Atal Pension Yojana 2015 : Government Pension Scheme

Financially our country is yet still developing. There are tireless efforts undertaken by the Government of India to overcome the financial needs of the nation. Everywhere we hear the benefits of having a government job like we get pensions after we get retired. As it sums up for the living, after the age of 60.

One of the best scheme intimated was Atal Pension Yojana. It was a well planned scheme mainly focused on unorganized sector.

For all the details on what it is?, how to apply?, calculation chart and monthly stipend information read the complete article. And if you have any queries or doubts like contact number for APY scheme and anything…please comment us.   

What is Pension? Why do I need it?

A Pension provides people with a monthly income when they are no longer earning. Need for Pension:

·         Decreased income earning potential with age.

·         The rise of nuclear family-Migration of earning members.

·         Rise in cost of living.

·         Increased longevity.

·         Assured monthly income ensures dignified life in old age.

What is Atal Pension Yojana?

Atal Pension Yojana (APY), is a pension scheme for citizens of India focussed on the organised sector workers. Under the Atal Pension Yojana, guaranteed minimum pension of Rs. 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 and 5,000 per month will be given at the age of 60 years depending on the contributions by the subscribers.

Who can join Atal Pension Yojana?

Any Citizen of India can join APY scheme. The following are the eligibility criteria,

·         The age of the subscriber should be between 18 – 40 years.

·         He or She should have a savings bank account or open a savings bank account. It is necessary to have a bank account as contributions would be auto debited i.e would be automatically taken every month.

·         He/she should be  have  mobile number and its details are to be furnished to the bank during registration.

·         Government co-contribution is available for 5 years, i.e., from 2015-16 to 2019-20 for the subscribers who join the scheme during the period from 1st June, 2015 to 31st December, 2015 and who are not covered by any Statutory Social Security Schemes and are not income tax payers.

How many Atal Pension Yojana accounts I can open?

One can open only one APY account and it is unique.

Tax  and Atal Pension Yojana

There are no tax benefits like 80C on contribution to Atal Pension Yojana.  The pension received will be considered as Income from Salary and would be used in tax computation.

Who will not not receive Government co-contribution?

Those who are covered under statutory social security schemes are not eligible to receive Government co-contribution. For example, members of the Social Security Schemes under the following enactments would not be eligible to receive Government co-contribution:

·         Employees’ Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1952.

·         The Coal Mines Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1948.

·         Assam Tea Plantation Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision, 1955.

·         Seamens’ Provident Fund Act, 1966.

·         Jammu Kashmir Employees’ Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1961.

·         Any other statutory social security scheme

So if you have an EPF account you can still open Atal Pension Yojana account but government will not contribute to your APY account. You would have to make full contribution for selected pension amount.

How much is Government’s co-contribution?

In APY, Government will co-contribute 50% of the total contribution or Rs. 1,000 per annum, whichever is lower, to the eligible APY account holders who join the scheme during the period 1st June, 2015 to 31st December, 2015. The Government co-contribution will be given for 5 years from FY 2015-16 to 2019-20.

How to open Atal Pension Yojana Account?

·         Approach the bank branch where individual’s savings bank account is held.

·         Fill up the APY registration form. The form in English can be downloaded from here.(pdf) and in Hindi from here. Forms are also available in other languages like Bangla,Gujarati,Hindi,Kannada,Marathi,Odia,Tamil and Telugu which can be downloaded fromwww.jansuraksha.gov.in/forms.aspx

·         Provide Mobile Number.

·         Provide Aadhaar Number.

·         Ensure keeping the required balance in the savings bank account for transfer of monthly contribution.

Is  Aadhaar Number compulsory for joining the scheme Atal Pension Yojana?

It is not mandatory to provide Aadhaar number for opening APY account. However, For enrolment, Aadhaar would be the primary KYC document for identification of beneficiaries, spouse and nominees to avoid pension rights and entitlement related disputes in the long-term.

Can I open Atal Pension Yojana  Account without savings bank account?

No. For joining APY, savings bank account is mandatory.

Is it required to furnish nomination while joining the Atal Pension Yojana scheme?

Yes. It is mandatory to provide nominee details in APY account. The spouse details are also mandatory wherever applicable. Their Aadhaar details are also to be provided. Aadhaar is becoming an important number to have. Our article explains  Aadhaar : What is Aadhaar, How to enrol,Check Aadhaar status,Download e Aadhaarin detail.

What is the mode of contribution to the account opened under Atal Pension Yojana?

All the contributions are to be remitted monthly through auto-debit facility from savings bank account of the subscriber i.e will be automatically deducted from the saving bank account of subscriber.

What is the due date for monthly contribution?

The due date for monthly contribution will be as per the initial date of deposit of contribution into APY.

What will happen if required or sufficient amount is not maintained in the savings bank account for contribution on the due date?

