  the  age  of  60  years,  depending  on  their contributions, which itself is based on the age of joining the APY. Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is open to all bank account holders. The Central Government would co-contribute 50% of the total contribution subject to  a  maximum  of  Rs.  1000  per  annum,  to  each  eligible  subscriber's account, for a period of 5 years, i.e.,  from  Financial  Year  2015-16  to 2019-20, who have joined the APY between the period 1st June, 2015 and  31st  March,  2016,  and  who  are  not  members  of  any  statutory social security scheme and are not income tax payers.

## The total number of subscribers enrolled under the Schemes is as below:

| Name of Scheme      | Total number of subscribers as on 12-07-2016   |
|---------------------|------------------------------------------------|
| Swavalamban Scheme  | 42.84 lakhs                                    |
| Atal Pension Yojana | 30.25 lakhs                                    |

The budgetary provision in respect of the Swavalamban Scheme for the last two years and current year is as under:

| Financial Year   | B.E.             | R.E.                |
|------------------|------------------|---------------------|
| 2014-15          | Rs. 195.00 crore | Rs. 195.00 crore    |
| 2015-16          | Rs. 581.90 crore | Rs. 308.00 crore    |
| 2016-17          | Rs. 209.00 crore | Yet to be proposed. |

Atal Pension Yojana was launched in May, 2015; the budgetary provision for last one year and current year is as under:

| Financial Year   | B.E.                                           | R.E.                |
|------------------|------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
| 2015-16          | No budget provision was made in Budget 2015-16 | Rs. 173.00 crore    |
| 2016-17          | Rs. 200.00 crore                               | Yet to be proposed. |

(c): Swavalamban  Scheme  has  been  replaced  with  APY  scheme  from FY  2015-16  and  fresh  enrolment  under  Swavalamban  has  been  stopped from 1st April 2015.

The following steps have been taken to popularize the APY scheme:

-  Creation  of  awareness  through  media  publicity  campaigns  and organising town-hall meetings with the participation of State Governments  and  State  Level  Bankers'  Committees  to  aggregate the target occupational groups and other potential subscribers.
-  Providing flexibility to subscribers to pay monthly, quarterly or halfyearly contributions under APY to facilitate participation by subscribers earning seasonal  or irregular income,  such  as  in agriculture and in informal sector.
-  Permitting  voluntary  premature  exit  before  age  60  to  subscribers under APY.
-  Capacity building of enrolment agencies, like officials of banks, post offices and business correspondents.

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