Pension Bulletin (January 2025)

January 2025January 2025January 2025 Acknowledgment The Pension Bulletin is issued monthly by the Department of Policy Research, Market Watch, and Systemic Risk under the direction of the Pension Bulletin Editorial Committee. The Committee and PFRDA are not responsible for the interpretation and opinions expressed. In the case of articles, the responsibility is that of the author and not of the PFRDA. Comments and observations may please be forwarded to the department at market.watch@pfrda.org.in. @Copyright: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). प्रमाणन पेंशन बुलेटिन प्रत्येक महीने नीति अनुसधं ान, माकेि वॉच और ससस्िसमक ररस्क ववभाग द्वारा, पेंशन बुलेटिन सपंादकीय ससमति के तनदेशन में जारी ककया जािा है। ससमति और पीएफआरडीए व्याख्याओ ं और प्रकि ककए गए मिों के सलए उत्तरदायी नहीं हैं। लेखों के मामल ेमें, जजम्मेदारी लेखक की होिी है, न कक पीएफआरडीए की। तिप्पणियााँ और अवलोकन कृपया ववभाग को market.watch@pfrda.org.in पर अग्रवेिि ककए जा सकि ेहैं। @कॉपीराइि: पेंशन फंड तनयामक और ववकास प्राधधकरि (पीएफआरडीए). iJanuary 2025 Glossary AA A ccount Aggregators Government Bonds and Related G AIF Alternate Investment Fund Instruments Digital Personal Data Protection Act, DPDP Act G-sec Government securities 2023 GBP Pound Sterling APY Atal Pension Yojana ASP Annuity Service Provider GDP Gross Domestic Product AUM Assets Under Management GST Goods and Service Tax CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate GSTN Goods and Services Tax Network CDD Client Due Diligence IGB Indian Government Bonds CFT Combating the Financing of Terrorism CIP Customer Identification Procedures INR Indian Rupee CKYCR Central KYC Records Registry IIP Index of Industrial Production CRA Central Recordkeeping Agency Insurance Regulatory and CPI Consumer Price Index IRDAI Development Authority of India DC Defined Contribution Debt-VRR Debt Voluntary Retention Route IT Act Information Technology Act, 2000 E Equity and Related Instruments KYC Know Your Customer LTCG Long Term Capital Gain EPF Employees Provident Fund NBFC Non-Banking Financial Company Employees Provident Fund EPFO NPS National Pension System Organization Organization for Economic ETF Exchange-Traded Fund OECD Cooperation and Development EU European Union PIPE Private Investment in Public Equity FAR Fully Accessible Route PoP Points of Presence FBIL Financial Benchmarks India Pvt. Ltd. RBI Reserve Bank of India Foreign Institutional Investors/Foreign FII/FPI REIT Real Estate Investment Trust Portfolio Investors STCG Short Term Capital Gain FIP Financial Information Providers USD United States Dollar VCF Venture Capital Fund FIU Financial Information Users WPI Wholesale Price Index Financial Stability and Development FSDC Council iiJanuary 2025 Table of Contents S. No. Section Details Page No. I Economy 2 Data Table 8 II Management Speaks Progress and Prospects of Pension in India 10 Assessing India’s AML/CFT Framework - Insights from III Article 15 FATF’s Mutual Evaluation Pension System in Tanzania IV International Section 22 Economic Survey 2024-25 V Did you Know? 25 Advisories to be followed by Point of Presence (PoPs) under NPS (All Citizen and Corporate)/NPS-Lite/ APY VI Circulars & Regulations 37 Master Circular – Service Charges that can be collected by POPs under NPS (All Citizen and Corporate)/ NPS Lite Data Centre VII 41 (NPS & APY Statistics) Sector wise NPS Growth No. of NPS & APY Subscribers Contribution from NPS & APY Subscribers AUM under NPS & APY PFM-wise Total Assets under NPS schemes Scheme wise AUM under NPS PFM-wise Return on NPS Schemes iiiJanuary 2025 Section 1/ 1 खंड Economy/ अर्व्थ यवस्र्ा 1January 2025 Indian Economy1 Indian Economy – January 2025 January 2025 was a better month for stock Since peaking at 26,216 in September’24, market investors compared to December the Nifty 50 has corrected nearly 12.5%, 2024. The benchmark indices, BSE Sensex closing at 23,508 by the end of January’25. and Nifty 50, registered modest declines of The Nifty Next 50, which comprises the 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively, in January’25 next tier of liquid stocks beyond the Nifty —an improvement from the steeper losses 50, has faced even sharper selling pressure. of 2.1% and 2% recorded in the previous The index has plunged approximately month. The Nifty 50 has now posted losses 23.4% from its September’24 peak, hitting a for four consecutive months, signalling a nine-month low by January’25. prolonged correction phase. Equity Market Return (%) 10 7.84 7.9 8 6.6 6.86 6 3.43 3.9 24 1.1 2.04 1.61.59 1.2 1.13 1.0 1.76 2.3 2.35 0.52 -0.6 0 0 -0.3 -0.3 -2 -0.68 -0.7 -2 -4 -0.82 -2.08 -6 -6.2 -5.83 -8 Nifty 50 BSE Sensex Selling pressure in January was largely December 2024. The sustained selling driven by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), pressure by FPIs was primarily driven by amid concerns over high valuations and the sharp depreciation of the INR, rising slowing earnings growth. Additionally, U.S. bond yields, and a subdued corporate apprehensions surrounding potential tariff earnings season. impositions by U.S. President and their The equity market bore the brunt of FPI broader economic impact further unsettled sell-offs, with foreign investors offloading investor sentiment. a net USD 9 billion in January, following a Foreign investors withdrew a net USD 9 net investment of USD 2 billion in billion during January’25, reversing the net December. inflows of USD 3.3 billion recorded in 1 The data used in this section has been taken from CMIE’s Economic Outlook and MOSPI. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the content, the Authority makes no representations regarding the accuracy, or reliability of any information provided. 2January 2025 Investment in Equity Segment ($ mn) 15,000.00 10,802 10,000.00 7,939 3,186 5,330 5,768 5,871 6,384 5,000.00 2,837 2,768 4,240 3,936 3,3823,8 37 ,04 02 3,777 3,886 4,224 3,311 1,723 2,040 873 186 0.00 -5,000.00 -3,097 -1,036 -3,063 -2,563 -10,000.00 -9,043 -11,453 -15,000.00 FPI Mutual Fund Despite heavy outflows from equities, FPIs In contrast to FPI outflows, Domestic maintained a buying streak in the Indian Institutional Investors (DIIs) remained debt market for the third consecutive strong buyers in the Indian equity market, month. However, their net investment injecting USD 10 billion in January. This dropped sharply to USD 51 million in marked a significant increase from their January 2025 from USD 1.5 billion in average monthly investment of USD 4.6 December 2024. The majority of this billion over the previous two months. allocation was directed toward the FAR segment. Investment in Debt Segment ($ mn) 10000 7,939 5,871 4,240 3,874 5000 3,186 1,742 2,040 873 186 0 -1,266 -5000 -1,036 -2,563 -1,694 -3,097 -5,580 -6,251 -3,06 -3 5,288 -575 -6,254 -4,344 -2,888-3,840 -6,693 -5,974 -10000 -2,604 -9,043 -11,453 -15000 FPI Mutual Fund Currency Market In January 2025, the INR depreciated by USD in December 2024. The INR has been 1.5% against the USD, marking its sharpest on a steady downward trajectory since decline since October 2022. The currency October 2024. While it took 14 months for weakened to an average exchange rate of the rupee to depreciate from ₹83 to ₹84 per ₹86.27 per USD, compared to ₹84.99 per USD, it surpassed ₹85 per USD in just three 3January 2025 months. The decline accelerated further in Despite its depreciation against the USD, January, with the INR breaching the ₹86 the INR strengthened against the Pound per USD level within a single month. Sterling (GBP) and the Japanese Yen (JPY) in January but weakened against the Euro. The downward momentum continued into The rupee appreciated for the fourth early February when the INR briefly consecutive month against the GBP, rising crossed ₹87 per USD. This sharp fall 0.8% to an average exchange rate of ₹106.61 coincided with a surge in the US Dollar per GBP. Against the JPY, it gained 0.5%, Index, which climbed over 1% to reach settling at an average of ₹0.5509 per JPY. 108.9 following the imposition of tariffs on However, after three months of consistent Canada, Mexico, and China by US. The appreciation against the Euro, the INR move triggered widespread fears of a declined by 0.3% in January, averaging global trade war, adding further pressure ₹89.30 per Euro. on the INR. Average INR against Major Currencies 115 0.6 0.59 110 0.58 105 0.57 0.56 100 0.55 95 0.54 90 0.53 0.52 85 0.51 80 0.5 Rs./US Dollar Rs./Pound Sterling Rs./Euro Rs./Japanese Yen (RHS) Commodity Market The price of the Indian basket of crude oil in gold intensified as global economic surged by 9.4% in January 2025, averaging uncertainty deepened, particularly after USD 80.2 per barrel. This marked a sharp introduction of new US tariffs. The entire acceleration from the modest 0.4% increase month saw a sustained upward rally in recorded in December 2024. For five gold prices. Additionally, expectations of consecutive months, crude oil prices had interest rate cuts by major central banks, remained below the USD 80 per barrel such as the European Central Bank, further mark, only to break past it in January’25. fuelled the bullish trend. Meanwhile, gold prices in the London In India, domestic gold prices on the BSE Bullion market surged to a new all-time spot market mirrored the global surge, high in January 2025, averaging USD rising 2.9% in January to reach a record- 2,709.7 per troy ounce. This represented a high average monthly price of ₹78,421.4 2.6% monthly gain, following declines in per 10 grams in Mumbai. the previous two months. Investor interest 4January 2025 Average Gold and Crdue Price 95 2,800 2,700 90 2,600 85 2,500 2,400 80 2,300 75 2,200 2,100 70 2,000 65 1,900 USD/barrel USD/troy ounce (RHS) Interest Rates In January 2025, G-sec yields with a one- Risk premiums exhibited mixed trends year residual maturity declined for the across different bond maturities. The 1- second month, averaging 6.63 percent— year premium increased to 117 bps, while five basis points (bps) lower than the those for 3-year and 5-year bonds declined. previous month. Yields on 3-year and 5- The 3-year and 5-year bond premiums fell year G-secs rose slightly, while the 10-year from 100 bps to 89 bps and from 74 bps to benchmark yield increased marginally to 71 bps, respectively. However, the risk 6.75 percent. Yields on 12-year and 15-year premium for another set of 5-year bonds G-secs remained unchanged. increased from 84 bps to 91 bps. The premium on 10-year bonds fell to 61 bps AAA-rated corporate bond yields showed due to rising G-sec yields, coupled with a mixed trends. The 1-year yield increased to decline in 10-year corporate bond yields in 7.80 percent, while the 5-year yield January. remained at 7.45 percent. The 3-year and 10-year yields rose to 7.59 percent and 7.36 percent, respectively. 