Hemant Contractor: New chairman of PFRDA

Former SBI Managing Director, Hemant Contractor, has been chosen to head the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The position of Chairman has been vacant for almost a year after the previous Chairman Yogesh Aggarwal resigned over differences with the Finance Ministry regarding the appointment of a member to PFRDA. R.V.Verma, the Finance member, was filling in as Acting Chairman.

PFRDA

Interim PFRDA was established by the government through a bill for the same introduced in Parliament in 2003. Its goal was to promote, develop and regulate pension sector in India. The Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority Act was passed in 2013. PFRDA is authorized by Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services.
PFRDA must consist of a Chairperson and maximum of five members, out of which a maximum of three can be full time members. Members are appointed by the central government.
One of the major roles of the PFRDA today is to oversee NPS (National Pension System). NPS is a pension scheme run by the Government of India. It has been mandatory for central government employees from 2004 and voluntary for unorganized sector workers since 2009.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2014