NPS Rules notified by Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare
MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES, AND PENSIONS
(Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare)
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 30th March 2021
G.S.R. 227(E). – In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to article 309 and clause (5) of Article 148 of the Constitution and after consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India in relation to persons serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, the President hereby makes the following rules regulating the methods of implementation of National Pension System, namely:-
1. Short title and commencement. – (1) These rules may be called the Central Civil Services (Implementation of National Pension System) Rules, 2021.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. Application. – Save as otherwise provided in these rules, these rules shall apply to the Government servants, including civilian Government servants in the Defence Services, appointed substantively to civil services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union on or after 1st day of January 2004, but shall not apply to,-
(a) Railway servants;
(b) persons in casual and daily rated employment;
(c) persons paid from contingencies;
(d) members of the All India Services;
(e) persons locally recruited for services in diplomatic, consular, or other Indian establishments in foreign countries;
(f) persons employed on contract;
(g) persons whose terms and conditions of service are regulated by or under the provisions of the Constitution or any other law for the time being in force; and
(h) persons to whom the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 apply in accordance with any special or general order issued by the Government.
3. Definitions. – In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(1) (a)“Accredited Bank” in relation to a Ministry or Department or Union territory means the Reserve Bank or any bank which is appointed to transact the business of the Government pertaining to that Ministry or Department or Union territory and is officially recognised for transfer of funds to the Trustee Bank;
(b) “Accumulated Pension Corpus” means the monetary value of the pension investments accumulated in the Individual Pension Account of a subscriber under the National Pension System;
(c) “Annuity” means periodic payment by the Annuity Service Provider to the subscriber on purchase of annuity plan out of the Accumulated Pension Corpus;
(d) “Annuity Service Provider” means a life insurance company registered and regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and empanelled by the Authority for providing Annuity services to the subscribers of the National Pension System;
(e) “Authority” means the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority established under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 2013 (23 of 2013) and include interim Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority set up by the Central Government through Resolutions;
(f) “Central Recordkeeping Agency” means an agency registered under section 27 of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 2013 to perform the functions of recordkeeping, accounting, administration and customer service for subscribers to schemes;
(g) “Drawing and Disbursing Officer” means a Head of Office and also any other Gazetted Officer so designated by a Department of the Central Government, a Head of Department or an Administrator, to draw bills and make payments on behalf of the Central Government. The term shall also include a Head of Department or an Administrator where he himself discharges such function;
(h) “Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Officer” means a drawing and disbursing officer functioning under a Ministry or Department (including Central Public Works Department, Forest Department and Departments in which the provisions of Central Public Works Account Code are authorised to be followed) or a Union territory, who is authorised to withdraw money for specified types of payments against an assignment account opened in his favour in a specified branch of an accredited bank;
(i) “Defence Services” means services under the Government of India in the Ministry of Defence and in the Defence Accounts Department under the control of the Ministry of Defence paid out of the Defence Services Estimates and not permanently subject to the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950) or the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950) or the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957);
(j) “Emoluments” means emoluments as specified in rule 5;
(k) “Foreign Service” means service in which a Government servant receives his pay with the sanction of the Government from any source other than the Consolidated Fund of India or the Consolidated Fund of a State or the Consolidated Fund of a Union territory;
(l) “Government” means the Central Government;
(m) “Head of Department” means an authority specified in Schedule 1 to the Delegation of Financial Powers Rules, 1978, and includes such other authority or person whom the President may, by order, specify as Head of a Department;
(n) “Head of Office” means a Gazetted Officer declared as such under rule 14 of Delegation of Financial Powers Rules,1978, and includes such other authority or person whom the Competent Authority may, by order, specify as Head of Office;
(o) “Individual Pension Account” means an account of a subscriber, executed by a contract setting out the terms and conditions under the National Pension System;
(p) “Local Fund administered by Government” means the fund administered by a body which, by law or rule having the force of law, comes under the control of the Government and over whose expenditure the Government retains complete and direct control;
(q) “National Pension System” means the contributory pension system referred to in section 20 of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 2013 whereby contributions from a subscriber are collected and accumulated in an individual pension account using a system of points of presence, a Central Recordkeeping Agency and pension funds as may be specified by regulations by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority;
(r) “Pay and Accounts Officer” means an officer, whatever his official designation, who maintains the accounts of a Ministry, Department or Office of the Central Government or Union territory and includes an Accountant-General, who is entrusted with the functions of maintaining the accounts or part of accounts of the Central Government or Union territory;
“Pension fund” means an intermediary which has been granted a certificate of registration under sub-section (3) of section 27 of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 2013 by the Authority as a pension fund for receiving contributions, accumulating them and making payments to the subscriber in the manner as may be specified by regulations;
(t) “Permanent Retirement Account Number” means a unique identification number allotted to each subscriber by the Central Recordkeeping Agency;
(u) “Subscriber” means a Government servant who subscribes to a scheme of a Pension fund;
(v) “Trustee Bank” means a banking company as defined in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949).
