Everything about PRAN card

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What is PRAN?

National Pension Scheme (NPS) is one of the popular savings or investment scheme in India and it is available to all Indian citizens. Launched in 2004 by the Indian Government, this scheme creates a retirement corpus for employees by making annual contribution in their working years.

PRAN - Permanent Retirement Account Number is a 12-digit number uniquely assigned to the members of National Pension Scheme (NPS). Upon receiving PRAN, the NPS members can get their PRAN card. As PRAN is an unique identification card for an NPS member throughout his/her lifetime, the PRAN once assigned cannot be changed. The PRAN card contains all your personal details such as your PRAN, your name, name of your father, your photo and thumb impression or signature on it.

A subscriber can hold two types of accounts under PRAN - Tier I and Tier II.

Tier-I is compulsory under NPS. In this account, the subscriber has to make annual contribution for retirement funds. Hence, the subscriber cannot able to withdraw the sum from this account before retirement. The sum is eligible for tax deduction.

Tier-II is a voluntary savings account from which subscribers can withdraw the sum anytime they wish. The sum is not eligible for tax deduction.

If you are an NPS member, you can easily apply for PRAN either in online or offline. Before applying, you need to register for PRAN. Go through this article to get all details about PRAN card.

Who can apply for PRAN card?

In order to apply for PRAN card, you need to meet the following requirements.

• One should be a member of National Pension Scheme.
• Only subscribers those who are registered with Drawing and Disbursing Office (DDO) and Central Record Keeping Agency (CRA) can apply for PRAN allotment.
• Before registering with DDO, subscribers need to register at first with CRA.
• The age of the subscriber should range between 18 to 60 years.

How to register for PRAN card?

It is mandatory for state and central government employees to register for PRAN in order to get PRAN card. To register for PRAN, just follow the simple steps given below.

• Download the Application form for allotment of PRAN
• Fill the application form correctly by providing all necessary details.
• Submit the duly filled application form to your administration officer. The administration officer will finally submit it to the Central Record Keeping Agency.

What are the documents required to apply for PRAN Card?

You need to submit the following documents and details to apply for PRAN card.

• Duly filled PRAN application form
• Aadhaar card
• PAN card
• Passport size Photograph
• Bank Passbook
• Scheme details
• Passport (For NRI applicants)

How to apply for PRAN card in Online?

Subscribers can easily complete the entire PRAN application process in online. As NSDL and Karvy portals are the CRAs responsible for maintaining and opening NPS accounts in India, subscribers can apply for PRAN through their Aadhaar card or PAN card. To apply for PRAN card in online, visit the official NSDL site.

To apply for PRAN using Aadhaar,

• You should have Aadhaar registered mobile number.
• The OTP will be sent to your Aadhaar registered mobile number. KYC verification will be done via OTP.
• From the Aadhaar database, your demographic details and photo will be fetched and filled automatically into the online form.
• Fill all the necessary fields in online.
• Upload your scanned signature. If you want to replace the photo obtained from Aadhaar, upload your scanned photograph.
• After completion of all these steps, you will be taken to the payment gateway where you can make payment using debit card/credit card/internet banking.

To apply for PRAN using PAN,

• You must have PAN card.
• You need to have bank account with the enlisted bank for KYC verification.
• The KYC verification process will be carried out by the bank chosen by you during the registration process.
• During KYC verification, the name and address provided while registration should match with the bank records.
• If the details mismatch with the bank records, the KYC verification will fail. In such case, you need to contact the bank.
• Fill all the necessary fields in online.
• Upload the scanned copy of your signature and photograph.
• Once you have completed all these steps, you will be taken to the payment gateway where you need to make payment through internet banking.

How to apply for PRAN card in Offline?

To apply for PRAN card in offline, go along with the following steps.

• Visit your nearest Point-of-Presence under NPS and get the application form. Click here to view the list of empanelled POP.
• Fill the application form with your personal details, photograph and signature. Attach KYC documents which confirms your identity and address.
• Once you have submitted your duly filled application form in the POP, they will provide you the PRAN application number.
• The form is then sent via Post to Central Record Keeping Agency - NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited, 1st Floor, Times Tower, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai - 400 013.
• For registration, pay Rs.500 and submit the instruction slip which has the payment details.
• To track your PRAN application status, call 022- 40904242.

