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The 'PRAN' of pensioners

The National Pension System (NPS) is portable, transparent and a low-cost scheme

Although a relatively new entity, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has been in existence for little over a decade. The PFRDA has used technology in all aspects of its functioning, making it one of the most technology-friendly financial services. The National Pension System (NPS) was designed such that it is portable, transparent and a low-cost scheme, which was made possible with the help of technology.

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The central record-keeping agency, National Securities Depository Limited, is the critical component in the whole pension industry and is entirely technology driven. “When one subscribes to the NPS, one is given a unique account number known as the permanent retirement account number (PRAN). The fund managers for the NPS invest in schemes under strict guidelines and use technology to update fund performance in real time,” said Contracter.

The usage of technology within the PFRDA is such that all operations are driven by technology and
 are outsourced. According to Contractor, the government is coming up with another project, wherein anybody having a PAN card and a bank account would be able to open a pension account online. Considering the Central KYC that CERSAI is working towards, the PFRDA too is depending on the CKYC to address the issue of opening new accounts, which has been a bottleneck so far   

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