5January 2025 Interest Rate (%) 8 7.8 7.6 7.4 7.2 7 6.8 6.6 6.4 6.2 6 Repo rate WACR G Sec 1-year G Sec 5-year G Sec 10-year AAA Corporate Bonds 10-year CPI Inflation Year-on-year inflation rate based on All Corresponding inflation rate for rural and India Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the urban are 6.31% and 5.53%, respectively. month of January 2025 remained at 4.31% All India inflation rates for CPI(General) marking a decline of 91 basis points in and CFPI over the last 13 months are comparison to December 2024. shown below. A sharp decline of 237 basis point is observed in food inflation in Food Inflation: Year-on-year inflation rate January, 2025 in comparison to December, based on All India Consumer Food Price 2024. The food inflation in January, 2025 is Index (CFPI) for the month of January 2025 the lowest since August, 2024. over January, 2024 is 6.02% (Provisional). CPI Inflation % 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 General index Food & beverages Pan, tobacco etc. Clothing & footwear Housing Fuel & light Misc. 6January 2025 WPI Inflation The annual rate of inflation based on all articles, other manufacturing, non-food India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) number articles and manufacture of textiles etc. is 2.31% for the month of January, The annual rate of inflation based on WPI 2025.Positive rate of inflation in January, Food Index decreased from 8.89% in 2025 is primarily due to increase in prices December, 2024 to 7.47% in January, 2025. of manufacture of food products, food WPI Inflation (%) 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 WPI Primary articles Fuel & power Manufactured products Food group Index of Industrial Production The IIP growth rate for the month of (40.1%) and “Manufacture of coke and December 2024 is 3.2 percent which was 5.2 refined petroleum products” (3.9%). percent (Quick Estimate) in the month of The corresponding growth rates of IIP as November 2024. The growth rates of the per Use-based classification in December three sectors, Mining, Manufacturing and 2024 over December 2023 are 3.8 percent in Electricity for the month of December 2024 Primary goods, 10.3 percent in Capital are 2.6 percent, 3.0 percent and 6.2 percent goods, 5.9 percent in Intermediate goods, respectively. 6.3 percent in Infrastructure/ Construction The top three positive contributors for the Goods, 8.3 percent in Consumer durables month of December 2024 are – and (-)7.6 percent in Consumer non- “Manufacture of basic metals” (6.7%), durables. “Manufacture of electrical equipment” IIP Growth (%) 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 IIP Mining & quarrying Manufacturing Electricity 7January 2025 Data Table Economic Indicators YoY change Indicators Jan-24 Dec-24 Jan-25 (% / bps) FPI Equity Investments (USD -3.096 2.040 -9.042 -192.02 billion) Rupees per dollar 83.12 84.99 86.27 3.78 Rupees per Pound Sterling* 105.60 107.48 106.61 0.95 Rupees per Euro* 90.77 89.03 89.30 -1.62 Rupees per Japanese Yen* 0.5706 0.5536 0.5509 -3.45 Gold (USD/troy ounce)* 2034.00 2640.90 2709.70 33.22 Crude Oil (USD/Barrel)* 79.10 73.30 80.20 1.39 Weighted Average Call rate (%) 6.69 6.58 6.54 -15 Market repo rate (%) 6.50 6.50 6.50 0 G sec 1-year (%) 7.01 6.68 6.63 -38 G sec 10-year (%) 7.18 6.73 6.75 -43 AAA rated corporate bond 10- 7.87 7.57 7.36 -51 year (%) CPI Inflation (%) 5.10 5.22 4.31 -79 WPI Inflation (%) 0.33 2.37 2.31 198 IIP# (%) 4.40 5.00 3.20 -120 # IIP data as on Dec 2023, Nov 2024 and Dec 2024 respectively. * Average Monthly Exchange Rate 8January 2025 Section 2/ 2 खंड Management Speaks/ प्रबंधन का वक्िव्य 9January 2025 Progress and Prospects of Pension in India2 I thank the HT Media Group for this opportunity to be part of this distinguished Slower pension adoption gathering of BFSI. Finance is the lifeblood of Anyone coming of age and joining the the economy. As we aspire to Viksit Bharat workforce will retire sometime. Hence 2047, it is important that various segments of financial provision for post-retirement life the financial sector develop commensurately to ought to be made when one is working, that support the process. In this context, I am happy too early in the working career to build a to share my thoughts on the pension segment, corpus harnessing the power of compounding particularly the national pension system that could provide adequate regular income (NPS), reviewing the development so far and support post-retirement. Pension products are concluding by underscoring the need for wider designed for that purpose. Why then pension coverage of pension going forward. adoption, relative to both the size of our population and workforce, is low? There could The pension assets form a major chunk of be several reasons. Let me emphasise three of global investment, estimated around 43 those. percent of the total assets managed (AUM). In India, pension assets, estimated around ₹ 50 lakh crore (US$ 600 billion), are relatively First, financial literacy and awareness. modest compared to such global assets over Financial literacy is a key driver in taking US$ 63 trillion3. The largest retirement fund in sound financial decision. The objective of India is the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), financial education is to make citizens better ranks 21st by size in global pension funds prepared to manage their money and finances ranking,3 with Government Pension and attain their financial goals so as to avoid Investment, Japan ranking 1st with AUM of financial stress later in their lives. Elevated US$ 1.6 trillion. The National Pension System level of financial knowledge ultimately leads to (NPS) including the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) improvement in individual’s financial well- that we in PFRDA manage, has assets of ₹ 13.8 being. The challenge of financial literacy is not lakh crore (US$ 162 billion). limited to India alone, only a third of adults surveyed across 39 countries by the In the past, pension was perceived to be the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and privilege of government employment. It is no Development (OECD) reached the minimum longer so with the introduction of the NPS in target score on financial literacy4. RBI-NCFE 2004, first for the government employees, and Financial Literacy Survey for India suggested then extended to private corporates including that only 25 percent of people were thinking to the common person in 2009, and now to make retirement savings. children with the scheme of NPS Vatsalya in 2024. The additional challenge in present times is also to improve digital financial literacy levels of citizens, as all of us are exposed to fintech for delivery of financial services. For example, 2 Address by Dr. Deepak Mohanty, Chairperson, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) at 17th Mint BFSI Summit and Awards, Mumbai, January 17, 2025. 3 Pension Markets in Focus 2024, published by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 3 Willis Towers Watson ‘s (WTW) Think Ahead Institute and Pensions & Investments joint study, Sep 2024. 4 OECD/INFE 2023 International survey of adult financial literacy 2023 10January 2025 NPS is fully digital, though there is a physical Third, affordability. In a contributory pension mode of onboarding. It is important to be system individual earnings do matter to a aware of one’s responsibility in a digital long-term financial decision like pension. financial environment while being cognizant of Currently, with per capita income of around the risks of digital/cyber frauds. Considering US$ 2,500, we are a lower middle-income our diverse population in terms of social, country, as per the World Bank classification. economic and cultural factors, a one size fits all With sustained GDP growth, India for sure will approach of financial literacy programme may progress to an upper middle-income country not yield the desired results and customisation with per capita income of upwards of US$ at different levels or geographies is warranted. 4,200 in the next decade. We aspire to be a high More than content the manner of income, developed country by the middle of communication become important. As in the the century. One implication of this is that the standard-curriculum, aspects of personal financial ability of our population to adopt finance are not generally covered, it is worth pension would continue to increase with rise in the effort to improve financial literacy which is income. seen to contribute positively to one’s financial wellbeing. Changing financial behaviour Second, the nature of our labour market. The The financial behaviour of the retail investors bulk of our workforce is engaged in the in India is going through a phase of rapid unorganized and informal sectors where they transition. Financial attitude seems to be do not have access to occupational pension as changing. Components of household gross in the organized sector. According to India financial assets indicate that in a decade Employment Report 2024, 81 percent of our between 2013-14 and 2023-24, the share of cash labour force was in the unorganized sector in and bank deposits has declined from 62 2022. Efforts are made by the government to percent to 44 percent and that of bond and provide pension to low-income households. equity has risen from 2 percent to 8 percent. For example, under Financial saving for social security such as in APY, a guaranteed pension of ₹ 1,000-5,000 is insurance and pension has shown a steady available depending on one’s contribution. We increase from 32 percent to 38 percent. have enrolled 7.3 crore subscribers under APY The pension sector that PFRDA regulates, among whom 6.2 crore are currently active. covering NPS and APY, has investment of ₹ Self-initiated savings by them for old age is a 13.8 lakh crore, out of which infrastructure necessity. In addition, government does investments is about ₹ 2 lakh crore and equity provide some social security assistance to investment is about ₹ 2.6 lakh crore. As our underprivileged and low-income individuals. income levels rise and with the growing But that may not be adequate without one’s participation in these schemes, this sector is own savings. poised for growth as in advance countries such The composition of our labour force creates its as in OECD countries, pension assets average own challenge to retirement planning. The rise about 87 percent of their total GDP. of the gig economy and digital platforms has When it comes to wealth accumulation, redefined the character of our labour force. The diversification becomes very important and a Social Security Code 2020 envisages social balanced approach is required as per the age, security for them. While that takes shape, such need and risk appetite of the individual. In this workers could enroll under NPS or APY context, NPS becomes a very good tool for depending on their capacity. 