Pension Scheme: 50 lakh street vendors will be insured, there will be a surety of Rs 5000 in old age..

The government has planned to insure 50 lakh street vendors of the country. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Chairman S Raman said that our target is to bring 50 lakh PM Swanidhi Yojana beneficiaries under the Atal Pension Yojana. The government launched a small loan scheme for street vendors, i.e., PM Swanidhi, on June 1, 2020.

Under the PM-Swanidhi scheme under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, eligible street vendors are given a loan of up to Rs 50,000 in installments without any security/guarantee. The loan is provided in three installments. The first installment is of Rs 10,000. On returning the first installment, the second installment of Rs 20,000 is received. On returning the amount of the second installment, the third installment of Rs 50,000 is received.

What is the purpose of the scheme?

Raman said at the annual felicitation ceremony of Atal Pension Yojana (APY) that we have to reach out to the PM Swanidhi beneficiaries. PM Swanidhi is one of the biggest success stories of our country. He said that 82 percent of the people who took the first installment of the loan under PM Swanidhi repaid the loan to the bank, and out of those 82 percent, 80 percent of the people have been contacted by the bank to take the next installment.

More than 50 lakh beneficiaries

Raman said that we have developed a credit society. This is a very good area, and we have to ensure that Atal Pension Yojana (APY) benefits more than 50 lakh people who are now associated with PM Swanidhi Yojana, and this number is increasing. Referring to APY beneficiaries, he said that in the last three years, more than one crore shareholders have joined APY every year. In 2024-25, more than 1.17 crore shareholders joined APY, out of which about 55 percent were women. More than 50 lakh shareholders have joined in the first five months (April-August) of this financial year.

How to get a pension in the scheme

APY was launched on May 9, 2015, as a social security scheme for all Indians, especially the poor, the underprivileged, and workers in the unorganized sector. However, later income taxpayers are not eligible to join APY from October 1, 2022. Under APY, the subscriber receives a guaranteed pension of Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 per month based on their contribution of Rs 42 to Rs 1,454 from the age of 60. After the death of the subscriber, this pension is given to his spouse, and on the death of the spouse, the pension amount deposited till the age of 60 is returned to the nominee.

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