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PFRDA to Allow Direct NPS Investment in Large Infra Projects Within 2 Years
M
Moneycontrol•01-10-2026, 13:49
PFRDA to Allow Direct NPS Investment in Large Infra Projects Within 2 Years
- •PFRDA chairman S Ramann announced plans to allow pension funds direct exposure to large infrastructure projects within two years, aiming to broaden investment avenues for NPS and channel long-term savings into long-gestation assets.
- •The regulator is expanding the investment universe for pension funds, now permitting investments in Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) in addition to REITs and InvITs.
- •PFRDA is focusing on expanding NPS coverage to the informal sector, targeting two-three crore additional subscribers in two years through digital onboarding and initiatives like NPS Tatkal, built on the NPCI platform for UPI-based account opening and contributions.
- •The long-term ambition is for every Jan Dhan account to have an NPS account by 2047, leveraging the Jan Dhan network for wider coverage.
- •PFRDA has introduced NPS Sanchay as a default investment option for non-government subscribers, and NPS Swasthya, which bundles a pension account with mandatory top-up health insurance to cover out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.
Key Questions Answered
PFRDA chairman S Ramann stated that pension funds may be permitted to take direct exposure to large infrastructure projects within the next two years. This initiative is designed to channel long-term retirement savings into long-gestation assets over a 10-15 year horizon.
Built on the National Payments Corporation of India platform, NPS Tatkal allows individuals to open a pension account and make contributions through a Unified Payments Interface provider.
NPS Swasthya bundles a pension account with a mandatory top-up health insurance cover. It is designed to cover healthcare expenses that subscribers might still need to pay out of pocket despite having an existing health policy.