How to check the status of PRAN Card?

The National Pension Scheme has been made mandatory for all state and central government employees for their future to be safe. To register for PRAN card, subscribers have to login to the NSDL portal. Once logged into the portal, they can either download or fill the form in online itself. After filling the application form, subscribers need to pay a minimum amount of Rs.50, print the form, affix their photograph and post it to the Central Record Keeping Agency.

To check your PRAN card status,

• Visit the official NSDL portal
• Scroll down to the bottom of the home page and click 'Track PRAN card status (NPS Regular)' under 'Important Links'
• Select 'New Registered PAN' and enter your PRAN, PPAN and captcha. Then click 'Submit'

• On the next page, the status of your PRAN card will appear.
• You can also check the status of your PRAN card by calling 022-40904242 or by writing to eNPS@nsdl.co.in

How to activate PRAN card?

One of the easiest ways to activate your PRAN card is through eSign option. Signing the document electronically through eSign facilitates easy activation of your PRAN card.

If you have applied for PRAN card through Aadhaar, you are provided with the option to eSign the document. To activate your PRAN via eSign,

• Choose 'eSign' option in the eSign/Print and Courier page.
• On the next page, generate OTP for verification. An OTP will be sent to your Aadhaar registered mobile number.
• Upon successful OTP verification, the registration form will be eSigned and a confirmation message regarding eSign will appear.
• You are not required to send the soft copy of the form to CRA. Your PRAN card will get activated once the document is eSigned.
• The eSign facility may incur significant charges.

How to login to NPS using PRAN card?

You can login to your NPS account using the number printed on your PRAN card. To login to NPS using PRAN,

• Go to NPS portal
• On the home page, click 'Login with PRAN/IPIN' button located under 'Additional Services' on the left side.

• On the login page, under subscribers, enter your PRAN as user id and password to access your NPS account. If you have forgotten your password, click 'Reset Password' to change new password.

How to print PRAN card?

To print PRAN card,

• Choose 'Print and Courier' option in the eSign/Print and Courier page
• Print the duly filled form and paste your photograph in the space provided. Do not affix your photograph using pins or staples.
• Put your signature within the given blocks.
• After allotment of PRAN, you need to send the duly filled PRAN application form along with the photograph to the relevant Central Record Keeping Agency within 90 days of allotment of PRAN.
• If needed, you can also print electronic PRAN card (ePRAN) by logging into your NPS account and by selecting 'Print ePRAN' option. Though printing ePRAN is available free of cost, charges may be applicable along with GST for printing and sending physical PRAN card to your registered address.

How to make NPS contribution?

The central and state government employees who have already subscribed for National Pension Scheme (NPS) and have valid PRAN card can contribute to their NPS account by following the steps given below.

• Go to eNPS Subscriber Services Contribution page.
• Enter your PRAN and date of birth. Then select NPS subscriber type, OTP request type and enter the captcha. Click 'Verify PRAN'.

• Enter the OTP sent to your registered mobile number and proceed to make your contribution in NPS.
• Currently, you can make contributions towards Tier I and Tier II NPS accounts via credit card/ debit card/ internet banking/ UPI.

How to get NPS PRAN Annual Statement?

To check your PRAN card balance,

• Go to NPS Login Page
• From the list of services, click 'Annual Transaction Statement on Email'
• You will be redirected to the next page where you need to enter your PRAN and captcha code. Click 'Submit'

• Once you have submitted the above details, you will get the annual transaction statement over Email.

How NRIs can apply for PRAN Card?

NRI subscribers can apply for PRAN card by following the steps given below.

• Choose the status of your bank account as either Repatriable account or Non-Repatriable account.
• Provide the NRO/NRE bank account details and upload the scanned copy of your passport.
• Choose the preferred address for communication as either overseas address or permanent address in India.