NE BUSINESS BUREAU
NEW DELHI, SEPT 18
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman launched the National Pension System Vatsalya (NPS Vatsalya) scheme, ‘a pension scheme for minors’ at New Delhi, on Wednesday. The NPS Vatsalya was announced by the Union Finance Minister in the Union Budget 2024-25 on 23rd July, 2024.
This will allow parents to save for their children’s future by investing in a pension account.
- NPS Vatsalya is an important constituent towards fulfilling vision of Prime Minster Shri Narendra Modi in creating Viksit Bharat@2047: Sitharaman
- NPS Vatsalya scheme is a significant step by the Government towards inclusive economic development: MoS Finance Pankaj Chaudhary
- Recent reforms have expanded scope of pension coverage, aiming to create a more inclusive system through more products: DFS Secretary
- NPS Vatsalya is Government’s forward-thinking approach, under the overarching objective of provision of social security for all: PFRDA Chairman
- Union Finance Minister also launched an online platform for subscribing to NPS Vatsalya and released the scheme brochure
Parents can subscribe to NPS Vatsalya online or visiting a bank or post office. The minimum contribution to open Vatsalya account is ₹ 1,000. Subscribers will have to contribute ₹ 1,000 annually thereafter.
The guidelines for withdrawal from NPS accounts are being finalised.
Smt @nsitharaman launches the #NPSVatsalya Scheme in New Delhi.
Also present on the occasion are Shri @mppchaudhary, Hon'ble Minister of State for Finance, @DFS_India Secretary Shri M. Nagaraju and @PFRDAOfficial Chairman Shri Deepak Mohanty. #PensionkiGullak #GiftofCare… pic.twitter.com/QCUhdzPRcH
— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) September 18, 2024
Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary; Nagaraju Maddirala, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS); and Deepak Mohanty, Chairman Pension Fund Regulatory Authority of India (PFRDA) were also present besides senior officials from DFS and PFRDA along with school children, their parents and other esteemed guests.
The launch of NPS Vatsalya was simultaneously organised at 75 locations throughout the country, with distribution of over 250 PRAN to minor subscribers. At all the locations, school-going children enthusiastically attended the event.
During the event, Union Finance Minister also launched an online platform for subscribing to NPS Vatsalya, released the scheme brochure.
Sitharaman also released a brochure, detailing the features of the NPS Vatsalya scheme.
Sitharaman and Shri Chaudhary also distributed permanent retirement account number (PRAN) cards to minor subscribers who had come from different parts of the country.
In her keynote address at the launch, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the scheme will be an important constituent towards fulfilling vision of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in creating Viksit Bharat@2047.
Sitharaman said that NPS Vatsalya is a significant step in Government’s endeavour to promote long-term financial planning and security for all the citizens. Besides securing the future of subscribers, NPS Vatsalya is based on the principle of intergenerational equity by providing cover to older and young members of the family.
It is envisaged that NPS Vatsalya scheme will inculcate the habit of savings among young subscribers and large wealth can be accumulated through power of compounding. The Union Finance Minister emphasised that the scheme will allow dignified life to people in their old age.
Commending the success of Atal Pension Yojana, the Union Finance Minister said, “Since its inception in 2015, 6.90 crore people have subscribed to the Atal Pension Yojana and the corpus worth Rs 35,149 crore has been accumulated.”
Underling the competitive returns in NPS scheme since its inception, Sitharaman said, “For the Government Sector, NPS, on average, has given returns of 9.5% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) since its inception.”
In his address on the occasion, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that NPS Vatsalya scheme is a significant step by the Government towards inclusive economic development and all the institutions involved in scheme implementation were urged to ensure maximum coverage and saturation of the scheme.
In his address on the occasion, Nagaraju Maddirala, Secretary, DFS, underscored the imperative of collaborative approach by stakeholders including banks for effective implementation and outreach of the NPS Scheme.
Maddirala said, “The pension sector in India is at a crucial juncture. Recent reforms have expanded the scope of pension coverage, aiming to create a more inclusive system by offering more products through higher number of channels. We endeavour to build a more inclusive and sustainable pension system by keep reforming and be receptive of subscriber feedback and concerns.”
In his address at the launch, Dr. Deepak Mohanty, Chairperson, PFRDA, said, “It is the Government’s forward-thinking approach, under the overarching objective of provision of social security for all, that NPS Vatsalya is launched today. It enables us to tap into the power of compound interest, potentially leading to substantial wealth accumulation over time securing the financial future of our younger generation.”
