partial disability. It involves convenient bank account linked enrolment with implementation in
      IT mode, and premium payment through auto-debit from the bank account of the subscriber.
      Implementation of this scheme enables affordability and targeting in favour of the poor and the
      underprivileged and would address the situation of low penetration of accident insurance in the
      country.
      Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
           With a view to increasing banking penetration and promoting financial inclusion and with
      the main objective of covering all households with at least one bank account per household
      across the country, a National Mission on financial inclusion named as (PMJDY) was announced
      in 2014.
           Objectives of PMJDY include: (i) universal access to banking facilities for all households
      across the country through a bank branch or a fixed point business correspondent (BC) within a
      reasonable distance. (ii) to cover all households with atleast one basic bank account with RuPay
      Debit card having inbuilt accident insurance cover of ₹ 1 lakh.
      Pension Reforms
      National Pension System
           With a view to providing adequate retirement income, the National Pension System (NPS)
      was introduced. It has been made mandatory for all new recruits to the Government (except
      armed forces) with effect from January 1, 2004 and has also been rolled out for all citizens with
      effect from May 1, 2009 on a voluntary basis. The features of the NPS design are: self-
      sustainability, portability and scalability. Based on individual choice, it is envisaged as a low
      cost and efficient pension system backed by sound regulation. As a pure ‘defined contribution’
      product, returns would be totally market driven. The NPS provides various investment options
      and choices to individuals to switch over from one option to another or from one fund manager
      to another, subject to certain regulatory restrictions. The NPS architecture is transparent and web
      enabled. It allows a subscriber to monitor his/ her investments and returns. The facility for
      seamless portability is designed to enable subscribers to maintain a single pension account
      (Permanent Retirement Account Number-PRAN) throughout the saving period. Pension Fund
      Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), set-up as a regulatory body for the pension
      sector, is engaged in consolidating the initiatives taken so far regarding the full NPS architecture
      and expanding the reach of NPS distribution network. The process of making NPS available to
      all citizens entailed the appointment of NPS intermediaries, including institutional entities as
      Point of Presence (POPs) that serve as pension account opening and collection centres, a
      Centralized Record Keeping Agency (CRA) and Pension Funds to manage the pension wealth of
      the investors. The Department of Posts has also been appointed as PoP in addition to other
      financial institutions which expand the PoP-SP network by more than five times.
           A Mobile App for NPS is available for the subscribers in Google Play Store as ‘NPS by
      NSDL e-Gov’ and and ‘NPS by Karvy-CRA’. Subscribers can access their account through this.
      The following new features are enabled in Mobile App to facilitate the subscriber’s interface
      with the system: Aadhaar can be linked to NPS account using this app; grievances/queries under
      NPS can be raised through it; Status of grievance along with resolution details can be viewed;
      subscriber can reset his/her password using this App; the bilingual version of the App has been