The financial sector reforms initiated during the early 1990s have born good results for the Indian economy. The UPA Government is committed to take this process further. Accordingly, I propose to move the following legislations in the financial sector:
….(iii) The revised Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, first introduced in 2005;
I had announced a co-contributory pension scheme 'Swavalamban' in the Budget 2010-11. This scheme has been welcomed by the workers in unorganised sector. Over 4 lakh applications have already been received. On the basis of the feedback received, I am relaxing the exit norms whereby a subscriber under Swavalamban will be allowed exit at the age of 50 years instead of 60 years, or a minimum tenure of 20 years, whichever is later. I also propose to extend the benefit of Government contribution from three to five years for all subscribers of Swavalamban who enroll during 2010-11 and 2011-12. An estimated 20 lakh beneficiaries will join the scheme by March 2012.