Hey everyone! Let me explain what happened at NPS Diwas in simple words. First, the big numbers: the total number of people in the National Pension System (NPS) and APY together has crossed 100 million. All the pension money collected has gone beyond 18 lakh crore rupees. PFRDA now wants to bring in 2 to 3 crore more people into NPS over the next two years. Their long-term dream is Viksit Bharat, and by 2047 they want every Jan Dhan account holder to also have an NPS account.

The new things that were launched

1. NPS Tatkal: This is a quick, paperless way to start a pension account, and it takes just 3 steps. It runs on the UPI network and needs only the normal KYC verification. Anyone from 18 years old up to 85 years old can join, and you can start with just 250 rupees. It is connected with 5 major banks, and BHIM and PhonePe are the payment apps available for it, so that it can reach as many people as possible.

2. NPS Sanchay: This is the default investment option for people who are not government employees, and for people who don't know much about money and investing. It spreads your money across different types of investments for you, so you can enjoy the growth of the stock market without having to pick and manage complicated investment choices yourself.

3. NPS Swasthya: This one gives you a pension account together with a compulsory top-up health insurance. The insurance is there to pay for medical expenses that you would otherwise have to pay from your own pocket after you retire. For now, Medi Assist and Apollo Hospitals will be running it, and there are plans to add 4 to 5 more administrators later.

4. NPS Vatsalaya & Vatsalaya Yuva: These are meant for school-going children, to help them become financially strong from a very young age. A school from Madurai became the first school in India to be 100% financially empowered. Its principal even came to the event to receive an award for it.

5. Pension Sakhis & Retirement Income Scheme (RIS): Pension Sakhis are community-level helpers who spread awareness about pensions in villages and rural areas. RIS is designed to give people flexible choices on how they want to receive their money after retirement.

6. Informal & Private Sector reach: This focuses on bringing pension security to people in the informal sector, like farmers, tailors, self-employed people and small business owners.

Tools and technology

PFRDA also created an outcome calculator called PRIDE DISHA. You just enter your date of birth and how long you plan to invest, and it lets you compare the possible results across different options and different pension fund managers. It helps you choose the right scheme, and it shows you the probable returns.

There is also an AI-based advisory platform that works under PFRDA's regulation. It runs on rules and logic, which makes sure that any financial or pension advice is fully traceable, explainable and linked to the basic rules.

An AI-based grievance redressal portal was introduced too, where you can log in using your mobile number, OTP and date of birth. It supports 22 Indian languages and even lets you register your complaint by voice, using audio.

NPS Central connects all 3 CRAs and the trustee banks so that a subscriber can see everything in one single window. STAR NPS is being integrated to promote NPS distribution through the mutual fund ecosystem, to make paperless transactions possible and to bring in long-term capital. Overall, the idea is to keep things simple and easy to access, with one single-login mobile app where you can choose your scheme and get help with your grievances.

(These are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of OP Jindal Global University or its affiliated institutions).