(2) Words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Fundamental Rules,1922, the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 2013 or Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority regulations have the same meanings respectively assigned to them in those Act or Rules or Regulations.
GENERAL CONDITIONS
4. Registration into National Pension System. – (1) A Government servant to whom these rules apply, shall, immediately on joining service submit an application in Common Subscriber Registration Form or in any other form specified by the Authority along with an option form referred to in rule 10, to the Head of Office for registration to the National Pension System.
(2) The Head of Office shall on receipt of the application under sub-rule (1), ensure that the application is complete in all respects, countersign it indicating the date of receipt and send it to the Drawing and Disbursing Officer within three working days of joining of the Government servant. The Head of Office shall keep a copy of the application form for record.
(3) The Drawing and Disbursing Officer shall forward the application of individual subscriber to the Pay and Accounts Officer or Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Officer, as the case may be, within three working days from the date of receipt of the application from the Head of Office.
(4) The Pay and Accounts Officer or the Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Officer, as the case may be, shall process the application received from the Drawing and Disbursing Officer and forward it to the Central Recordkeeping Agency through the online system within three working days from the date of receipt of the application from the Drawing and Disbursing Officer. The Pay and Accounts Officer or the Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Officer shall also forward a duly signed copy of the application to the Central Recordkeeping Agency for the record.
(5) The Central Recordkeeping Agency shall complete the registration process and allocate a Permanent Retirement Account Number in respect of each Government servant in the form specified by the Authority as per the turnaround time specified by the Authority. After completion of the registration process, the Central Recordkeeping Agency shall communicate the Permanent Retirement Account Number to the Pay and Accounts Officer or the Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Officer, as the case may be, and also forward Permanent Retirement Account Number kits to the Subscriber in accordance with the process and turn-around time laid down by the Authority.
(6) The Pay and Accounts Officer or the Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Officer, as the case may be, shall communicate Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) to the concerned Drawing and Disbursing Officer immediately.
(7) The Drawing and Disbursing Officer shall communicate the Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) to the Head of Office immediately.
(8) The Head of Office shall intimate the Permanent Retirement Account Number to the Subscriber and shall record the Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) in the Common Subscriber Registration Form or any other form specified by the Authority submitted by the Subscriber and in the service book of the Subscriber and also paste a certified copy of the Common Subscriber Registration Form or any other form specified by the Authority in the service book of the Subscriber within five working days thereafter.
(9) The authorities referred to in sub-rule (2) to sub-rule (8) shall ensure that there is no delay in the process of registration of the Government servant in the National Pension System and crediting of the first contribution in his Individual Pension Account. The first contribution of the Government servant shall be credited in his Individual Pension Account within twenty days of the date of submission of the application under sub-rule (1) or by the last date of the month in which the Government servant joined, whichever is later.
(10) In a case where the process of registration of the Government servant in the National Pension System has not been completed before the date of draw of the salary for the first month or any subsequent month, such salary or salaries shall be paid to the Government servant after withholding the amount of contribution as determined in accordance with rule 6. The amount of the contribution withheld from the salary as well as the amount of interest payable under rule 8 shall be credited to the Individual Pension Account of the Government servant as soon as the process of generation of Permanent Retirement Account Number of Government servant in the National Pension System is completed by the Central Recordkeeping Agency and communicated to the Pay and Accounts Officer or Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Officer.
(11) Action on the options form submitted under sub-rule (1) shall be taken in accordance with rule 10.
5. Emoluments. – (1) The expression `emoluments’ for the purpose of determining the amount of mandatory contribution under the National Pension System includes basic pay as defined in rule 9 (21) (a) (i) of the Fundamental Rules, 1922, non-practicing allowance granted to the medical officer in lieu of private practice and admissible dearness allowance in a calendar month.
(2) Subject to the proviso to sub-rule (1) of rule 7, if a Subscriber had been absent from duty on leave for which leave salary is payable, the amount representing pay and dearness allowance in the leave salary actually drawn shall be taken into account for emoluments for the purpose of this rule. The amount of pay, non-practicing allowance, and dearness allowance, actually drawn during leave shall be taken into account as emoluments for the purpose of this rule.
