India to soon start selection process for new PFRDA chairman

NEW DELHI: The government of India will soon start selection process for a new chairman of pension fund regulator PFRDA to succeed the present chief, Hemant G Contractor, whose term is slated to end in April.nn”The Finance Ministry will soon come out with an advertisement to find a successor to head the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA),” sources told PTI.nnContractor’s term will be completed on April 30, 2019.nnPFRDA was re-constituted into a statutory body after notification of PFRDA Act in 2014.nnContactor is the first Chairman to head the regulatory body. He had joined PFRDA on October 7, 2014.nnAs per the Act, the chairman will have a tenure of 5 years or till age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.nnContractor was previously held the post of SBI managing director before being appointed as the PFRDA Chairman.nnThe pension fund regulator has reached a subscriber base of 2.65 crore in its flagship National Pension System (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) schemes and hopes to cover nearly 2.72 crore subscribers by the end of the current financial year.nnThe APY, mainly targeting the unorganised sector employees, offers five slabs of pension from Rs 1,000-5,000 per month upon retirement. Employees in the age bracket of 18-40 years can sign up for an APY account.nnNPS is a voluntary defined contribution retirement savings scheme for government employees as well as for those working in the organised and unorganised sectors.nnSource: Press Trust of India