Over 3.3 crore people have signed up for Atal Pension Yojana

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The Atal Pension Yojana has added over 28 lakh new subscribers in the current financial year, taking the total number of subscribers to over 3.3 crore as of August 25, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) said in a release on Wednesday.

The scheme has been in operation since May 29, 2015. The scheme is targeted at those working in the unorganised sector. Any citizen between 18-40 years of age and having a bank or post office savings account can join the scheme.

The scheme ensures a pension between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 per month to a subscriber from the age of 60, depending on the contribution made.

As per PFRDA data, public sector banks accounted for the highest number of APY subscribers at over 2.33 crore followed by regional rural banks (61.32 lakh), private banks (20.64 lakh), small finance banks and payment banks combined (10.78 lakh), Department of Posts (3.40 lakh) and cooperative banks (84,627).

SBI, Canara Bank, Airtel Payments Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Indian Bank, Central Bank of India and Punjab National Bank were among the top banks, garnering more than 1 lakh APY enrolments each during April 1-August 24, 2021.

Among the states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Odisha are in the top league, with more than 10 lakh enrolments as on August 25, the release said.

PFRDA said nearly 78% of the subscribers have opted for the Rs 1,000 pension plan while around 14% for the Rs 5,000 pension plan.

Around 44% are female subscribers and about 44% subscribers getting enrolled belong to the age-group of 18-25 years.

The regulator also said it has taken APY Citizen Charter in 13 regional languages for expanding the outreach.