By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, MAY 05, 2018: THe PFRDA Board which manages NPS, has taken certain major decisions which are as follows:

Rating criteria for investments: Proposal on changing the investment grade rating from ‘AA' to ‘A' for corporate bonds was approved. The change is subject to a cap on investments in ‘A' rated bonds to be not more than 10% of the overall Corporate Bond portfolio of the Pension Funds. This initiative will enlarge the scope of investment for the Fund Managers while ensuring credit quality.

Introduction of a Common Stewardship Code:  The proposal on adoption of Common Stewardship Code, as a measure of good Corporate Governance, was approved. Further, it was also approved that the Principles enumerated in such code shall be circulated to all Pension Funds for compliance and implementation. Adoption of these Principles by Pension Funds will improve their engagement with investee companies and benefit subscribers.

Modification in Partial Withdrawal rules under NPS: Partial withdrawals will now be allowed to NPS subscribers who wish to improve their employability or acquire new skills by pursuing higher education/ acquiring professional and technical qualifications. Further, individual NPS subscribers who wish to set up a new business/ acquire new business will also be allowed to make partial withdrawals from his contributions. Other terms applicable to partial withdrawals will remain unchanged.

Increasing cap on equity investment in active choice to 75% from current 50% for Private Sector Subscribers:  Presently there is a cap of 50% on equity investment under active choice in NPS. The proposal on increasing cap on equity investment in active choice to 75% from currently 50% has been approved by the Board. However, it comes with a clause of tapering of the equity allocation after the age of 50 years.

Currently, NPS and APY have a cumulative subscriber base of over 2.13 crore with total Asset Under Management (AUM) of more than Rs. 2.38 lakh crore.