PFRDA appoints Dinesh Khara to head panel to attract global pension capital

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on Wednesday said it has appointed Dinesh Khara, chairman of NPS Trust, to head a high-level committee that will draw up a roadmap to attract long-term global pension capital into India. This will be done through partnerships between overseas pension funds and Indian pension funds under the National Pension System (NPS), as the regulator looks to deepen the country's long-term investment base for infrastructure and economic growth.

The committee, named ASCEND (Accelerated Scaling of Global Capital Ecosystem and NPS Development), will recommend measures to enable Indian pension funds to collaborate with leading global pension funds through co-investment platforms, strategic partnerships and innovative investment structures. PFRDA said such collaborations are expected to channel stable, patient capital into infrastructure and other nation-building assets while offering diversification and better long-term risk-adjusted returns to NPS subscribers.

The panel will also recommend a policy, regulatory and governance framework to facilitate greater participation by global pension investors while safeguarding subscriber interests and financial stability. According to the regulator, the initiative is aimed at strengthening Indian pension funds as trusted domestic partners for global institutional investors, accelerating NPS asset growth and positioning India as a preferred destination for long-term capital.

Apart from Khara, the committee comprises Narayan Ramachandran, chairman of TeamLease Services Ltd; Ananth Narayan, former whole-time member of Sebi; Ashvin Parekh, managing partner at Ashvin Parekh Advisory Services; Arvind Gupta, trustee of NPS Trust; and Suparna Tandon, chief executive officer of NPS Trust, who will serve as the member secretary.

The regulator said the committee's recommendations are expected to lay the foundation for a globally competitive pension ecosystem that supports India's long-term infrastructure financing needs. Pension funds under the NPS currently manage assets worth about $185 billion ( ₹17.5 trillion)—equivalent to around 5% of India's GDP—for nearly 100 million subscribers.

The PFRDA is the statutory regulator for India's pension sector, established under the PFRDA Act, 2013. It oversees the National Pension System (NPS), a voluntary, defined-contribution retirement savings scheme launched by the Government of India on 1 January 2004 for new central government employees (except the armed forces). The scheme was opened to all Indian citizens on a voluntary basis in May 2009, and later extended to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs). As of June 2026, NPS manages assets of over ₹17.5 trillion (about $185 billion) for nearly 10 crore subscribers, making it one of India's fastest-growing long-term savings platforms.