11January 2025 disciplined saving as well as balanced NPS Vatsalya introduced in September 2024 is investment so as to accumulate a good amount accepted well with 86,000 subscribers so far. It of wealth during the working lifetime of an can be seamlessly ported to workplace pension individual. It has a robust regulatory on the child coming of age and joining the framework and established architecture where workforce, thereby providing continuity to every function is managed by professionals. It one’s retirement savings account. Thus, it has is fully digital, very flexible and offers a wide become a family product. Now any member of range of choices for the investors as per their the family from infancy to 70-years old can join need and risk appetite. NPS. As the vesting period is enlarged, one could harness the power of compounding to Progress of NPS accumulate substantial corpus ensuring NPS provides both active and auto choice for adequate pension on one’s retirement. investing one’s own corpus. The financially The subscriber numbers under NPS are sophisticated individuals can go for active growing rapidly with an active subscriber base choice under NPS where they can choose upto of 1.6 crore, however, the NPS subscribers 75 percent allocation into equity and upto 100 under the private sector, both corporate and percent in debt. The investors who do not want individual, at 64 lakh suggest ample scope for to actively involve in fund allocation may further expansion. While NPS has made make auto choices or life cycle funds where the pension accessible for all, there is a need for investment allocation automatically changes as greater adoption, appreciating the need for per the age of the subscriber. There are four post-retirement financial security. It is type of auto choices giving a predetermined important to bear in mind the imperatives of mix of equity and debt matching the our demographics and economic trajectory. requirement of varied investors – conservative Lifecycle (LC25), Moderate Lifecycle (LC50), aggressive Lifecycle (LC75) and recently Conclusion introduced Balanced Lifecycle (BLC) fund. India currently is the fastest growing large In addition, NPS has offered very attractive economy in the world. At the same time, it also returns of about 13.2 percent per annum in is projected to age rapidly. Currently, every equity since its inception. NPS scheme for tenth person is over the age of 60 years, by the government employees, with a conservative middle of this century, every fifth Indian is mix of more debt and less equity, has given a expected to be over 60 years of age. Further, the return of 9.5 percent per annum since old-age dependency ratio is expected to inception. increase from 18 percent in 2020 to 30 percent It is tax efficient: both the accumulation and in 2050 exerting pressure not only on our corpus are exempt from income tax. For younger generation but also on our overall corporate subscribers, 14 percent of salary financial resources.5 contributed to NPS is exempt from income tax, Longevity of present and future generations of both for the employer and employee under the Indian would be much higher. The longevity of new tax regime. Of course, under the old tax women is more than men, underscoring the regime there is an additional deduction of need for better gender balance in pension contribution upto ₹ 50,000. coverage. NPS subscriber data for the private sector including individuals suggests that only 5 Aging Well in Asia: Asian Development Policy Report 2024. 12January 2025 one-quarter are women. Living longer implies are grappling with. NPS has emerged as a well- that one needs money for a longer period to regulated, digitally enabled, low cost, pension take care of oneself when one is not able to scheme for all with competitive returns. We at work to earn for oneself. The retirement phase PFRDA are committed to protecting the becomes more challenging because of the rise interests of subscribers and fostering trust in in medical expenses, increasing nuclear family the pension ecosystem through continuous structure and limited access to formal credit improvements in security, transparency and facilities. Thus, with every passing year after operational efficiency. superannuation, one gets exposed to financial Once again, I thank the Hindustan Times risks unless adequate provision has been made group for inviting me to interact with you. to take care of retirement. Thank you. The issue of pension coverage, adequacy and sustainability is not limited to us. It is a global challenge in the face of ageing that countries ***** 13January 2025 Section 3/ 3 खंड Article/ लेख 14January 2025 Assessing India’s AML/CFT Framework - Insights from FATF’s Mutual Evaluation Financial crimes like money laundering visit by FATF & APG experts, who engage and terrorist financing pose a significant with policymakers, regulatory agencies, threat to global economic stability. These financial institutions, and law enforcement illicit activities fuel organized crime, bodies to assess real-world corruption, and terrorism, undermining implementation. The findings are national security and economic compiled into a draft report, which is development. In response to these shared for review before the final challenges, the global community has evaluation is adopted and published. established comprehensive regulatory frameworks aimed at mitigating financial crime risks. FATF’s Assessment methodology At the forefront of these efforts is the During a Mutual Evaluation, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a 40- assessed country must demonstrate that it member intergovernmental body that has an effective framework, to implement formulates international standards to foil FATF’s 40 Recommendations, that protects the money laundering and funding of its financial system from ML/TF abuse. terrorism and proliferation. To ensure These 40 recommendations are categorized adherence to the stipulated standards, under seven broad chapters as under: member countries must implement FATF’s a) AML/CFT Policies and Coordination 40 Recommendations and undergo b) Money Laundering and Confiscation periodic Mutual Evaluations (MEs). The c) Terrorist Financing and Financing of FATF's decision-making body, the FATF Proliferation Plenary, convenes three times a year and d) Preventive Measures holds countries to account if they do not e) Transparency and beneficial conform to the standards. ownership of legal persons and Understanding Mutual Evaluation arrangements Process f) Powers and responsibilities of competent authorities and other The Mutual Evaluation (ME) is a institutional measures rigorous peer-review assessment g) International cooperation conducted by FATF and its regional counterparts, such as Asia/Pacific Group ME evaluates two primary aspects: on Money Laundering (APG) and Eurasian Technical compliance and Effectiveness. Group (EAG), where members from different countries assess another country. a) Technical Compliance assesses whether a The ME process involves multiple stages, country has the necessary legal and starting with a self-assessment in which the institutional frameworks in place to country provides details of its AML/CFT meet specific requirements under framework. This is followed by an on-site FATF's 40 Recommendations. This Authored by Ms Gurminder Kaur, GM, PFRDA; Ms Puja Upadhyay, AGM, PFRDA; Sh Naveen Balu KS, Manager, PFRDA and Sh V Srinivasan, AM, PFRDA. The views expressed in the article are personal and do not necessarily represent that of the Authority. 15January 2025 includes specific provisions under Effectiveness (HE), Substantial (SE), Law, and regulations related to AML Moderate (ME), or Low (LE). and CFT inter-alia criminalizing money laundering, implementing customer A country’s FATF assessment considers due diligence (CDD) measures and both technical compliance and ensuring financial institutions divulge effectiveness. Technical compliance suspicious transactions etc. FATF ensures the necessary AML/CFT laws and evaluates a country's compliance with frameworks align with FATF its 40 Recommendations through a recommendations, while effectiveness Mutual Evaluation Process. Each evaluates their enforcement, recommendation is assessed across implementation and its impact. Basis the different sectors (e.g., banking, technical compliance and effectiveness insurance, pension, securities, DNFP, ratings, FATF places member countries etc.) and their compliance is rated as overall in any of the four categories viz., Compliant (C), Largely Compliant (LC), Partially Compliant (PC), Non- a) Regular follow-up – Reporting post 3 Compliant (NC), or Not Applicable years of MER adoption (N/A). b) Enhanced follow-up – Reporting b) Effectiveness evaluates how well every year for 3 years post MER AML/CFT laws and frameworks are adoption implemented in practice. It focuses on c) Jurisdictions under Increased the practical impact of these measures, Monitoring (‘Grey list’) including risk mitigation, law d) High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a enforcement actions, prosecutions, Call for Action (‘Black list’) asset recoveries, and international The recommendations and the cooperation. This assessment is procedure for assessing compliance with conducted through 11 Immediate recommendations are subject to Outcomes (IOs), which examine amendment by FATF from time to time. various aspects of a country’s AML/CFT efforts. These include the country’s policy, international A dive into the India’s Mutual Evaluation coordination and co-operation to of 2010 mitigate the menace of Money Laundering, funds in support of India's previous Mutual Evaluation terrorism which are barred from