UPSC Prelims 2016 · Question 1 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2016 question on Atal Pension Yojana
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2016
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectIndian Economy
- TopicPlanning and Economic Reforms
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeStatement
Regarding 'Atal Pension Yojana', which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. It is a minimum guaranteed pension scheme mainly targeted at unorganized sector workers.
2. Only one member of a family can join the scheme.
3. Same amount of pension is guaranteed for the spouse for life after subscriber's death.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Show answer
Answer: C. 1 and 3 only
Verdict
The answer is 1 and 3 only. Atal Pension Yojana is a guaranteed pension scheme for unorganised sector workers with spouse continuation, but it does not restrict membership to one person per family.
Analysis
Statement 1 is CORRECT. APY was launched to address longevity risk among unorganised sector workers and to encourage them to save voluntarily for retirement, with a defined minimum pension guaranteed by the Government. Statement 3 is CORRECT. On the subscriber's death the same pension amount continues to the spouse for life, and the accumulated corpus is thereafter returned to the nominee. Statement 2 is INCORRECT. APY is open to all bank account holders who are not members of any statutory social security scheme, and nothing in the design caps the number of members from one family.
Source
Press Information Bureau releases on the Atal Pension Yojana.
How to crack it
This is a current affairs question that also needs judgement, so test each statement against the purpose of the scheme. A pension scheme aimed at universal old age security has no reason to ration entitlement by household, since the contribution is individual and the account is individual. Restrictions of the one member per family kind belong to asset transfer or housing schemes, not to contributory pensions. Ask whether a restriction fits the logic of the instrument before trying to recall the guidelines.