UP, Maharashtra and Karnataka pay highest premium towards Atal Pension Yojana

Uttar Pradesh paid the highest premium towards the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) since the launch of the scheme, followed by beneficiaries of Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, and Bihar, revealed an RTI reply.

The answers to the RTI query filed by Robin Zaccheus, a social activist, reveal that Uttar Pradesh contributed a total premium of Rs 20.82 billion so far (as of May 2022) since its launch year 2015-16.

Maharashtra’s total premium so far stands at Rs 19.39 billion while Karnataka has paid a premium of Rs 16.01 billion during the period. West Bengal and Bihar have paid Rs 15.72 billion and Rs 15.52 billion, respectively.

Among the other states with the highest contribution to Atal Pension Yojana are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat.

Besides, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, and Assam are some of the other states with decent numbers between Rs 3 billion and Rs 8 billion.

Among those with poor numbers are the state and Union territories of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Sikkim, Pondicherry, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Lakshadweep.

It is to be noted that the population plays a key role in the number of enrollments and, hence, premium. States like UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh are the states with the highest population in India.

Launched in 2015, Atal Pension Yojana is a pension scheme for the poor, the underprivileged and the workers in the unorganised sector. APY, administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), is open to people in the age group of 18 to 40 years. The contributions under the scheme differ based on when a person enrols and the amount they chose.

Subscribers would receive the guaranteed minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 or Rs 2,000 or Rs 3,000 or Rs 4,000 or Rs 5,000 at the age of 60 years.

Among subscriptions, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of subscribers, followed by Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.