New Pension Schemes for Unorganised Sector

New Delhi: Government of India has introduced two voluntary and contributory Pension Schemes, i.e.(1) Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan Yojna, (PM-SYM), a  pension scheme  for  the  Unorganised Workers and (2) National Pension Scheme  for  the  Traders and  Self Employed  Persons (NPS-Traders)  (for  the Vyapari’s) under section 3(1) of  Unorganised  Workers Social Security  Act, 2008 to  provide  old  age  protection  to  them.

The schemes envisage for providing minimum   assured monthly pension of Rs. 3000/- after attaining the age of 60 years. If  the  subscriber dies,  the  spouse  of  the  beneficiary shall  be  entitled  to   receive  50%  of  the  pension  as  family  pension. Family pension is applicable only to spouse. The monthly contribution ranges from Rs.55-Rs.200/- depending upon the entry age of the beneficiary.

PM-SYM is meant for old age protection  and  social  security  of  Unorganised  Workers (UW) who  are  mostly engaged as rickshaw  pullers, street vendor, mid-day  meal workers,  head  loaders,  brick kiln  workers, cobblers, rag pickers, domestic workers, washermen, home-based, agricultural workers,  construction  workers,  beedi workers,  handloom  workers,  leather workers, audio-visual workers or  in  similar other  occupations. There are estimated 42 crore such unorganised workers in the country. The entry  age for  the  beneficiary is  18-40 years  and  he/she should not  be  a member  of  ESIC/EPFO or  an  income  tax payer.

The NPS-Traders scheme  is  meant  for old  age  protection and  social security  of  Vyapaaris (retail traders/ shopkeepers and  self-employed  persons) whose annual  turnover  is  not  exceeding  Rs.1.5 Crore. These retail traders / petty shopkeepers and  self-employed  persons are  mostly  working as  shop  owners,  retail  traders,  rice  mill  owners,  oil  mill  owners,  workshop owners,  commission  agents, brokers of real  estate,  owners of  small  hotels, restaurants  and  other  Vyapaaris. The  entry age  for  the  scheme  is  18-40 years and the Vyapaari should  not  be a  member of  ESIC/EPFO/PM-SYM or  an income  tax payer.

The schemes are being implemented through Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India and Common Service Centres. LIC is the Fund Manager and responsible for pension pay-out. Common Service Centre is the enrolment agency responsible for enrolment of the beneficiaries through its 3.50 lakhs Centres across India. The list of beneficiaries under PM-SYM are indicated in Anneuxre.

For creating awareness among to public, TV/Radio campaign has been issued. Information Education and Communication (IEC) material like pamphlets, posters, banners have been provided to State /UT Governments in regional languages. Rs. 20.00 Crore have been distributed among State/UT Governments for publicity and public awareness programmes. Pension Week was celebrated during 30^th Nov. to 06^th Dec, 2019, public meeting were organised at CSC, district and State HQ levels. State Level Monitoring Committees with Chief Secretary as Chairman and District Level Implementation Committee with DM/Collector / DC as Chairman have been formed in almost all the districts and States.

Annexure

This information was given by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.