took place around 2010, where it was entering into Financial Sector or other assessed on the applicable FATF standards. sector are detected and reported and The ME of 2010 was carried out pursuant criminals are sanctioned. Each to the FATF’s 2004 Methodology wherein Immediate Outcome is evaluated country’s compliance on the 40 sector-wise, and the country is Recommendations 2003 and the Nine evaluated based on its level of Special Recommendations (SR) on effectiveness as High Level of Terrorist Financing 2001 (9 SR were 16January 2025 consolidated into the 40 Recommendations Beside the aforementioned legal in 2012) was assessed. According to the framework, the legal provisions for asset MER, India was placed in the regular recovery are further supported by the follow-up process category. India became Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 FATF member in 2010. (FEOA), Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PCA), Smugglers and Foreign Later, India moved an application for Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of removal from the follow-up and submitted Property) Act, 1976 (SAFEMA), Customs a detailed action plan to strengthen its Act, 1962, Narcotic Drugs and AML / CFT compliance framework. The Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS evaluation did not end there as India Act), and Arms Act, 1959. reached out to eight FATF plenaries with progress on the detailed action plan by Over the course of time, India has made amendments to PMLA, UAPA and meaningful progress in enhancing its Banking laws over a period of 3 years. AML/CFT framework to align with global Finally, in June 2013, the 8th follow-up best practices. India’s approach to report was adopted at FATF plenary strengthening its AML/CFT campaign is wherein the progress made by India on all based on a thorough risk assessment the core and key Recommendations was emerging from internal and external found satisfactory. Finally, the FATF in threats. Accordingly, India undertook a year 2013 while acknowledging that India National Money Laundering and Terrorist has made considerable progress in its Financing Risk Assessment (NRA) in 2022, AML/CFT efforts, recommended that which aimed to assess ML/TF risks in the India be removed from the regular follow- financial system through a structured, up process category. multi-agency approach. It encompassed national threat assessment and sectoral India’s approach to AML/CFT campaign risk assessment for banking, securities, insurance, pensions, Designated Non- India's overarching framework for Financial Businesses and Professions AML and CFT is defined in the Prevention (DNFBPs), Virtual Asset Service Providers of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) (VASPs) and financial inclusion services. and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) This led to India adopting a National Act, 1967 (UAPA) respectively. The Strategy on AML/CFT in 2023. Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful How did India fare in FATF's 2024 Activities) Act, 2005 and UAPA provide Mutual Evaluation? the legal backing for focused financial sanctions. Additionally, the Code of During 2022-23, India underwent an Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) sets extensive self-assessment process, guidelines for law enforcement, ensuring a requiring financial sector regulators and comprehensive legal framework to combat other key stakeholders to go through financial crimes. various rounds of deliberations and 17January 2025 provide submissions on the sector-specific c) Implementation of the JAM (Jan Dhan, AML/CFT framework put in place along Aadhaar, Mobile) Trinity, along with with the findings of NRA. rigorous regulations on cash transactions which has led to a In November 2023, the FATF team substantial growth in financial conducted an onsite assessment, wherein inclusion and digital transactions; the FATF team engaged with the officials thereby making them easily traceable. of the FSRs and the representatives of the select Reporting Entities (REs) to gauge the The report also calls for priority actions in AML/CFT framework and steps taken to several key areas in including the strengthen the same. The Department of following 3 areas where it has been rated Revenue acted as a National nodal agency Partially Compliant: during the Mutual Evaluation process. a) Protect Non-Profit Organisations After nearly a year of comprehensive (NPOs) from terror abuse with risk- exercise, the Mutual Evaluation report was based measures. accepted by FATF plenary in June 2024, as b) Establish clear obligations for a part of its 4th round of evaluation of identifying and taking risk-based global countries. In September 2024, FATF, enhanced measures for domestic PEPs. in collaboration with its regional c) Address regulatory and supervisory counterparts APG and EAG, released its gaps in DNFBPs in sectors like latest evaluation of India. The report precious metals, stones, and real estate, acknowledges India's significant which are vulnerable to money regulatory advancements and also laundering. recognizing areas that require further attention. Overall India’s effectiveness was Substantial on 6 Immediate Outcomes In FATF’s terms “India has achieved a (IOs) and Moderate on 5 IOs out of total 11 high-level of technical compliance across the IOs. In terms of technical compliance on FATF Recommendations and has taken the 40 Recommendations, India was significant steps to implement measures to compliant with 11; largely compliant with tackle illicit finance”. Among several other 26; partially compliant with 3. As per the things, FATF has recognised the hard work MER 2024, India has been placed in the put in by India on: regular follow-up process category a distinction which it shares with another a) Mitigating the ML/TF risks, as well as four G20 countries (U.K, France, Italy and the laundering of proceeds from Russia). It is worthwhile to note that, corruption, fraud, and organised several developed nations, including the crime. US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, b) Effective measures implemented by Singapore, and Germany, have been India to shift from a cash-based to a placed under enhanced follow-up digital economy. 18January 2025 category, given significant deficiencies in AML/CFT aspects, in line with the risk their AML/CFT frameworks. these sectors represent. As per FATF, India has made notable e) PFRDA has not imposed sanctions or progress in strengthening its AML/CFT taken remedial actions due to the lack of framework, as reflected in the increase in significant AML/CFT violations in the compliant ratings from 4 to 11 pension sector. The volume of ML/TF recommendations, marking a significant cases involving the pension sectors in improvement. India is minimal, and India's 2022 NRA categorizes the risk in pension sector as Assessment of Pension Sector under "Low." Mutual Evaluation Process The pension sector was for the first time As per MER, the key focus area in comprehensively assessed under the reference to the pension sector includes, Mutual Evaluation process and PFRDA as widening the ambit of the Politically a pension regulator was included in the Exposed Persons (PEPs) to include FATF mutual evaluation. The ME report domestic PEP (Recommendation 12 of has acknowledged the ensuing significant FATF), devising guidelines for points pertaining to PFRDA’s AML/CFT countermeasures on the request received framework and its compliance to FATF from international / inter-governmental recommendations: organisation (Recommendation 19 of FATF), and information sharing with a) PFRDA demonstrates a fair foreign counterparts (Recommendation 40 understanding of the ML and TF risks, of FATF). along with mitigation measures that effectively limit the sector's exposure to What lies ahead for India? these risks. b) PFRDA's Guidelines on With the completion of Mutual KYC/AML/CFT outline various control evaluation, India has a chance to self-report and preventive measures, including to FATF after a period of three years with CDD, EDD. respect to: c) PFRDA’s Regulations stipulate the "fit- a) the progress on the key and-proper" person criteria for its recommendations / priority actions intermediaries, making sure that only suggested in the MER; and those who meet these standards are b) demonstrate improvement in 3 permitted to operate within the sector. Recommendations where it is rated PC d) Supervision by PFRDA is prudentially for TCRR. driven, with AML/CFT aspects integrated into on-site inspections. In FY Based on the review of progress made 2022-23, PFRDA inspected on action plan, in case FATF is able to approximately 5% of entities (PoPs). determine after that India has Additionally, supervised entities demonstrated significant improvements undergo external audits covering 19January 2025 may be remove India from the regular Conclusion follow-up category. The outcome of the recently concluded As the FATF has reduced the assessment FATF Mutual Evaluation Process for India has been positive with the FATF cycle period to 6 years for the mutual recognizing the efforts undertaken by evaluations beginning 2024 as per the India for combating ML/TF. The rating revised FATF mutual evaluation given to India as country further gives procedures adopted in 2022. Accordingly, strength to the integrity and the solidity of the next round of mutual evaluation of the financial system and provides a boost India is likely to take place in 2031. to the growing economy. References: 1. FATF Website (www.fatf-gafi.org) 2. FATF and APG (2010), Mutual Evaluation Report of India 3. FATF (2012-2025), International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation 4. FATF (2013), Mutual Evaluation of India: 8th Follow-up report & Progress Report on Action Plan 5. FATF (2013-2023), Methodology for assessing technical compliance with the FATF recommendations and the effectiveness of AML/CFT Systems 6. FATF (2023), Procedures for the FATF Fourth Round of AML/CFT Mutual Evaluations 7. FATF (2024), Consolidated processes and procedures for Mutual Evaluations and Follow-up: “Universal Procedures” 8. FATF/OECD – APG, EAG (2024), Anti- money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures – India, Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluation Report 20January 2025 Section 4/ 4 खंड International Section/ अंिराथष्ट्रीय खंड 21January 2025 Pension System in Tanzania In 2008 the government established the Social pension