Negligence Or Inefficiency? Karnataka Banks Struggling To Enrol Beneficiaries In Atal Pension Yojana

In a major embarrassment for Karnataka government, it has been reported that many banks in the state are struggling to meet their targets under the Atal Pension Yojana, an old-age pension scheme designed for workers in the unorganised sector.

Despite underperforming in the last fiscal year, the situation has not improved in the current year, according to a report by the Deccan Herald.

This was highlighted during an outreach program aimed at expanding the scheme's coverage, organised by the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), Karnataka, and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on Friday.

Apart from a few exceptions, most banks reported falling significantly short of their targets.

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IDBI Bank, for instance, achieved 51 per cent of its target in FY24 but only reached 12 percent of the current fiscal year's target as of 31 July.

HDFC Bank, which has set a target of enrolling 31,360 beneficiaries, hopes to reach 15 per cent by the end of the month, having so far enrolled just over 3,200 individuals.

Some banks, like Punjab National Bank and UCO Bank, are lagging behind, with only 1 per cent of their targets met as of 31 July.

Karnataka Grameena Bank (KGB) has achieved 65 per cent of its target as of 31 July and is aiming to meet the full target by 15 September. Last fiscal year, KGB reached 85 per cent of its goal.

According to a bank representative who was present at the meeting, some banks are not too keen to take up this exercise as their employees are not incentivised or measured on this effort, despite it entailing a lot of work to coax people to take the cover of the pension scheme, DH reported.

The Atal Pension Yojana, launched in 2015, is a guaranteed pension scheme by the Government of India aimed at providing old-age income, particularly for individuals in the unorganised sector. It is available to Indian citizens aged between 18 and 40.

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