Atal Pension Yojana (APY), a pension scheme for unorganised sector workers, reached 53 lakh subscribers, according to a statement released by the finance ministry on Friday (26 May).
APY, which was formally announced in May 2015 presently involves 235 banks and the postal department. During the year 2016-17, APY scheme pocketed a return of 13.91 per cent.
The wide subscriber base can also be attributed to the facility provided by many bank branches and core banking solutions-enabled offices of India Post to include subscribers through their internet banking portals.
According to the report, the scheme has 62 per cent of male subscribers and 38 per cent of female subscribers at present. It further adds that 51.5 per cent of subscribers chose monthly pension of Rs 1,000 while 34.5 per cent of subscribers opted for a monthly pension of Rs 5,000.
Named after the ex-prime minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee, APY became operational in June 2015. The scheme is open for any India citizen between the age group of 18 to 40 who has a valid bank account.
Under APY, the subscribers can receive the fixed minimum pension of Rs 1,000 per month, Rs 2,000 per month, Rs 3,000 per month, Rs 4,000 per month, Rs 5,000 per month, at the age of 60 years, depending on their contributions.