funds. This is known as a pay-as-you-go Security Regulatory Authority (SSRA). The main defined benefit system. goal of SSRA is to regulate the social security 2. Types of Benefits: The system provides two activities in the country. Due to competition on main types of benefits: a commuted pension attracting members, some funds were paying (lump sum at retirement) and a monthly old-age higher benefits, which put them in the risk of pension. insolvency. In 2014, SSRA issued the pension benefit harmonization rules to be applied for all 3. Governance: The governance of the pension mandatory defined benefit pension schemes funds involves strict controls and professional (SSRA 2014). The rules described two benefit oversight. The system is governed by a formulas, which are, commuted benefit (lump hierarchical structure that includes the sum) to be paid at retirement and monthly Ministries, the Regulator, and the Central Bank. benefit to be paid after retirement until the death 4. Challenges: The system faces several of the retiree. The harmonization rules lowered challenges, including low coverage, high the benefits for some funds and removed the administrative costs, and the heavy involvement early retirement pensions such as withdrawal of the government in the governance of the benefits. funds. There are also issues related to employer Before 2018, the Tanzanian pension system compliance and beneficiary withdrawal. comprised five mandatory defined benefit 5. Sustainability: Projections indicate that the schemes operated under the pay-as-you-go pension fund may face sustainability issues in principle. These funds were Parastatal Pension the long term due to increased life expectancy of Fund (PPF), Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF), its members. Contributions may not fully cover Local Authority Pension Fund (LAPF), benefit payouts, and asset values may not fully Government Employees Provident Fund (GEPF) cover liabilities. and National Security Social Fund (NSSF). In 2018, the parliament passed Act No. 2 of 2018 Tanzania’s current pension arrangement covers which consolidated the social security schemes people only working in the formal sector, who by merging four public funds, PPF, PSPF, LAPF contribute to the country’s social security funds, and GEPF, into one scheme which is the Public the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), which Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF). The main covers employees in the private sector, and the purpose of PSSSF is to collect contributions and Public Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF), make payments of terminal benefits to which covers civil servants. employees of public service. NSSF remained for Tanzania does have other schemes designed to private sector employees. support poor households in the country, Structure: including the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF), which does not necessarily pay people The pension system in Tanzania is structured to after retiring and instead operates under provide social security to its citizens through different criteria, mainly the household’s level of various schemes. Here are some key points about poverty. the structure: The Pension Funds (PFs) hold a small fraction of 1. Contributory System: The pension system in Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSEs) market Tanzania operates on a contributory basis, where capitalization. PFs purchases and holds both employers and employees contribute to the securities for longer terms. The low liquidity of 22January 2025 the DSE is partially contributed by low Tanzanian Pension System, Tanzania participation of PFs in secondary market trading. Journal of Science 47(1): 354-365, 2021 Pension funds, commercial banks, and the Bank ▪ Twalib N.H., Jilenga M.T. (2024), of Tanzania jointly held about 80 percent of Determinants of financial performance of pension funds in Tanzania: The case of domestic debt at end-June 2023. national social security fund, International Journal of Business, Economics and Management, 2024 Vol. Table 1: Key Indicators 11, No. 2, pp. 19-27 ▪ World Health Organization Data (2023), Tanzania United Republic of Tanzania, Health data Expenditures on %of GDP 2.35% overview for the United Republic of social protection Tanzania (2016) Life expectancy at birth 65.2/68.4 (2021) (Men/Women) At age 65 17/17 (Men/Women) ***** Age distribution, (0-14, 15-64, 65+) 21.5%, 2023 74.4%, 4.2% Payment of benefits in Tanzania is based on replacement rate, which is the rate of salary, paid as pension to a retiree. In Tanzania, despite the fragmentation of benefits (both short- and long-term), replacement rates have remained uniform across income groups. Parametric reforms implanted in Tanzania for over two decades have improved the social security system by establishing a strong legal, regulatory framework; enhancing scheme governance; safeguarding investment prudence; and reducing administrative expenses. Sources: ▪ Isaka I.C., Ndanshau M (2020), Empirical Analysis of the Adequacy of the Pension System in Mainland Tanzania, Tanzanian Economic Review, Vol. 10 No. 2, December, 2020: 23–47 ▪ Mwakisisile A. J., Larsson T (2021), Analysis of a Reform Option for the 23January 2025 Section 5/ 5 खंड Did You Know? ? क्या आप जानिे हैं 24January 2025 Economic Survey 2024-25 Economic Survey 2025 has predicted FY26 growth at 6.3-6.8%. Projections by other organizations are also provided for reference- Projection by GDP Growth Forecast for FY 2025-26 Economic Survey 2024-25 6.3% - 6.8% International Monetary Fund (IMF) 6.5% World Bank 6.7% Asian Development Bank (ADB) 7.2% Reserve Bank of India (RBI) 6.7% The estimate range is in line with the International Monetary Fund’s 6.5% but lower than the 6.7% projected by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. W.r.t. inflation, survey highlighted that despite challenges, there are positive signs for inflation management. The Reserve Bank of India and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) project that India’s consumer price inflation will gradually align with the target of around 4 per cent in FY26. Outlook of Financial Sector India’s financial sector has performed well amidst unfavourable geopolitical conditions. On the monetary front, system liquidity, represented by the net position under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility, remained in surplus during October-November 2024. The financial parameters of banks continue to be strong, reflected in improved profitability indicators. Capital markets significantly contribute to capital formation, the financialization of domestic savings, and wealth creation. Strong macroeconomic fundamentals, healthy corporate earnings, supportive institutional investment, robust inflows from SIPs, and increased formalisation, digitisation, and accessibility have all fuelled the market's continued growth. India's insurance sector is performing well and is projected to become the fastest-growing market among G20 nations over the next five years (2024-2028). Pension Sector: The pension sector is expected to grow as the economy transitions from a lower-middle-income to an upper middle-income country. 25January 2025 Economic Survey has also included a first of its type analysis on India’s Pension Sector, with the heading: Securing Retirement: Transforming India's Pension Landscape. Survey mentions that scalability and sustainability are crucial for any efficient pension system and survey acknowledges that in principle, taking into consideration both scalability and sustainability, India’s pension system design seems robust and stable. Survey also mentions that progress under APY has been notable, its scalability in practice remains an area for further development. Making pension system more accessible to the informal sector has been highlighted as a key issue. The survey highlights key policy directions, digital integration, and behavioural interventions to expand coverage. A significant step for Integrating a significant portion of the informal sector into the pension framework is raising awareness about pension and financial literacy and utilising modern, application-based interfaces that allow seamless access to these services. Increasing participation can be achieved through behavioural interventions, which can involve changing how information is presented, simplifying the enrolment process (for example, using UPI enabled pension payments), and providing timely reminders. (Note - UPI enabled payments are already allowed under NPS). Pension sector has been considered under untapped service sectors by the survey. W.r.t. overwhelming preference for a low pension amount among APY subscribers, survey mentions that it can be attributed to several factors, the most significant being that the target population primarily consists of low-income households, where daily consumption needs take precedence over savings. The overall pension coverage for NPS and APY schemes has increased from 0.95 per cent of the total population in FY16 to 5.3 per cent in FY24. Despite this growth, India's pension system has considerable potential for further expansion. Financial sector regulators Survey mentions that the efficiency and effectiveness of regulatory action are directly dependent on the quality of regulations. The quality of regulations can be broadly assessed based on five criteria: democratic legitimacy, accountability of the regulator, fair, accessible and open procedures, expertise and efficiency. 