APY Crosses 9 Crore Enrolments as PFRDA Honours Top Performing Banks and Institutions

Addressing the event, Shri M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, highlighted the remarkable growth of the Atal Pension Yojana as one of India’s most significant social security initiatives.

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) today organised the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) Annual Felicitation Programme in New Delhi, recognising outstanding performers for their contribution towards expanding pension coverage and strengthening social security outreach across the country.

During the programme, awards were presented to:

• 53 APY Service Providers (SPs)

• 10 State Level Bankers' Committees (SLBCs)

• Top 5 bank branches nationwide

• Lead District Managers (LDMs)

for their exceptional performance in achieving annual APY targets during the financial year 2025–26.

APY Crosses Major Milestone of 9 Crore Enrolments

Addressing the event, Shri M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, highlighted the remarkable growth of the Atal Pension Yojana as one of India's most significant social security initiatives.

He announced that APY has now crossed:

• 9 crore gross enrolments

• Assets Under Management (AUM) exceeding ₹54,000 crore

The Secretary also revealed that the scheme added a record:

1.35 crore subscribers during FY 2025–26

reflecting strong momentum in pension inclusion across the country.

Officials stated that the achievement demonstrates increasing awareness among citizens regarding retirement planning and financial security.

Government Emphasises Financial Literacy and Subscriber Retention

Shri Nagaraju appreciated the collective efforts of:

• Banks

• SLBCs

• PFRDA

• Financial institutions

in strengthening India's social security framework.

He emphasized the importance of improving:

• Subscriber persistency

• Financial literacy

• Outreach in urban informal sectors

• Pension awareness

Officials noted that maintaining long-term subscriber engagement is critical to ensuring the effectiveness and sustainability of pension schemes.

PFRDA Highlights Growing Youth Participation

PFRDA Chairperson Shri S. Ramann highlighted the increasing importance of retirement preparedness in India's evolving economic landscape.

He noted that APY recorded its:

Highest-ever annual enrolment during FY 2025–26

The Chairperson also pointed to a significant rise in participation among the:

18–25 age group

which reflects growing awareness among younger citizens about long-term financial planning and retirement security.

He stressed the need to further strengthen:

• Subscriber engagement

• Pension literacy

• Outreach programmes

across all sections of society.

Women Participation Reaches Record Levels

Smt. Mamta Shankar, Whole Time Member (Economics), PFRDA, highlighted the strong performance of the scheme during FY 2025–26.

She noted that women's participation under APY reached a record:

55.14%

during the year, indicating increasing financial inclusion and social security awareness among women.

She appreciated the role played by:

• Banks

• SLBCs

• Lead District Managers

• Field-level stakeholders

in expanding the scheme's reach across the country.

APY Achieves Nationwide Expansion

Officials stated that APY has now been comprehensively implemented across all:

• States

• Union Territories

with total gross enrolments crossing:

9.10 crore as of 18 May 2026

The government views the scheme as a key pillar of India's broader social security architecture aimed at providing pension coverage to workers in the unorganised and informal sectors.

Public Sector Banks Deliver Strong Performance

The banking sector demonstrated significant commitment toward achieving APY targets during FY 2025–26.

Among Public Sector Banks, the top performers included:

Bank	Achievement
State Bank of India	116%
Union Bank of India	105%
UCO Bank	105%
Indian Bank	104%
Bank of Maharashtra	103%

Officials praised the strong contribution of public sector banks in expanding pension inclusion at the grassroots level.

Private Banks and Small Finance Banks Also Perform Strongly

In the Major Private Banks category:

IDBI Bank

emerged as a standout performer with:

156% target achievement

Among Small Finance Banks:

• AU Small Finance Bank achieved 118%

• Ujjivan Small Finance Bank achieved 100%

Officials noted that private and small finance banks are increasingly contributing to financial inclusion and pension awareness initiatives.

Regional Rural Banks Lead Nationwide Performance

Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) emerged as some of the strongest performers under APY during FY 2025–26.

Top-performing RRBs included:

Regional Rural Bank	Achievement
Jharkhand Rajya Gramin Bank	288%
Tripura Gramin Bank	185%
Meghalaya Rural Bank	163%
Punjab Gramin Bank	153%
Assam Gramin Vikash Bank	152%

Officials said the performance of RRBs highlights the growing penetration of pension schemes in rural and semi-urban regions.

Cooperative Banks Also Record Impressive Results

Several cooperative banks also demonstrated exceptional performance under APY.

Top-performing cooperative banks included:

Cooperative Bank	Achievement
Shri Mahila Sewa Sahakari Bank	242%
Andhra Pradesh State Co-op Bank	175%
South Canara DCC Bank	168%
Balaghat DCC Bank	149%
Sabarkantha DCC Bank	130%

The strong participation of cooperative institutions reflects expanding social security outreach at the grassroots level.

Top Performing States Recognised

At the state level, several SLBCs were recognised for exceeding their APY targets.

Top-performing states included:

State	Achievement
Jharkhand	170%
Bihar	167%
West Bengal	156%
Madhya Pradesh	133%
Assam	130%

Officials stated that state-level coordination has played a critical role in improving scheme implementation and awareness.

PFRDA Reaffirms Commitment to Pension Saturation

PFRDA reiterated its commitment to working closely with:

• Banks

• SLBCs

• Department of Posts

• Financial institutions

to strengthen pension awareness and improve subscriber experience.

The regulator stated that it aims to steadily move toward:

"Pension Saturation Across the Country"

through wider outreach, improved implementation and stronger financial literacy initiatives.

APY Emerging as Major Social Security Initiative

The Atal Pension Yojana, launched to provide guaranteed pension coverage to workers in the unorganised sector, has steadily emerged as one of India's largest social security programmes.

Experts note that the scheme plays an increasingly important role in:

• Financial inclusion

• Retirement security

• Social protection

• Long-term savings culture

The record enrolments achieved during FY 2025–26 indicate growing public awareness regarding the importance of pension planning and financial preparedness for old age.