(3) Subject to the proviso to sub-rule (1) of rule 7, if a Subscriber had been absent from duty or was on extraordinary leave, during whole or part of a calendar month, the payor the amount representing pay, non-practicing allowance referred to in this rule and dearness allowance in the leave salary which he actually drew for the part of that calendar month during which he was on duty or was on leave for which leave salary is payable, shall be taken into account for emoluments for the purpose of this rule.
(4) If a Subscriber had been under suspension, the subsistence allowance drawn during the period of suspension in a calendar month shall be taken into account for emoluments for the purpose of this rule.
(5) Pay drawn by a Subscriber while on deputation in India shall be taken into account for emoluments for the purpose of this rule.
(6) In the case of a Subscriber on foreign service or deputation outside India, the pay which he would have drawn under the Government had he not been on foreign service or such deputation, shall be taken into account for emoluments.
(7) Where a retired Subscriber, who is re-employed in Government service and to whom these rules are applicable and whose pay on re-employment has been reduced by an amount not exceeding his monthly pension, the element of monthly pension by which his pay is reduced shall be included in emoluments.
6. Contribution by the Subscriber to the National Pension System.- (1) The National Pension System shall work on a defined contribution basis. A Subscriber shall make a contribution of ten percent or such other percentage as may be notified from time to time, of his emoluments to the National Pension System every month. The amount of contribution payable shall be rounded off to the next higher rupee.
(2) Contribution may be made by the Subscriber, at his option, during the period of suspension:
Provided that where, in the final orders passed by the Government on conclusion of the inquiry, the period spent under suspension is treated as a duty or leave for which leave salary is payable, contributions to the National Pension System shall be determined based on the emoluments which the Subscriber becomes entitled to for the period of suspension. The difference of the amount of contribution to be deposited and the amount of contribution already deposited during the period of suspension shall be credited to the Individual Pension Account of the Subscriber along with interest. The rate of interest for this purpose would be the rate of interest as decided by the Government from time to time for the Public Provident Fund deposits.
(3) No contribution shall be made by the Subscriber during the period of absence from duty (whether on leave or otherwise) for which no pay or leave salary is payable.
(4) During the period of transfer on deputation to a Department or organization under the Central Government or the State Government, the Subscriber shall remain subject to these rules in the same manner, as if he was not so transferred or sent on deputation and will continue to contribute towards National Pension System based on emoluments worked out in accordance with sub-rule (5) of rule 5.
(5) Contributions in respect of any arrears of salary received by the Subscriber due to retrospective increase shall be treated as the contributions for the month in which the payments are made.
(6) The Subscriber shall contribute toward National Pension System during the period spent under probation.
(7) Deduction and crediting of contributions to the Individual Pension Account during foreign service in India or outside India, including deputation to United Nations’ Secretariat or other United Nations’ Bodies, the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development, or the Asian Development Bank or the Commonwealth Secretariat or any other International organization, shall be regulated in accordance with the instructions issued by the Department of Personnel and Training from time to time and the procedure laid down by the Authority.
(8) The Drawing and Disbursing Officer shall deduct the contribution from the salary of the Government servant and send the bill to the Pay and Accounts Officer or Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Officer, as the case may be, along with details of contributions deducted in respect of each Subscriber on or before Twentieth day of each month.
(9) A Subscriber may, at his option, make a contribution in excess of the contribution specified in sub-rule (1) in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Authority and the Government.
(10)(i) The Pay and Accounts Officer or the Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Officer, as the case may be, based on the details of contributions in respect of each Subscriber sent by the Drawing and Disbursing Officer to Pay and Accounts Officer or Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Officer under sub-rule (8), shall prepare and upload a Subscription Contribution File and generate a Transaction ID by Twenty-fifth day of each month.
(ii) The Pay and Accounts Officer or the Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Officer, as the case may be, shall remit the contribution to the Trustee Bank through the Accredited Bank by the last working day of each month: Provided that the contribution for the month of March shall be remitted by the Pay and Accounts Officer or the Cheque Drawing and Disbursing Officer to the Trustee Bank through the Accredited Bank on the first working day of the month of April.
(iii) In case of delay in crediting of contribution to the Individual Pension Account of the Subscriber beyond the prescribed timeline due to factors not attributable to the Subscriber, the amount shall be credited to the Individual Pension Account of the Subscriber along with interest for the delayed period, as determined in accordance with rule 8.
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