26January 2025 While these criteria are impacted by many structural and operational factors in the regulator and beyond, using a ‘fair, accessible and open procedure’ for regulation making is more practicable than the others. A systematic procedure for regulation-making is one way to ensure that the quality of regulations is right. Regulatory impact assessment (RIA) has been identified as an effective tool when used as part of the regulation-making process to ensure the quality of regulations. Financial sector IRBs have been including the elements/aspects of RIA and related regulatory best practices. The RBI has set a Medium-term Strategy Framework – Utkarsh 2022, and the SEBI indicates regulatory plans as part of its annual reports. The IBBI governs the regulation-making process through the IBBI (Mechanism for Issuing Regulations) Regulations, 2018. It provides for at least 21 days for public consultations while proposing/amending regulations, consultations with stakeholders and advisory committees, and an economic analysis covering the expected costs and benefits to society, economy, stakeholders, and itself on account of the proposed regulation. (Note- Similar process has been adopted in PFRDA also with notification of PFRDA(Mechanism for Making and Review of Regulations) Regulations, 2015). Survey has observed that most regulators practice consultations with stakeholders during regulation- making through discussion papers shared on their websites. Deregulation drives growth Survey highlights the significance of deregulation in achieving the goal of "Viksit Bharat". Enhancing the economic freedom of individuals and businesses is both the means and the ends to unleashing internal growth levers. Undertaking systematic deregulation in 2 phases: Phase 1- pursued • Reduced Compliance Burden • Streamlined system, process and info • Digitised system, process and info • Provided incentives Phase 2- to be pursued • Liberalise standards and controls • Set legal safeguards for enforcement • Reduce tariffs and fees • Use risk-based regulation 27January 2025 Concerted actions by states towards deregulation will lift sentiment, enhance faith and trust in governance, and even improve compliance as the relationship between the governing and the governed turns into a partnership. Once some regulations are repealed or simplified, the remaining ones become progressively easier. Key points from Economic Survey Chapters 1. State of the Economy: Resilience Amid Global Uncertainties Global perspective: i.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected growth of 3.2 per cent and 3.3 per cent for 2024 and 2025, respectively. Over the next five years, global growth is expected to average around 3.2 per cent, which is modest by historical standards. ii. Central banks have adopted more accommodative monetary policies. However, the pace of rate cuts varies across regions depending on the growth imperatives and the pace of disinflation, creating potential divergences in economic recovery. Inflation rates across economies have trended downward steadily, approaching central bank target levels. This has been the result of tighter monetary policy regimes across the globe and supply chains adapting to higher levels of economic uncertainty. iii.Taking advantage of the steep decline in inflation, major central banks have implemented a policy pivot to lower policy rates. Given the differentials in the trajectories of economic activity across countries, the pace of policy rate reduction is bound to differ. iv. Renewed global uncertainty over inflationary pressures and the direction of monetary policies have pushed bond yields up in October - December 2024. Indian Scenario: i.The Union government’s indicators of fiscal discipline have improved progressively. ii.India displayed steady economic growth and economic prospects for FY26 are balanced. iii.India’s real GDP is estimated to grow by 6.4 per cent in FY25. iv.Private consumption remained stable, reflecting steady domestic demand. v.Fiscal discipline and strong external balance supported by a services trade surplus and healthy remittance growth contributed to macroeconomic stability. vi.Together, these factors provided a solid foundation for sustained growth amid external uncertainties. 28January 2025 vii.Headwinds to growth include elevated geopolitical and trade uncertainties and possible commodity price shocks. viii.Domestically, the translation of order books of private capital goods sector into sustained investment pick- up, improvements in consumer confidence, and corporate wage pick-up will be key to promoting growth. ix.Overall, India will need to improve its global competitiveness through grassroots-level structural reforms and deregulation to reinforce its medium-term growth potential. x.Navigating global headwinds will require strategic and prudent policy management and reinforcing the domestic fundamentals. xi.Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) flows have been volatile in the second half of 2024, primarily on account of global geopolitical and monetary policy developments. Net FPI inflows slowed to USD 10.6 billion in April – December 2024 from USD 31.7 billion during the same period the previous year. The inclusion of India’s sovereign government securities (G-secs) of certain tenors in the JP Morgan EM Bond Index induced heightened activity within the debt segment of the FPIs. xii.As per the 2023-24 annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report, the unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 years and above has steadily declined from 6 per cent in 2017-18 to 3.2 per cent in 2023- 24. The labour force participation rate (LFPR) and the worker-to-population ratio (WPR) have also increased. 2. Monetary and Financial Sector: Strengthening the Backbone: i.Banking Sector Health: The Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) ratio of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) has declined significantly, from 7.3% in March 2021 to 2.6% in September 2024, reflecting improved asset quality. ii.Profitability: The Return on Assets (RoA) of SCBs has improved, indicating better profitability and financial health of the banking sector. iii.Capital Markets Boom: The capital markets have seen remarkable growth, with ₹11.1 lakh crore mobilized from primary markets during April-December 2024, a 5% increase over FY24. iv.Demat Accounts: The number of demat accounts rose by 33% to 18.5 crore, reflecting increased retail participation in the stock market. v.IPO Market: The IPO market saw a 32.1% increase in the number of IPOs, with funds raised tripling to ₹1.53 lakh crore from ₹53,023 crore in the same period. vi.Mutual Funds: The number of unique mutual fund investors doubled from 2.9 crore in FY21 to 5.6 crore as of December 2024, indicating growing investor confidence. 29January 2025 vii.Financial Inclusion: The RBI’s Financial Inclusion Index improved from 53.9 in March 2021 to 64.2 by March 2024, driven by the expansion of rural financial institutions viii.SIP Flows: Monthly average gross SIP flows more than doubled in the last three years, from ₹0.10 lakh crore in FY22 to ₹0.23 lakh crore as of December 2024, indicating growing retail investor participation. 3. External Sector: Navigating Global Trade Dynamics: i.Trade Performance: India’s merchandise trade deficit widened in FY25, primarily due to a surge in imports reflecting rebounding domestic demand. However, non-petroleum exports performed well, indicating diversification in export baskets. ii.Services Trade Surplus: The services trade surplus increased to USD 150 billion, driven by strong exports in IT and other services. iii.Forex Reserves: India’s forex reserves reached a high of USD 706 billion in September 2024, covering 89.9% of external debt, providing a strong buffer against external shocks. iv.FDI Inflows: The services sector led FDI inflows with a 19.1% share, followed by technology, trading, and non-conventional energy, reflecting India’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign investment. 4. Prices and Inflation: Managing Volatility: i.Headline Inflation: Headline inflation has softened, driven by cooling core inflation, but food inflation remains a concern due to volatile prices of vegetables and pulses. ii.Core Inflation: Core inflation has cooled, indicating that underlying inflationary pressures are under control, despite volatile food prices. iii.Food Inflation: Food inflation remains elevated, driven by a few key items like vegetables and pulses, highlighting the need for better supply chain management. iv.Extreme Weather Impact: Extreme weather events have had a significant impact on vegetable inflation, with price spikes lasting up to three months, underscoring the need for climate-resilient agricultural practices. v.Administrative Measures: The government has implemented measures like stock limits, open market sales, and subsidized sales to control food inflation. vi.Policy Response: The government’s policy response to inflation has been proactive, with a focus on both short-term measures (like stock limits) and long-term solutions (like improving supply chains). 30January 2025 5. Medium-Term Outlook: Deregulation and Domestic Drivers: i.Deregulation: The survey emphasizes the importance of deregulation to enhance economic freedom and drive growth. The Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) 2.0 initiative focuses on reducing compliance burdens, streamlining processes, and liberalizing standards. ii.EoDB 2.0: The Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) 2.0 initiative aims to undertake systematic deregulation, focusing on reducing compliance burdens, streamlining processes, and liberalizing standards. iii.Phase 1 Reforms: In Phase 1, the government focused on reducing compliance burdens, streamlining systems, and digitizing processes, which have already yielded positive results. iv.Phase 2 Reforms: In Phase 2, the focus will be on liberalizing standards, reducing tariffs, and adopting risk- based regulation to further enhance economic freedom. v.Risk-Based Regulation: The survey advocates for risk-based regulation, where legal norms are tailored to the risk profile of businesses, reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens. 6. Investment and Infrastructure: Building the Foundation for Growth: i.Railways: The Vande Bharat trains and increased production of railway coaches have significantly improved rail connectivity and passenger comfort. ii.Civil Aviation: The UDAN scheme has operationalized 84 new airports and 545 routes, improving regional connectivity and making air travel more accessible. iii.Ports and Shipping: The average container turnaround time in major ports has reduced, improving efficiency and reducing logistics costs. iv.Power Sector: The power sector has seen substantial capacity addition, with 61.4% of new capacity coming from non-fossil fuels as of December 2024, aligning with India’s renewable energy goals. v.Digital Connectivity: Telecommunication infrastructure has expanded, with increasing internet penetration and digital services, supporting India’s growing digital economy. vi.Rural Infrastructure: The Jal Jeevan Mission has provided tap water connections to 12.2 crore rural households, improving access to safe drinking water. vii.Urban Infrastructure: The Smart Cities Mission has completed 93% of its projects, improving urban infrastructure and quality of life in cities. viii.Renewable Energy: India’s reliance on renewable energy has grown, with non-fossil fuels accounting for 46.8% of installed electricity generation capacity as of November 2024. 