More Stories

Informist, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026

 

By Priyasmita Dutta

 

MUMBAI – The National Payments Corp. of India's BHIM Services has an ambitious plan to bridge the gap between India's UPI (Unified Payments Interface) users and the number of people with pension coverage by helping onboard National Pension System subscribers through UPI, its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Lalitha Nataraj said on Wednesday.

 

"Today, there are 450 million UPI users in India, and about 150 million in India have some form of pension cover... the aim is to have the remaining 300 million onboarded," Nataraj told Informist at the sidelines of Global Fintech Festival 2026. "It is a long-term plan; there is no deadline, but that is the scope of onboarding NPS subscribers via UPI that we are looking at," Nataraj said. 

 

Nataraj's comments follow the launch of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority's new 'NPS Tatkal' portal, which will help onboard new NPS subscribers through UPI, beginning with NPCI's BHIM UPI application. So far, five banks have joined the plan – State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and IDFC FIRST Bank – PFRDA Chief Technology Officer Paramendra Tiwary said Wednesday at the Global Fintech Festival 2026. 

 

Previously, one could not directly enrol in the NPS or open a new NPS account through the BHIM UPI application, but one could make subsequent contributions through it. To formally join the NPS, subscribers had to first register online or offline to obtain a Permanent Retirement Account Number. With this unique account number, or registered mobile number, subscribers can make subsequent NPS investments directly through the BHIM app. 

 

The regulator, along with NPCI, will hold outreach programmes to spread awareness about the new product, Nataraj said. A large number of subscribers are also expected to join NPS during those outreach programmes, she added.

 

The government introduced the defined-contribution National Pension System on Jan. 1, 2004, replacing the defined-benefit old pension scheme. Under the NPS, individuals make regular contributions during their working years, with their retirement corpus invested in market-linked instruments. The accumulated corpus is used to provide retirement benefits, including through the purchase of an annuity, subject to applicable laws.

 

The NPS is mandatory for central government employees, while others may join voluntarily.

 

The initiative comes as pension coverage in India remains inadequate. India's pension system has expanded steadily, but overall coverage remains modest relative to the size of the workforce, the Economic Survey for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) had said. "At the contributory end, simplifying enrolment through Aadhaar-based authentication, enabling frictionless micro-contributions via digital payments, and synchronising pension outreach with broader financial inclusion drives can help deepen penetration," the survey, authored by a team led by the government's Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran, had said. 

 

While Nataraj said India has 450 million UPI users, data showed India had nearly 550 million UPI users as of June. Meanwhile, as of Jun. 30, NPS had 22.40 million subscribers with assets under management worth INR 17.27 trillion.   End

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

 

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.