Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a first of its kind pension scheme, ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Mandhan Yojana’, for small and marginalised farmers on Thursday, September 12, in Ranchi, Jharkhand.
The new scheme has an outlay of Rs 10,774 crore for the next three years.
‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Mandhan Yojana’
Nearly three crore small marginalised farmers will get a minimum pension of Rs 3000/month on attaining the age of 60, under the pension scheme. Farmers aged between 18 to 40 years will be eligible to apply for the scheme. Under the programme, the farmers will have to make a monthly contribution of Rs 55 to Rs 200, depending on their age of entry, in the Pension Fund till their retirement age (60 years). The Central government will also make an equal contribution of the same amount in the pension fund for farmers.
The monthly contribution has been kept less to make it affordable. The beneficiary will have to contribute as low as Rs.100 per month at a median entry age of 29 years.
For the benefit of the farmers, they can contribute without having to put an extra burden on their pockets. The farmers, who are also beneficiaries of the PM-Kisan Scheme, will get the option of allowing their contribution to be debited from the benefit of that scheme directly.
The pension scheme largely targets shopkeepers, retail traders and self-employed persons with an annual turnover of not beyond Rs 1.5 crore. The eligible people will be able to enroll themselves under the scheme through 3.50 lakh Common Service Centers (CSCs) across the country. The beneficiaries will also be able to self-enroll by visiting the scheme’s online portal -www.maandhan.in/vyapari.
Conditions Of The Scheme
Under Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana, the spouse would also be eligible for a separate pension of Rs 3,000 by making a different contribution to the Fund, which will be the Pension Fund Manager.
If the farmer dies before the date of retirement, the spouse would be able to continue in the scheme by paying the remaining contributions until the remaining age of the deceased farmer. In case the spouse refuses to continue, the total contribution made by the farmer along with interest, will be paid to the spouse, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, said.
In case there is no spouse, the total contribution along with interest will be paid to the nominee.
If the farmer dies after the retirement date, the spouse will receive 50% of the pension as Family Pension. After the death of both the farmer and the spouse, the accumulated corpus will be credited back to the Pension Fund.
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will be responsible for managing the activities of the scheme.
A Move To Recognise Contribution
The Central Government has approved the National Pension Scheme for Traders and Self Employed Persons to appreciate and acknowledge the notable contribution of shopkeepers, retail traders and self-employed people.
About three crore retailers across India are expected to benefit from the new pension scheme. The scheme will aim at enrolling 25 lakh subscribers in 2019-20 and 2 crore subscribers by 2023-2024. This pension scheme is one of the top priorities of Modi Government 2.0.
Also, Read Central Government Announces Extension Of PM-KISAN Scheme To All Farmers