31January 2025 7. Industry: Reforms and Resilience: i.Business Optimism: The Business Expectations Index indicates growing optimism, reflecting confidence in the economy’s recovery and future growth prospects. ii.Consumer Goods: The consumer goods industry has shown resilience, with steady growth in production and exports, supported by strong domestic demand. iii.Policy Reforms: The survey highlights the importance of business reforms in driving industrial growth, including simplifying regulations and improving ease of doing business. iv.Innovation Ecosystem: The increase in intellectual property filings reflects the growth of India’s innovation ecosystem, which is crucial for transitioning to a knowledge-based economy. v.Export Performance: Strong export performance in sectors like textiles and electronics indicates India’s growing competitiveness in global markets. vi.Infrastructure Growth: The steady growth in cement and steel production underscores the importance of infrastructure development in driving industrial growth. 8. Services: Challenges and Opportunities: i.Services Sector Growth: The services sector’s share in Gross Value Added (GVA) has increased to 56%, reflecting its growing importance in the economy. ii.Global Services Exports: India’s share in global services exports has grown to 4.3%, driven by strong performance in IT and other services. iii.Offshore Work: The traditional apprenticeship model faces challenges like inadequate supervision and regulatory differences across countries, which need to be addressed to sustain growth. iv.Servicification: The increasing demand for embedded services and the adoption of digital technologies and AI in services and manufacturing present new opportunities for growth. v.Policy Support: The survey calls for policy support to address challenges in the services sector, including skilling initiatives and regulatory reforms. 32January 2025 9. Agriculture and Food Management: Sustainable Growth: i.Credit Flow: Institutional credit to agriculture has increased, particularly for small and marginal farmers, supporting agricultural growth and improving farmer incomes. ii.Micro-Irrigation: The area under micro-irrigation has expanded, promoting sustainable farming practices and improving water use efficiency. iii.Government Schemes: Initiatives like PM-KISAN, Soil Health Cards, and the National Bamboo Mission have been instrumental in supporting agricultural growth. iv.Non-Institutional Credit: The share of non-institutional credit in agriculture has declined, reflecting the growing role of institutional credit in supporting farmers. v.Sustainable Farming: The government has promoted sustainable farming through schemes like Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana and Mission Organic Value Chain Development. vi.Soil Health: The Soil Health Card scheme has helped farmers improve soil fertility and crop yields, contributing to sustainable agriculture. 10. Climate & Environment: Balancing Growth and Sustainability: i.Climate Challenges: India faces the dual challenge of achieving high economic growth while transitioning to a low-carbon economy, requiring significant investments in renewable energy and green technologies. ii.Renewable Energy: India has made significant progress towards its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), with 46.8% of electricity generation capacity from non-fossil fuels as of November 2024. iii.Forest Cover: India has created an additional carbon sink of 2.29 billion tonnes CO2 eq. between 2005 and 2023, contributing to its climate goals. iv.International Support: The survey highlights the need for international support on finance and technology to meet India’s climate goals, given the inadequacy of current global climate finance. v.Adaptation: India’s adaptation-related expenditure has increased from 3.7% to 5.6% of GDP between FY16 and FY22, reflecting the growing importance of adaptation in climate policy. vi.Mission LiFE: The Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) initiative emphasizes collective action to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable living. vii.Low-Carbon Development: India is following a low-carbon development path, focusing on renewable energy and energy efficiency while ensuring job creation and affordable energy security. 33January 2025 11. Social Sector: Extending Reach and Driving Empowerment: i.Social Services Expenditure: There has been a significant increase in social services expenditure, with the total expenditure rising to ₹98 lakh crore in FY25 (BE), reflecting the government’s focus on inclusive development. ii.Education: The total expenditure on education is estimated at ₹9.7 lakh crore for FY22 (BE), with initiatives like NIPUN Bharat and PM e-Vidya improving access to quality education. iii.Health: Programs like Ayushman Bharat and the National Health Mission have improved healthcare access, with over 36.36 crore Ayushman cards issued and 1,75,560 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs operationalized. iv.Rural Development: The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) has completed 7,70,983 km of road length, improving rural connectivity and access to markets. v.Sanitation: The Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) has constructed 11.8 crore toilets and 2.51 lakh community sanitary complexes, improving sanitation in rural areas. vi.Housing: The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) has completed 2.69 crore houses, providing affordable housing to rural households. vii.Water Supply: The Jal Jeevan Mission has provided tap water connections to 12.2 crore rural households, improving access to safe drinking water. viii.Health Infrastructure: The National Health Mission has established 165.6k Sub-Centres (SCs), 25.4k Primary Health Centres (PHCs), and 5.5k Community Health Centres (CHCs), strengthening rural healthcare infrastructure. ix.Digital Health: Initiatives like ABHA and e-Sanjeevani have enhanced healthcare delivery, with 72.81 crore ABHA IDs created and 31.19 crore patients served through telemedicine. 12. Employment and Skill Development: Existential Priorities: i.Labour Market Indicators: The labour force participation rate (LFPR) and worker population ratio (WPR) have improved, with the LFPR reaching 58.2% in 2023-24, reflecting positive trends in job creation. ii.Female Labour Force Participation: The female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) has increased to 34% in 2023-24, up from 24% in 2017-18, indicating greater economic inclusion of women. iii.Urban Labour Market: The urban unemployment rate (UR) has declined to 6.3% in 2023-24, reflecting improved job opportunities in urban areas. 34January 2025 iv.Skill Development: Initiatives like PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and SANKALP have trained 1.57 crore and 2.71 lakh individuals, respectively, enhancing employability. v.Women Entrepreneurs: Programs like the Credit Guarantee Scheme and Start-up support have empowered women entrepreneurs, with 3% of procurement by CPSEs reserved for women-owned enterprises. 13. Labour in the AI Era: Crisis or Catalyst i.AI and Labour: The deployment of AI presents both opportunities and challenges for India’s labour market, with the potential to augment labour and boost productivity. ii.Labour Augmentation: AI can augment labour by automating repetitive tasks, allowing workers to focus on higher-value activities, and improving overall productivity. iii.Labour Replacement: There is a risk that AI could replace labour in certain sectors, particularly in low- skilled jobs, leading to job displacement and increased inequality. iv.Enabling Institutions: The survey emphasizes the need for robust institutions to manage the transition to an AI-driven economy, including enabling, insuring, and stewarding institutions. v.Long-Term Horizon: AI deployment should be optimized over a long horizon to ensure that it delivers broad-based societal benefits and does not exacerbate inequality. vi.Coordinated Efforts: Coordinated efforts between the government, private sector, and academia are required to ensure that AI is labour-augmenting rather than labour-replacing. vii.Practical Challenges: Translating AI breakthroughs into practical applications remains challenging, with experimental and uneven utility in real-world scenarios. viii.Reliability: Ensuring AI reliability is critical, particularly in key industries like autonomous vehicles and healthcare, where failures can have serious consequences. ix.Infrastructure: Scaling AI requires substantial investments in infrastructure, including data centres, clean data pipelines, and computational resources. x.Resource Intensity: Large AI models are resource-intensive, requiring high energy consumption and scarce minerals for hardware, making sustainable innovation essential. 35January 2025 Section 6/ 6 खंड Circulars/Regulations/Guidelines पररपत्र/ववतनयम/टदशातनदेश 36January 2025 Circular No: PFRDA/Master Circular/2025/01/PoP-01 Advisories to be followed by Point of Presence (PoPs) under 14 January 2025 NPS (All Citizen and Corporate)/NPS- Lite/ APY This master circular consolidates the existing All the nodal offices/ POPs/Aggregators & APY- instructions with regard to “Advisories to be SPs are advised to ensure that data in the followed by PoPs”. withdrawal/exit form is correctly filled in by the Subscriber and verified/authorized by the PAOs / Some of the advisories to be followed by Point of CDDOs / DTOs / DDOs / POPs / Aggregators / Presence (PoPs) under NPS (All Citizen and APY-SPs in order to ensure timely credit of funds Corporate)/NPS Lite are as under: into subscriber's savings bank account; post All the PoPs are advised to check the subscriber exit/withdrawal from NPS (National Pension registration with respect to the abovementioned System) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY). reasons before submitting it to CRA-FC/CRA for The facility of payment of account opening, in order to minimize rejections. subscriptions/contributions using credit card as a While opening an 'Individual Pension Account' in mode of payment in the Tier-II account of NPS has NPS digital consent of applicant may be obtained been stopped. All the PoPs are advised to stop the through 'digital signature'. acceptance of credit card as a mode of payment for the Tier-II account of NPS with effect from The 'penny drop procedure' will be an additional 03.08.2022. method for verifying the applicant's bank account details by the PoP. All registered POPs are required to submit annual certificate to the Authority under regulation no. PoPs may also extend this 'penny drop procedure' to 11(1)(d) and regulation no. 29(1)(e) of PFRDA (Point their existing NPS subscribers for changing his/ her of Presence) Regulations, 2018. bank account details with CRA. The PoPs also need to ensure that in case, they provide the facility to their NPS subscribers for remittance of NPS contributions directly to the collection accounts of the PoPs, the NPS contributions are not collected without capturing details of the PRAN in which the same have to be credited. All the Nodal Offices/ Points-of-Presence are hereby advised to ensure that NPS contributions being made by the Subscriber to his/her Tier Il account is being made from his/her own Bank account and through his own legitimate source of funds. 