Bank of Baroda enters pension fund business as PFRDA targets 4 crore new NPS subscribers

Bank of Baroda has entered the pension fund business as the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) pushes to bring up to 4 crore new subscribers into the National Pension System (NPS) over the next two to three years.

The public sector lender received its certificate as a pension fund sponsor on 1 October, adding another large banking network to the regulator's drive to expand retirement savings beyond government employees.

The move comes as PFRDA looks to reach a much larger share of India's workforce. The regulator's latest data shows 2.33 crore NPS subscribers and assets of ₹17.49 lakh crore as of 27 September 2026.

Bank of Baroda joins pension fund business

The certificate was presented to Bank of Baroda managing director and CEO Debadatta Chand during the NPS Divas 2026 event. The bank becomes the second public sector lender to enter the pension fund segment. PFRDA had selected Bank of Baroda, Motilal Oswal AMC and Bajaj as pension fund sponsors in July under its 2026 guidelines.

Separately, Bank of Baroda has added NPS Tatkal to the BHIM app, allowing customers to open NPS accounts digitally. The move gives the bank another route to reach potential subscribers beyond its physical branch network.

PFRDA wants 4 crore more NPS subscribers

PFRDA chairperson S Ramann told ANI, the regulator ultimately wants every worker in India's workforce to have an NPS account by 2047. In the near term, it is targeting two to four crore additional subscribers over the next two to three years.

“We have a huge target, as you know, there are more than 60 crore people who are part of the workforce and therefore our aim is to make sure that by 2047 everybody in the workforce should have a National Pension System (NPS) account. Immediate targets would be in the region of about two to three, maybe four crore people coming into the NPS system in the next two to three years,” Ramann told ANI.

The regulator is focusing particularly on the non-government workforce, where subscriber growth is currently around 22-25%.

“So the current growth rates are in the region of about 22 to 25 per cent in the non-government sector, and our focus is the non-government sector because the government sector has actually been there for about 18 years now and it's pretty well looked after. So our focus is entirely on growing the subscribers in the non-government sector,” Ramann said.

NPS expansion moves beyond bank branches

PFRDA is relying increasingly on digital channels to widen access. NPS Tatkal and StAR NPS are intended to simplify account opening, while the regulator is also encouraging more pension agents and using digitised rural institutions to reach people outside major cities.

“We have got very good digital-based systems which lead to ease of entry into the NPS system. NPS Tatkal is one, StAR NPS is the other, and we are encouraging more and more persons to come as pension agents because once you create a digital platform, the risks of operation are next to zero,” Ramann told ANI.

“Finally, it's about how well you serve the local community and get people to put their money because, finally, investment is all about trust. So we have to create that trust,” he added.

PFRDA has also launched NPS Swasthya, a product combining a medical savings component with top-up health cover, as it seeks to broaden the appeal of retirement planning. The regulator is simultaneously stressing financial education and helping subscribers understand investment risks.

“It's about telling people that they must understand their risk appetite before making an investment. So it's about education, awareness, and financial literacy. This is what we'll do,” Ramann said.

(With inputs from ANI)