Karnataka banks continue to miss targets set for Atal Pension Yojana penetration

Bengaluru: Most banks in Karnataka are struggling to meet their targets for the pension scheme crafted for the unorganised sectors - Atal Pension Yojana. If they underperformed in the last fiscal year, the current year is turning out to be no different, it was revealed at an outreach programme to improve the schemes coverage, conducted by State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), Karnataka and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on Friday.

Barring a handful of bankers attending the meeting, most reported that they were far behind on their targets. IDBI Bank said that while it achieved 51 per cent of its target in FY24, it barely reached 12 per cent of the target for the current fiscal, as of July 31. HDFC Bank hopes to cross 15 per cent of its target of 31,360 by this month-end, having crossed 3,200 recruitment of beneficiaries so far.

Punjab National Bank and UCO Bank are among those that are still hovering at 1 per cent of their target, as of July 31.

Mamta Shankar, Whole Time Member (Economics), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), said that they expect more from banks in urban areas, which is underperforming as compared to rural areas.

Karnataka Grameena Bank (KGB) is at 65 per cent (as of July 31) and aims to meet its target by September 15. KGB was able to complete 85 per cent in FY24. Among the ones that have already surpassed their target are Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank at 119 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank at 157 per cent.

A bank represent at the meeting, who did not wish to be identified, pointed out that 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.

Atal Pension Yojana, started in 2015, is a guaranteed pension scheme of the Government of India which can be availed by Indian citizens aged between 18 and 40. It aims to provide old-age income particularly for those in the unorganised sector.