Non-maintenance of required balance in the savings bank account for contribution on the specified date will be considered as default. Banks are required to collect additional amount for delayed payments, such amount will vary from minimum Re 1 per month to Rs 10 per month as shown below:

·         Re. 1 per month for contribution upto Rs. 100 per month.

·         Re. 2 per month for contribution upto Rs. 101 to 500 per month.

·         Re 5 per month for contribution between Rs 501 to 1000 per month.

·         Rs 10 per month for contribution beyond Rs 1001 per month.

Discontinuation of payments of contribution amount shall lead to following:

·         After 6 months account will be frozen.

·         After 12 months account will be deactivated.

·         After 24 months account will be closed.

Subscriber should ensure that the Bank account to be funded enough for auto debit of contribution amount. The fixed amount of interest/penalty will remain as part of the pension corpus of the subscriber.

How much can one contribute in Atal Pension Yojana ?

Amount to be contributed monthly under the Atal Pension Yojna scheme depends on the age of the person who joins the scheme and how much pension 1000,2000,3000,4000,5000 Rs he wants. Please remember that once the person passes away the spouse(wife/husband) will get the pension and after death of spouse the nominees will get a lump sump amount.

For getting guaranteed pension of Rs 1000 and lump sump of Rs 1.71 lakh to nominees amount one has to contribute at some sample ages is given below. Detailed table is provided here.

Contribution/Subscription Amount

The Contribution for the fixed monthly pension is given below. For instance, if the subscriber joins at the age of 18 year, than for the monthly pension of Rs.1,000 per month he has to contribute Rs.42 per month till he attains the age of 60 years and if he wishes to have monthly pension of Rs.5,000 the contribution per month rise to Rs.210.

Increase or Decrease the Pension Amount

The subscriber, once in a year during the month of April, can may increase or decrease the contribution amount to switch towards higher or lower pension amount.

Tax Benefits:

Unfortunately, there are no tax benefits available for Atal Pension Yojana. The amount of contribution does not give any tax benefits u/s 80C. Further, the amount of pension receivable will be taxable and shall be included in the total income for computing tax liability.

Loss to Russian Space Agency: Unmanned Spacecraft loses control _(NASA)

An unmanned Russian spacecraft originally bound for the International Space Station will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere after flight controllers lost contact with it, American astronaut Scott Kelly said in a televised interview Wednesday.

"Roscosmos (the Russian Federal Space Agency) announced that the Progress will not be docking and will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere here some days in the future, to be determined, but this Progress is not coming to the space station," he said from the space station.

Russia is trying to figure out its next steps after losing contact with ISS Progress 59 during a resupply mission to the International Space Station. The ship is now spinning out of control, NASA said.

Even if Russia hadn't lost contact with the craft, the original plan was for Progress to burn up re-entering Earth's atmosphere -- albeit with garbage rather than a full load of equipment for the space station.

According to NASA information on the Progress resupply vehicle, "After the cargo is removed and before the Progress undocks, the crew refills it with trash, unneeded equipment and wastewater, which will burn up with the spacecraft when it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere."

The cargo spacecraft launched successfully early Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

But after it separated from the Soyuz booster rocket's third stage, Russian flight controllers were unable to confirm the health of all the spacecraft's systems, including the deployment of navigational antennae, NASA said.

"The spacecraft made another pass over Russian ground stations and continued to experience telemetry problems regarding the deployment of navigational antennas and the pressurization of the manifolds in the propulsion system," the American space agency said in an update.

A planned rendezvous with the ISS six hours later was initially postponed to Thursday but has now been canceled, NASA said in its latest update.

"Docking has been called off for the Progress 59 spacecraft," it said. "Russian flight controllers are continuing to assess the vehicle and what the plan going forward will be. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available."

Few details have been forthcoming so far from Roscosmos.

According to NASA, the cargo ship is carrying more than 3 tons of food, fuel, oxygen, spare parts and scientific experiment hardware for the space station.

But the hitch will not put the six ISS crew members at risk, NASA said.

"The spacecraft was not carrying any supplies critical for the United States Operating Segment (USOS) of the station," a statement said. "Both the Russian and USOS segments of the station continue to operate normally and are adequately supplied well beyond the next planned resupply flight."

That next flight, which will be the seventh SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the space station, is not scheduled to take off before June 19, NASA said.

Meanwhile, Russian flight controllers continue their efforts to make contact with Progress 59 as it passes over Russian ground stations.

NASA said Tuesday that Russian flight controllers had "confirmed that the vehicle had entered into a slow spin and have issued commands to attempt to control it."

According to Russian state news agency Tass, six attempts to make contact were to be made Wednesday.

The U.S. supplies on board the spacecraft include spare parts for the station's environmental control and life support system, backup spacewalk hardware and crew clothing, "all of which are replaceable," NASA said.

U.S. astronaut Terry Virts, from Maryland, is the current space station commander.

CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin, Suzanne Presto and Amanda Barnett contributed to this report.

