Sitharaman connects pension reforms to the Atmanirbhar Bharat Vision

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday that the success of Atmanirbhar Bharat, a self-sufficient India, depends as much on financially self-sufficient households as on industry, arguing that robust pension and pension solutions should become the center of India’s social security. “The growth of any nation depends on the robustness of the social security framework provided to them,” Sitharaman said, emphasizing that recent reforms in the National Pension System (NPS) are designed to address the demand and supply of pension planning and pension framework. The Minister of Finance said the recent reforms are aimed at addressing both the demand and demand of India’s pension framework, as well as the consumer perspective, from the industry as well as the consumer perspective, during a conference offered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) in the national capital. “The fiscal profits of a robust pension system are actually real. Domestic saving deepens and capital can be used in the long run,” she said. “But the human profits are deeper …. fewer families are pushed in age in age by an illness and loss of income at age, and more seniors living with agency and not dependence,” she added. Reforms to strengthen NPS’s pension landscape of India are undergoing a renovation, with reforms to NPs promising greater flexibility, transparency and accessibility for millions of subscribers. Formed by provisions in the 2024 Union budget and subsequent regulations, the changes on October 1, 2025, can invest non-governmental subscribers to 100% of their shares contributions, manage several schemes under a single account and benefit from faster settlement cycles. Among the other reforms, the PFRDA also performed measures to broaden participation, including the introduction of NPS Vatsalya for minors and a united pension scheme for central government employees. To strengthen the precautions, Aadhaar-based verification was made compulsory, while the simplified withdrawal and exit rules aimed at making pension planning more user-friendly. Under the new framework, pension funds can design custom schemes adapted to different risk appetite, while revised Central Record Agency (CRAS) and updated fees for government subscribers are trying to balance sustainability with efficiency. Together, these reforms are one of the most ambitious efforts to expand pension safety in a country where the elderly population is more than double by the middle of the century, Sitharaman said. Sitharaman points to changes in employment trends that the modern pursuit of retirement goes beyond mere existence. “The traditional model of a single lifelong work with a defined pension is also rare. Today’s workforce is characterized by work mobility and entrepreneurship,” she said. “It makes employers’ pensions less reliable for a whole career and therefore places the onus on the individuals to set up their own portable, long-term retirement plans,” she added. The Minister of Finance reiterated that the introduction of the NPS in 2004 by the then NDA government brought an important transition to a sustainable, sustainable, defined pension framework for contribution. “NPS offers flexibility and choice, and pay, and the architecture itself is safe, transparent and also very regulated,” she said. “It also offers seamless mobility and moves seamlessly through one’s career,” she added.