New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) More than 1 lakh babies have opted for the NPS Vatsalya scheme, which was launched in September last year to allow parents to save for their children by investing in pension accounts, according to a senior official.

Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA) Chairperson Deepak Mohanty on Wednesday said the regulator is doing a lot of outreach and also expanding the intermediary base as pension penetration is low in the country.

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"New born babies can also opt for NPS. I am happy to say that since the product was launched by the finance minister in September last year, we have more than 1 lakh babies opting for NPS Vatsalya," he said at an event in the national capital.

He was participating in a discussion at the Civis' Public Consultation Awards 2025 function organised by non-profit platform Civis.

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Under the NPS Vatsalya scheme, all minor citizens up to the age of 18 years are eligible to open an account. The minimum monthly contribution that can be made by a parent or guardian for a child is Rs 1,000 and there is no upper limit.

"We are doing reasonably well but there is a long way to go," Mohanty said while mentioning about subscribers of various pension schemes, including Atal Pension Yojana (APS) that has 7 crore active subscribers.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)