Source : CNN

TOP 5 PLACES TO VISIT BEFORE GETTING OLD

5 Wonderful Destinations in the globe to visit :

1. Bacon Son valley – Vietnam

                          Bacon Son actually known as bacon son valley is a district in northeast Vietnam. Having a total population of 60,000+ the land is full of greenery all around. Photographers can visit this place and have a wonderful sight of the nature. This place is also good for peoples who have felt ill and require a good environment to live in.

2. Blue Moon valley –China

Blue moon valley has got an uncountable visitors from worldwide since it got the status of a tourist place. Peoples looking to see the water waves in a slow motion can opt for this place.

3. Mount-San-Michel –France

4. Rail Sunset –Romania

5. Bright Colours Burano –Italy

The Wicked Barber’s Plight – Akbar & Birbal

As we all know, Birbal was not only Emperor Akbar’s favorite minister but also a minister dearly loved by most of the commoners, because of his ready wit and wisdom. People used to come to him from far and wide for advise on personal matters too.  However, there was a group of ministers that were jealous of his growing popularity and disliked him intensely. They outwardly showered him with praise and compliments, but on the inside they began to hatch a plot to kill him.

One day they approached the king’s barber with a plan. As the barber was extremely close to the king, they asked him to help them get rid of Birbal permanently. And of course, they promised him a huge sum of money in return. The wicked barber readily agreed.

The next time the king required his services, the barber started a conversation about the emperor’s father who he also used to serve. He sang praises of his fine, silky-smooth hair. And then as an afterthought he asked the king that as he was enjoying such great prosperity, had he made an attempt to do anything for the welfare of his ancestors?

The king was furious at such impertinent stupidity and told the barber that it was not possible to do anything because they were already dead. The barber mentioned that he knew of a magician who could come of help. The magician could send a person up to heaven to enquire about his father’s welfare. But of course this person would have to be chosen carefully; he would have to be intelligent enough to follow the magicians instructions as well as make on-the-spot decisions. He must be wise, intelligent and responsible. The barber then suggested the best person for the job – the wisest of all ministers, Birbal.

The king was very excited about hearing from his dead father and asked the barber to go ahead and make the arrangements immediately. He asked him what was needed to be done. The barber explained that they would take Birbal in a procession to the burial grounds and light a pyre. The magician would then chant some ‘mantras’ as Birbal would ascend to the heavens through the smoke. The chanting would help protect Birbal from the fire.

The king happily informed Birbal of this plan. Birbal said that he thought it a brilliant idea and wanted to know the brain behind it. When learning that it was the barber’s idea, he agreed to go to heaven on condition that he be given a large some of money for the long journey as well as one month’s time to settle his family so that they had no trouble while he was gone. The king agreed to both conditions.

In the duration of this month, he got a few trustworthy men to build a tunnel from the funeral grounds to his house. And on the day of the ascension, after the pyre had been lit, Birbal escaped through the concealed door of the tunnel. He disappeared in to his house where he hid for a few months while his hair and beard grew long and unruly.

In the meantime his enemies were rejoicing as they thought that they had seen the last of Birbal. Then one day after many, many months Birbal arrived at the palace with news of the king’s father. The king was extremely pleased to see him and ready with a barrage of questions. Birbal told the king that his father was in the best of spirits and had been provided with all the comforts except one.

The king wanted to know what was lacking because now he thought he had found a way to send things and people to heaven. Birbal answered that there were no barbers in heaven, which is why even he was forced to grow his own beard. He said that his father had asked for a good barber.

So the king decided to send his own barber to serve his father in heaven. He called both the barber and the magician to prepare to send him to heaven. The barber could say absolutely nothing in his own defense as he was caught in his own trap. And once the pyre was lit he died on the spot.

Nobody dared to conspire against Birbal again.

The Three Types of People

A teacher shows three toys to a student and asks the student to find out the differences. All the three toys are seemed to be identical in their shape, size and material. After keen observation, the student observes holes in the toys. 1st toy it has holes in the ears. 2nd toy has holes in ear and mouth. 3rd toy has only one hole in one ear.

Than with the help of needle the student puts the needle in the ear hole of 1st toy. The needle comes out from the other ear. In the 2nd toy, when the needle was put in ear the needle came out of mouth. And in the 3rd toy, when the needle was put in, the needle did not come out.

First toy represent those people around you who gives an impression that they are listening to you, all your things and care for you. But they just pretend to do so. After listening, as the needle comes out from the next ear, the things you said to them by counting on them are gone. So be careful while you are speaking to this type of people around you, who does not care for you.

Second toy represent those people who listens to you all your things and gives an impression that they care for you. But as in the toy, the needle comes out from mouth. These people will use your things and the words you tell them against you by telling it to others and bringing out the confidential issues for their own purpose.

Third toy, the needle does not come out from it. These kinds of people will keep the trust you have in them. They are the ones who you can count on.

Moral: Always stay in a company of a people who are loyal and trustworthy. People, who listen to what you tell them, are not always the ones you can count on when you need them the most.