Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has released the official guidelines for NPS Vatsalya Yojana 2025 with the aim of strengthening the long-term financial security of children. This scheme has been specially designed for children below 18 years of age, so that their future can be made financially secure.
NPS Vatsalya Yojana was announced in the Union Budget for the financial year 2024-25 and was launched by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 18 September 2024. The objective of the scheme is to enable parents or legal guardians to start regular savings for their children from an early age, which will help them in future. pension Become a strong base.
Under this scheme, any Indian citizen below 18 years of age can open an account. This also includes NRI and OCI children. The account will be opened in the name of the child, but it will be operated by the guardian. The child will be the only beneficiary in the scheme.
The minimum initial and annual contribution in NPS Vatsalya account has been kept at only ₹ 250. There is no limit on maximum investment. The special thing is that apart from parents, relatives and friends can also deposit money in the child's account as a gift.
After three years of account opening, up to 25% of the deposited amount can be withdrawn for education, treatment or special needs. This facility is given twice before the age of 18 years and twice between the age of 18 to 21 years.
When the child turns 18, it will be necessary to get a new KYC done. After this, till the age of 21 years, the account holder will have three options to continue the scheme, shift to NPS Tier-I account or exit the scheme. If the total deposit amount is ₹ 8 lakh or less, the entire amount can be withdrawn.
The government has also decided to include Anganwadi workers, Asha workers and Bank Sakhis with this scheme, so that more and more people in rural and semi-urban areas can avail the benefits of this scheme. Overall, NPS Vatsalya Yojana is being considered an important step towards inculcating the habit of saving among children, increasing financial understanding and making the country economically strong.
