Some new initiatives have been taken by the government of India. A proposed social security law for the workers of the unorganized sector has been introduced before the Parliament called The Unorganised Sector Workers’ Social Security Bill, 2007. The scheme of Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) was proposed in the 2003-04 budget by the Ministry of Finance, is to be administered by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The main features of this scheme are summarized below:
Under VPBY, any citizen above 55 years of age, could pay a lump-sum, and get a monthly pension. They can get a minimum amount of Rs.250 and a maximum of Rs.2000 per month respectively. These amounts are not indexed to inflation.
There is a guaranteed return of 9 percent per annum for this scheme.
The difference between the actual yield earned by the LIC under this scheme and the 9 percent will be made up by the Central Government.
The epf & mp act is proposed to be amended suitably to allow epf subscribers to invest in the vbpy.
