PFRDA Eases e-NPS Registration Process For Government Sector Subscribers

According to a circular released on August 23, 2021, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has launched a new "On-boarding" function to make the process of registration easier for Government Sector Subscribers. The circular has mentioned that "The proposed digital platform shall also enable Inter Sector Shifting (ISS) of existing Subscribers of other sectors to seamlessly transfer their NPS account into Government Sector."

Currently, electronic registration is now accessible to all citizens of the government sector and subscribers of corporate sectors under eNPS, whereas the online contribution and Tier II Account registration process under NPS is accessible to all authorized subscribers, including Government Sector subscribers holding valid PRAN. "Now, the Government employees (who are covered under NPS) will have the facility to register online in NPS and generate Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) through eNPS. The process of registration through eNPS will be a paperless process wherein the Subscriber will submit the registration request through digital signature," said PFRDA in its circular.

Options for ease of registration in eNPS Government

I. Through Aadhaar Online/Offline e-KYC - Under this option, the subscriber will have the facility to register using Aadhaar based KYC. The subscriber may opt for Aadhaar Online wherein KYC details registered with Aadhaar will be obtained online. The subscriber will also have the option for Offline e-KYC, wherein the subscriber is required to download the Aadhaar e-KYC file from UIDAI and upload the same during registration.

II. Through Permanent Account Number (PAN) - Under this option, the subscriber is required to provide valid PAN and upload the relevant KYC documents. The KYC details of the subscriber will be verified by the associated Nodal Office of the subscriber.

Steps to be followed by government subscribers for registration through eNPS

According to the PFRDA, the subscriber must undertake the following procedures in order to register:

1. Subscriber is required to visit eNPS Website (https://enps.nsdl.com) and click on "NATIONAL PENSION SYSTEM" Tab and then select "REGISTRATION" option.

2. The subscriber then has to select the "Government Employee" option and then the option for registration i.e. Register With Aadhaar Online/Offline e-KYC or PAN.

3. After selecting the appropriate option, the subscriber will provide the Government Category i.e., Central Government/State Government/Central Autonomous Body/State Autonomous Body as per his/her employment sector. If a subscriber selects the Category as 'State Government' or 'State Autonomous Body', then he/she is required to provide the relevant state name.

4. The subscriber then needs to provide certain details of his/her Nodal Office. Subscriber will provide the DDO Registration Number/Name and all other Nodal Office details will be displayed to the subscriber such as Pay & Accounts Office (PAO)/District Treasury Office (DTO) name, Principal Accounts Office (PrAO)/Directorate of Treasuries & Accounts (DTA) name and Ministry.

5. At the next step, if the subscriber has selected Aadhaar based KYC, then he/she is required to provide relevant Aadhaar details or upload offline Aadhaar e-KYC accordingly and click on the 'Submit' button. Similarly, if the subscriber has opted for PAN/Form 60 based registration, then the subscriber is required to provide PAN /Financial Year for Form 60, respectively and click on the 'Continue' Tab.

6. The subscriber needs to capture a few mandatory Personal Details and click on 'Generate Acknowledgement no.' In case of Aadhaar based registration, details like Name of Subscriber, Date of Birth and mobile number will be auto fetched from the UIDAI database.

7. Generation of Acknowledgement Number: After clicking on 'Generate Acknowledgement no.', the Nodal Office details (which the subscriber has provided) will be displayed to the subscriber for confirmation. If the details are correct, the subscriber will click on 'Ok' else he/she will click on 'Cancel' and provide the correct Nodal Office.

8. The Acknowledgement number will be generated and displayed to the subscriber. Alert will be sent to the subscriber for the Acknowledgement Number.

9. The subscriber is required to provide the registration details such as Personal details, Address details, Contact details, Bank Details, Scheme Preference details, etc. under the respective tabs as applicable. In case of Aadhaar based registration, Address details registered with Aadhaar will be auto-populated. Whereas in case of PAN-based registration, the subscriber is required to provide address & address proof details.

10. Upload of Documents: The subscriber is required to upload the scanned copies of relevant documents (such as PAN card copy, Cancelled Cheque, Appointment/Offer letter, Employee ID Card, ID proof and Address Proof) under the respective tab. Also, the subscriber is required to upload the Photo & Signature as per the required specifications provided for upload. In Aadhaar based registration, the Photo is auto fetched from the UIDAI database.

11. Once the complete details are captured and relevant document, photo and signature are successfully uploaded, the subscriber needs to re-verify the details. The subscriber will have an option to correct the details if required.

12. The subscriber is required to confirm the details by accepting registration declarations. On confirmation, the relevant message and Ack No. will be displayed to the subscriber along with intimation.

13. Authentication: The subscriber is required to digitally sign the Subscriber Registration Form through OTP Authentication or eSign. In case of OTP Authentication, two distinct One Time Password (OTP) will be sent on Mobile Number and email ID provided during registration. Whereas in case of eSign, the OTP will be sent on the mobile number registered with Aadhaar.

14. Paperless Process: On successful OTP Authentication or eSign, the form will get digitally signed and registration will be successfully completed by the subscriber. The PRAN will be generated after 'Verification' and 'Authorization' of the registration request by the associated Nodal Office.

Option to the subscriber in case of rejection by Nodal officer

1. The subscriber will have the option to update the Nodal Office details on the eNPS portal.

2. The subscriber will have an option to re-submit the application within 30 days, else the request will be rejected in the CRA system. In such cases, the potential Subscriber will be required to register once again.

Source: PFRDA