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The Department of Rural Development (DoRD) and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) signed an MoU on 14 September 2026 to create community-level 'Pension Sakhis'.
Pension Sakhis will be drawn from the DAY-NRLM network, including Banking Correspondent (BC) Sakhis and other trained community resource persons.
They will give pension awareness, financial literacy, enrolment and post-enrolment support to SHG members, rural women and Lakhpati Didis.
Outreach and enrolment will be tracked through digital dashboards and DoRD's own LoKoS system.
The aim is to widen adoption of pension products, including the National Pension System, among rural households outside formal retirement security.
Regulates and develops the pension sector; administers NPS and Atal Pension Yojana. Set up as an interim body on 23 August 2003; statutory under the PFRDA Act, 2013 (enacted 19 September 2013, in force 1 February 2014)
Nodal department for DAY-NRLM under the Ministry of Rural Development
Defined-contribution retirement savings
Key: Launched 1 January 2004 for new central government employees; open to all citizens from 1 May 2009; regulated by PFRDA
Guaranteed pension for the unorganised sector
Key: Launched 9 May 2015, operational 1 June 2015; entry age 18-40; pension of Rs 1,000-5,000 a month from 60; income-tax payers barred from joining since 1 October 2022; 9.10 crore+ gross enrolments by 18 May 2026; extended to 2030-31
Pension savings for minors
Key: Launched 18 September 2024; for children below 18; minimum Rs 1,000 a year
Assured pension option for central government employees under NPS
Key: Approved 24 August 2024, effective 1 April 2025; 50% of average basic pay of last 12 months after 25 years' service; employee 10%, government 18.5%
Organise rural poor households into SHGs and raise incomes
Key: Launched June 2011 (Aajeevika); renamed Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-NRLM in 2016; over 10 crore women in about 90 lakh SHGs (June 2025)
SHG member earning at least Rs 1 lakh a year sustainably
Key: An outcome of DAY-NRLM, not a separate scheme; 3 crore target surpassed, next aim 6 crore
Last-mile banking
Key: BC Sakhis are IIBF-certified SHG members acting as Business Correspondents ('One GP one BC Sakhi'); Bank Sakhis sit in bank branches linking SHGs to credit
Farm and livestock extension
Key: SHG women trained as community resource persons for agriculture and animal husbandry services
| Aspect | NPS | APY | UPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who | All citizens (govt staff since 2004) | Non-taxpayers aged 18-40 | Central govt employees under NPS |
| Benefit | Market-linked corpus | Fixed Rs 1,000-5,000/month | Assured 50% of average basic pay |
| Start | 1 Jan 2004 | 1 June 2015 | 1 April 2025 |
Jan Dhan-era inclusion opened bank accounts; retirement planning needs repeated, trusted advice. Rural incomes are seasonal and shock-prone, so a local SHG woman explaining products and handling enrolment lowers the trust and information barrier that formal agents cannot.
GS Paper 2 > Welfare Schemes; GS Paper 3 > Inclusive Growth
Banking Awareness > Pension Schemes and Regulators
General Awareness > Government Schemes
Who among the following can join the National Pension System (NPS)?
Answer: All State Government employees joining the services after the date of notification by the respective State Governments
Regarding 'Atal Pension Yojana', which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. It is a minimum guaranteed pension scheme mainly targeted at unorganized sector workers. 2. Only one member of a family can join the scheme. 3. Same amount of pension is guaranteed for the spouse for life after subscriber's death. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer: 1 and 3 only
DAY-NRLM community cadre member trained to spread pension awareness and facilitate enrolment in rural areas.
SHG woman working as a certified Banking Correspondent for last-mile banking.
DoRD's digital system for SHG data, to be used to monitor Pension Sakhi outreach.
Pension where the payout depends on contributions and returns (NPS), unlike a guaranteed amount (APY).