37January 2025 Circular No: Lower limit on the charges that can be levied by PFRDA/Master Circular/2024/05/PoP- 03 PoPs has been removed. There are no minimum Master Circular – Service charges that must be collected by PoPs for rendering Charges that can be collected their services. 31 January 2025 by POPs under NPS (All Citizen All Points of Presence (POPs) are required to and Corporate)/ NPS Lite provide their service charge structure for e-NPS (for subsequent contributions) and 'trail commission for D-Remit Contributions' to the Central Record This master circular consolidates the existing Keeping Agencies to deduct applicable charges instructions on the subject of “Service Charges for through upfront deduction from subscriber’s POPs under NPS (All Citizen and Corporate/NPS- contribution and unit deduction from subscriber’s Lite)”. corpus on periodical basis respectively. The charges that can be collected for services All Points of Presence (PoPs) are mandated to rendered in respect of the NPS-Vatsalya account at publicly display their updated charge structure on any time shall be the same as the charges that be their respective websites. This information must also collected under NPS- All Citizen Model as stipulated be clearly presented to subscribers during the by the Authority from time to time. transaction process through pop-up notification. SERVICE CHARGES FOR THE POINT OF PRESENCE The charge structure for PoPs under NPS (All Citizen and Corporate) are as below: Intermediary Service Charges Method of Deduction (i) Initial Subscriber Upto maximum ₹400/- To be collected upfront Registration (ii) Initial Contribution Upto 0.50% of the contribution, subject to maximum ₹25000/- (iii) All Subsequent Contribution (iv) All Non-Financial Upto maximum ₹30/- Transaction (v) Persistency* ₹50/- p.a. for annual contribution Through cancellation of units ₹1000/ to ₹2999/- ₹75/- p.a. for annual contribution ₹3000/ to ₹6000/- POP ₹100/- p.a. for annual contribution above ₹6000/- (Only for NPS All Citizen model) (vi) e-NPS (for subsequent Upto 0.20% of the contribution, subject to To be collected upfront maximum ₹10,000/- contribution) (Only for NPS All Citizen and Tier - II Accounts) 38January 2025 (vii) Trail commission for DRemit Upto 0.20% of the contribution subject to Through unit deduction on Contributions maximum ₹ 10,000/- periodical basis (Only for NPS All Citizen and Tier - II Accounts) (viii) Processing of Upto 0.125% of Corpus subject to To be collected upfront Exit/Withdrawal maximum ₹500/- *1. Persistency charges is payable to such POPs to which the subscriber is associated for more than six months in a financial year. 2. Minimum contribution per transaction is ₹500/- and minimum annual contribution is ₹1000/- 3. GST or other taxes as applicable, shall be additional. 39January 2025 Section 7/ 7 खंड NPS/APY Statistics एनपीएस/एपीवाई आाँकड़े 40January 2025 i. No. of Subscribers: The number of subscribers in I. Sector Wise Growth / क्षेत्रवार वद्ृ धि various schemes under the NPS and APY rose to 816.13 Lakh by the end of January 2025 from 712.82 The total number of subscribers, contributions, and Lakh in January 2024 showing a year-on-year (Y-o- assets under management for the NPS and APY as Y) growth of 14.49%. on 31st Jan 2025, are as under. The below data is a compilation of data from the three CRAs registered with PFRDA. Table 1: NPS & APY growth in Subscribers base as on 31st Jan 2025/ 31 जनवरी 2025 िक एनपीएस और एपीवाई के असभदािाओं की संख्या में वद्ृ धध No. of Subscribers (in lakh) / अभिदाताओ ं की YoY (%) / S.N. / क्रम Share (%) / Sector / क्षेत्र सख्ं या (लाख में) वार्षकि वद्ृ धि सख्ं या हिस्सेदारी (%) (%) 31-Jan-24 31-Mar-24 31-Jan-25 i CG 25.56 26.07 27.03 5.75 3.31 ii SG 64.82 65.96 68.82 6.17 8.44 Sub Total 90.38 92.03 95.85 6.05 11.75 iii Corporate 19.03 19.48 22.34 17.39 2.74 iv All Citizen 33.35 35.64 41.01 22.97 5.02 v Vatsalya 0.91 0.11 Sub Total 52.38 55.12 64.26 22.68 7.87 vi NPS Lite 33.25 33.28 33.48 0.69 4.10 vii APY 536.81 555.12 622.54 15.97 76.28 viii Grand Total 712.82 735.56 816.13 14.49 100.00 Source: CRAs iii. Assets under Management: As of 31st Jan 2025, the ii. Contribution: As on 31st Jan 2025, total contribution combined pension assets under management for for both NPS and APY stood at Rs. 10,01,897 crores both the NPS and the APY stood at Rs 13,88,882 showing a Y-o-Y growth of 22.51%. crores showing a year-on-year growth of 24.53%. 41January 2025 Table 2: NPS & APY growth in Contribution as on 31st Jan 2025/ 31 जनवरी 2025 िक एनपीएस और एपीवाई के कॉजररब्यूशन में वद्ृ धध S.N. / YoY (%) / Share (%) / Contribution (Rs. in crore) / योगदान (रु. करोड़ में) क्रम Sector / क्षेत्र वार्षकि वद्ृ धि हिस्सेदारी सख्ं या (%) (%) 31-Jan-24 31-Mar-24 31-Jan-25 (i) CG 2,12,911 2,19,498 2,54,523 19.54 25.40 (ii) SG 4,04,169 4,20,085 4,89,130 21.02 48.82 Sub Total 6,17,080 6,39,583 7,43,653 20.51 74.22 (iii) Corporate 1,10,358 1,16,097 1,44,373 30.82 14.41 (iv) All Citizen 49,324 52,950 63,237 28.21 6.31 (v) Vatsalya 69 0.01 (vi) Tier-II 7,774 8,069 9,766 25.62 0.97 (vii) TTS 15 16 19 26.67 0.00 Sub Total 1,67,471 1,77,132 2,17,464 29.85 21.71 (viii) NPS Lite 3,322 3,359 3,512 5.72 0.35 (ix) APY* 29,910 31,098 37,268 24.60 3.72 Grand Total 8,17,783 8,51,172 10,01,897 22.51 100.00 * Fig does not include APY Fund Scheme Source: CRAs Table 3: NPS & APY growth in AUM as 31st Jan 2025/ 31 जनवरी 2025 िक एनपीएस और एपीवाई के एयूएम में वद्ृ धध S.N. / क्रम AUM (Rs. in crore) / एयएू म (रु. करोड़ में) YoY (%) / वार्षकि Share (%) / Sector / क्षेत्र सख्ं या वद्ृ धि (%) हिस्सेदारी (%) 31-Jan-24 31-Mar-24 31-Jan-25 (i) CG 3,10,223 3,22,215 3,71,935 19.89 26.78 (ii) SG 5,54,075 5,82,673 6,89,801 24.50 49.67 Sub Total 8,64,298 9,04,888 10,61,736 22.84 76.45 (iii) Corporate 1,56,489 1,66,729 2,07,956 32.89 14.97 (iv) All Citizen 50,183 54,396 63,437 26.41 4.57 (v) Vatsalya 65 0.00 (vi) Tier-II 5,092 5,413 6,690 31.38 0.48 (vii) TTS 16 18 20 25.00 0.00 42January 2025 Sub Total 2,11,780 2,26,556 2,78,168 31.35 20.03 (viii) NPS Lite 5,413 5,560 5,980 10.47 0.43 (ix) APY* 33,798 35,647 42,998 27.22 3.10 Grand Total 11,15,289 11,72,651 13,88,882 24.53 100.00 * Fig does not include APY Fund Scheme Source: CRAs II. PFM-wise Assets under NPS schemes / पीएफएम के अनसु ार एनपीएस योजनाओं के अिं गिथ सपं वत्तयााँ Table 4: Pension Fund-wise Assets under Management (in crore) as on 31st Jan 2025/ 31 जनवरी 2025 को पेंशन फंड के अनुसार एयूएम (करोड़ में) AUM (Rs. In Crore) YoY (%) % share Pension Fund zxxcxv 31-Jan-24 31-Mar-24 31-Jan-25 SBI PF 4,13,901.78 4,33,086.70 4,96,800.62 20.03 35.77 LIC PF 3,08,605.60 3,21,850.60 3,69,536.92 19.74 26.61 UTI PF 2,89,966.59 3,02,401.61 3,46,998.60 19.67 24.98 ICICI PF 24,954.32 28,419.13 42,407.37 69.94 3.05 Kotak PF 4,288.99 4,705.99 6,142.19 43.21 0.44 HDFC PF 69,802.56 76,954.78 1,08,858.00 55.95 7.84 Aditya Birla PF 1,339.48 1,508.72 3,517.40 162.59 0.25 Tata PF 441.60 834.71 4,149.45 839.64 0.30 Max Life PF 468.67 576.37 1,562.71 233.44 0.11 Axis PF 1,490.89 2,197.45 7,456.06 400.11 0.54 DSP PF 30.71 115.66 1,454.44 4636.76 0.10 Total 11,15,291.18 11,72,651.72 13,88,883.76 24.53 100 Source: NPS Trust 43January 2025 III. Scheme Wise AUM under NPS / एनपीएस के अतं गति योजनावार एयूएम Table 5: Scheme-wise Assets under Management (in Crores) as of 31st Jan 2025/ 31 जनवरी 2025 को योजनावार एयूएम संपवत्तयााँ (करोड़ में) AUM (Rs. In Crore) Growth (%) Scheme Over % share 31-Jan-24 31-Mar-24 31-Jan-25 YOY Mar 24 CG 2,94,970.88 3,03,144.53 3,30,458.94 12.03 9.01 23.79 SG 5,46,959.01 5,73,527.22 21.78 16.14 47.96 6,66,102.53 Corporate CG 73,200.07 77,174.94 92,370.21 26.19 19.69 6.65 A 373.67 411.38 596.39 59.60 44.97 0.04 E 69,439.28 76,999.16 1,03,865.41 49.58 34.89 7.48 TIER I C 30,772.21 34,012.02 51,346.80 66.86 50.97 3.70 G 55,257.13 60,750.99 88,456.75 60.08 45.61 6.37 NPS Lite 5,413.06 5,559.67 5,980.45 10.48 7.57 0.43 E 2,393.26 2,573.34 3,166.88 32.32 23.07 0.23 C 996.04 1,035.34 1,269.51 27.46 22.62 0.09 TIER II G 1,702.19 1,797.97 2,250.01 32.18 25.14 0.16 TTS 16.17 17.51 19.55 20.94 11.66 0.00 APY 33,798.29 35,647.67 42,998.07 27.22 20.62 3.10 Tier II Composite - - 2.23 - - 0.00 Total Asset 11,15,291.25 11,72,651.75 13,88,883.73 24.53 18.44 100.00 Source: NPS Trust Minor difference in AUM provided in Table 3 is due to difference in the methodology of calculation of PFs and CRA. 44January 2025 IV. PFM-wise Return on NPS Schemes / पीएफएम के अनुसार एनपीएस योजनाओं पर लाि Table 6: Returns since inception (in %) as on 31st Jan 2025/ 31 जनवरी 2025 िक आरंभ स े लाभ (% में) Pension SBI PF LIC PF UTI PF ICICI PF KOTAK PF HDFC Aditya TATA PF Max Life Axis PF DSP PF Funds PF Birla PF PF CG 9.59% 9.46% 9.42% SG 9.31% 9.43% 9.39% Corporate- CG 9.35% 9.46% A 9.04% 7.55% 6.85% 7.43% 7.16% 8.63% 6.64% 8.64% 0.37% 6.83% 6.61% E 11.13% 13.33% 12.96% 12.99% 12.45% 15.05% 13.56% 16.60% 13.27% 15.26% 20.79% TIER I C 9.56% 9.00% 8.72% 9.54% 9.24% 9.28% 8.41% 7.55% 7.72% 8.10% 8.80% G 9.10% 9.80% 8.34% 8.55% 8.53% 9.09% 8.10% 8.74% 9.07% 8.91% 11.10% E 11.20% 11.61% 11.76% 11.77% 12.00% 13.61% 13.70% 16.58% 15.69% 16.06% 18.39% C 9.14% 8.54% 8.72% 9.38% 8.61% 8.65% 7.94% 7.92% 8.25% 7.36% 10.46% TIER II G 9.09% 10.01% 8.82% 8.62% 8.30% 9.22% 7.54% 8.94% 7.89% 8.39% 9.43% TTS 6.32% 8.17% 6.96% 7.64% 8.19% 7.02% 8.44% 8.99% 6.86% 6.43% 6.27% NPS Swavalamb an 9.69% 9.75% 9.70% 9.61% APY 8.88% 9.20% 9.15% Tier II Composite 3.72% 4.46% 4.63% Source: NPS Trust 45January 2025 46