11 Nov , 2021 By : monika singh
The much-hyped pension scheme for unorganised workers managed to draw just 35 enrolments in October after 85 in September.
The average number of monthly subscriptions under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) in the year so far has been 2,366, a significant fall compared with 10,768 in 2020-21 and 1,31,350 in the preceding year. While the government attributed the decline to the festive season when the focus shifts from savings to spending, experts said the scheme is no longer attractive because of delayed returns.
Cumulatively, 4.51 million informal workers have been enrolled till October after the scheme was rolled out three years ago. This is, however, miniscule compared with the number of informal workers in India - estimated at 380 million.
"The number of enrolments under the PM-SYM has come down drastically in September and October. However, this could be because of greater spending during the festive months rather than saving for the future," a top government official said, adding that enrolments could rise after the festive season.
Experts, however, feel the scheme has lost attraction because of the long duration taken to draw benefits. "Unorganised workers are not incentivised enough to join the scheme that fetches returns in the distant future. The problem has been aggravated with a dip in income levels and future uncertainty," labour economist KR Shyam Sundar said.
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