Atal Pension Yojana Hits 9 Crore Enrolments, FY26 Sees Record 1.35 Crore Additions

The ministry said that the scheme administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority is a flagship social security initiative of the Government of India aimed at expanding pension coverage, particularly among workers in the unorganised sector.

The release stated that the Atal Pension Yojana, launched in May 2015, is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme focused on the poor and underprivileged. The government said the scheme's growth over the past decade has been supported by coordinated efforts of banks, state-level institutions and the Department of Posts, along with sustained outreach and awareness initiatives.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has played a proactive role in expanding the scheme's footprint across all states and districts in the country, through extensive outreach initiatives, capacity-building programs, multilingual awareness materials, media campaigns, and regular performance reviews.

Atal Pension Yojana provides a guaranteed monthly pension ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 after the subscriber attains 60 years of age. It also ensures continuation of the same pension to the spouse after the subscriber's death and return of the accumulated corpus to the nominee after the demise of both, the ministry stated.

The scheme is open to all Indian citizens in the age group of 18 to 40 years, except those who are or have been income tax payers.

The government noted that the steady rise in enrolments reflects increased awareness and wider reach of the scheme across states and districts, supported by capacity-building programmes, multilingual campaigns and regular monitoring.

- ANI