Which of the following is/are social security scheme(s)? 1. Atal Pension Yojana 2. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana 3. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1, 2 and 3
- (d)1 and 3 only
Correct — C, 1, 2 and 3. All three belong to the Jan Suraksha package announced in the 2015 budget and launched together that May, and all three are social security schemes in the ordinary sense of pooling small contributions against old age, death or disability. Atal Pension Yojana is a guaranteed pension for unorganised sector workers, paying between 1,000 and 5,000 rupees a month from the age of 60 depending on what the subscriber chose and when he joined. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana is a one-year renewable life cover of two lakh rupees for account holders aged 18 to 50. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is accident insurance, two lakh rupees for accidental death or total disability and one lakh for partial disability, for account holders aged 18 to 70.
- (a)1 only — Takes only the pension scheme as social security, which reads the term too narrowly. Life and accident cover for low-income households are standard components of a social security floor.
- (b)2 and 3 only — Drops Atal Pension Yojana, which is the most clearly social-security instrument of the three since it delivers a guaranteed old-age income.
- (d)1 and 3 only — Drops the life insurance scheme while keeping the accident one, though the two were launched on the same day as parts of the same package.
The three schemes run through bank accounts opened under the Jan Dhan drive, which is what made mass enrolment possible. Premiums are small and are auto-debited: the accident cover costs 20 rupees a year and the life cover 436 rupees a year, while the pension contribution varies with the pension chosen and the age at entry, from about 55 to 200 rupees a month for someone joining between 18 and 40. Atal Pension Yojana is regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority; the two insurance schemes are run with public sector insurers and participating banks.
There is nothing to eliminate here, which is what makes candidates hesitate — an all-three option feels too generous. The safeguard is to ask what social security means rather than to hunt for a trap: an instrument counts if it protects a household against loss of income from old age, death, disability, sickness or unemployment, and each of these three does. A useful discipline is to keep this trio apart from the Jan Dhan account, which is a financial-inclusion instrument rather than a social security scheme, and from Ayushman Bharat, which is health insurance under a separate mission.
- Atal Pension Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana were launched together in May 2015 as the Jan Suraksha package.
- Atal Pension Yojana guarantees a monthly pension of 1,000 to 5,000 rupees from the age of 60 and is regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.
- Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana gives life cover of two lakh rupees for subscribers aged 18 to 50; the premium is 436 rupees a year.
- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana gives two lakh rupees for accidental death or total disability and one lakh for partial disability, for ages 18 to 70; the premium is 20 rupees a year.
- After the death of an Atal Pension Yojana subscriber the same pension is payable to the spouse for life.
Old age, death and accident — three distinct risks, one package, all three inside the definition of social security.
- Reading social security as pensions only, which knocks out the two insurance schemes.
- Confusing the life cover, which pays on death from any cause, with the accident cover, which pays only on accidental death or disability.
- Counting a Jan Dhan account as a social security scheme; it is the channel these schemes run through.
Usually as an is-it-social-security statements item, or as a scheme-to-benefit match-list with the amounts and age limits attached.
Regarding 'Atal Pension Yojana', which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. It is a minimum guaranteed pension scheme mainly targeted at unorganized sector workers. 2. Only one member of a family can join the scheme. 3. Same amount of pension is guaranteed for the spouse for life after subscriber's death. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(c) 1 and 3 only
The first of the three schemes, taken apart in detail. It settles two facts this question only assumes — the scheme is aimed at unorganised sector workers, and the spouse continues to receive the same pension.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana provides cover against which one of the following?
- (a)Death from any cause
- (b)Accidental death and disability
- (c)Hospital expenses
- (d)Crop loss
Answer(b) Accidental death and disability — death from any cause is covered by Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Atal Pension Yojana is regulated by which one of the following bodies?
- (a)Reserve Bank of India
- (b)Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India
- (c)Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority
- (d)Securities and Exchange Board of India
Answer(c) Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority — the scheme is a guaranteed pension for unorganised sector workers.