The Union government announced that the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has achieved a significant milestone by exceeding nine crore total enrolments. During the Financial Year 2025–26, over 1.35 crore subscribers joined the scheme, marking the highest enrolment in a single financial year since its inception. Launched on May 9, 2015, the APY aims to establish a universal social security system for all Indians and is managed by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
APY offers a ‘Sampurna Suraksha Kavach’ (Complete Security Shield) by ensuring subscribers receive a guaranteed monthly pension ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 upon reaching 60 years of age. The scheme also provides the same pension to the spouse after the subscriber’s death and returns the accumulated corpus to the nominee after both pass away. It is open to Indian citizens aged between 18 and 40 years, excluding income taxpayers.
This voluntary pension scheme primarily targets the poor, underprivileged, and workers in the unorganized sector. The scheme’s growth over the past decade has been remarkable, attributed to the collective efforts of various banks, State Level Bankers’ Committee, Department of Posts, and continuous government support. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has actively expanded the scheme’s reach nationwide through extensive outreach programs, capacity-building initiatives, multilingual awareness campaigns, and regular performance evaluations.
