Karvy Computershare to focus on retail & corporate subscribers of NPS

Karvy Computershare, a Central Record Keeping Agency (CRA) for National Pension System (NPS), will focus on retail and corporate subscribers to expand its subscriber base.

“There is huge scope of expanding the retail and corporate subscriber base of the NPS. We will organise awareness sessions for these groups to drive growth,” Bhushan Maideo, Vice-President & Head, CRA business of Karvy Computershare Pvt Ltd (KCPL) told BusinessLine.

In February, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) had allowed the Hyderabad-based Karvy Computershare to function as a second CRA for servicing accounts sourced through the e-NPS module of NPS Trust and other distribution channels. The first CRA is NSDL e-governance Infrastructure Ltd.

“Our charges are very attractive compared to our competitor,” Maideo said. The annual maintenance charges for NPS subscribers are ₹57.53. The account opening charges and transaction charges are ₹39.36 and ₹3.36, respectively. The annual maintenance charge is ₹95, he added.

Karvy sees huge scope for expanding the subscriber base of the NPS (launched in 2004) which stands at about 1.5 crore, including all categories of subscribers such as Central and State government employees, beneficiaries of Swalamban, Atal Pension Yojana and corporates.

The corporate segment, where Karvy sees huge potential stood at just six lakh. It is also talking to several State governments and points of presence (PoP) distributors to tap business. “Our objective is to target every business segment,” Maideo said.

Part of the Karvy group, a financial conglomerate, KCPL is a 50:50 joint venture with Computershare (Australia). “We plan to leverage the infrastructure, geographical spread of offices, call centre and software strengths of the group to expand business...,,” he said.

According to him, tax benefits will drive growth in NPS subscriptions. The benefits vary depending on the nature of subscription. For instance, a tax deduction up to 10 per cent of salary (basic plus DA) for the employee’s own contribution is allowed under Sec 80 CCD (1) within the overall ceiling of ₹1.5 lakh under Sec 80 CCE.

NPS subscribers can also avail an additional tax benefit of ₹50,000 under Sec 80 CCD (IB).

Asked how the company’s platform was different from that of NSDL’s, Maideo said: “We are providing an integrated platform for PoPs without the need to worry about their back office updation. They can focus on business.”