India has taken a fresh institutional step toward expanding pension access in its villages. The Department of Rural Development (DoRD) and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at expanding pension coverage in rural India through a network of trained women known as ‘Pension Sakhis.’
This MoU formalises a concept that has been developing over the past year. The idea of training rural women as Pension Sakhis to boost pension enrolment first gained prominence when Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked the Department of Financial Services and PFRDA to explore the model, drawing a direct comparison to the LIC’s existing ‘Bima Sakhi’ scheme for insurance outreach.
Quick Facts: The DoRD-PFRDA Pension Sakhi MoU
- Signed by: Department of Rural Development (DoRD) and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)
- Objective: Expand pension coverage across rural India
- Delivery model: Training rural women as ‘Pension Sakhis’
- Inspired by: LIC’s ‘Bima Sakhi’ insurance outreach model
- Concept first proposed by: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, around NPS Diwas 2025 (October 1, 2025)
- Existing network likely to be leveraged: DAY-NRLM Self Help Groups (SHGs)
- PFRDA circular enabling Pension Sakhis as agents: March 20, 2026
- Pension scheme involved: National Pension System (NPS)
What Is a ‘Pension Sakhi’?
A Pension Sakhi refers to a woman, typically drawn from existing rural self-help group networks, trained to help her community understand and enrol in pension schemes such as the National Pension System. The model closely mirrors the Bima Sakhi programme already run by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which trains women to promote insurance awareness and enrolment at the grassroots level.
Speaking on the concept shortly after it was first proposed, PFRDA Chairman Sivasubramanian Ramann described the Pension Sakhi model as both practical and well-tested, noting that implementation would likely involve engaging Self Help Group (SHG) networks and identifying natural leaders within these groups to serve as Pension Sakhis.
How the Concept Has Developed Over the Past Year
The Pension Sakhi idea did not emerge in isolation. It followed a broader pattern of India’s rural financial inclusion efforts, which have increasingly relied on women from Self Help Groups to deliver financial services directly within their own communities.
This pattern was already well established under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), the Ministry of Rural Development’s flagship rural livelihoods programme, which already deploys women as Business Correspondent (BC) Sakhis to help deliver banking services, loans, and social security products, including pensions and insurance, in remote areas.
Building on this foundation, PFRDA moved to formally recognise this delivery channel. In a circular dated March 20, 2026, the regulator expanded its list of approved pension agents to explicitly include “Business Correspondent Sakhis or Pension Sakhis operating under the framework of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) and State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLMs).” This latest MoU between DoRD and PFRDA appears to formalise the institutional partnership underlying this arrangement.
The Pension Sakhi Model: Key Milestones at a Glance
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| Around October 1, 2025 | FM Nirmala Sitharaman proposes training women as Pension Sakhis, at NPS Diwas 2025 |
| Following weeks | PFRDA Chairman confirms exploring SHG-based implementation |
| March 20, 2026 | PFRDA circular formally lists Pension Sakhis under NRLM/SRLM as approved pension agents |
| 2026 | DoRD and PFRDA sign MoU to formalise and expand the Pension Sakhi initiative |
Why This Model Makes Sense for Rural Pension Coverage
India’s rural financial inclusion challenges have long included low awareness and limited access to formal, long-term savings and pension products. Training women who are already trusted, active members of their local Self Help Groups addresses both problems simultaneously: it builds on existing community trust while embedding pension awareness directly within networks that already reach deep into rural India.
This approach also mirrors a broader trend within India’s pension ecosystem. PFRDA has pursued similar grassroots and sector-specific outreach partnerships in recent periods, including collaboration with NABARD to reach farmer members through Farmer Producer Organisations, and separate efforts to extend pension coverage to gig economy workers through platform companies. The Pension Sakhi model extends this same underlying strategy specifically to India’s vast network of rural women’s self-help groups.
What This MoU Signals for Rural India
By formalising this partnership, the Department of Rural Development and PFRDA appear to be signalling a sustained, institutional commitment to closing India’s rural pension coverage gap, rather than treating Pension Sakhis as a short-term pilot. Embedding the model within DAY-NRLM’s existing SHG infrastructure suggests an intent to scale the initiative using a delivery network that already operates at significant scale across rural India.
For rural women identified as Pension Sakhis themselves, the model also offers a potential source of skill development and, depending on the incentive structures involved, additional income, following a pattern already established by LIC’s Bima Sakhi programme and various banking correspondent roles run through the same SHG networks.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
About the MoU and Pension Sakhis
The MoU aims to expand pension coverage across rural India by formalising the ‘Pension Sakhi’ model, which trains rural women to help their communities enrol in pension schemes.
A Pension Sakhi is a woman, typically from an existing rural self-help group, trained to promote awareness and enrolment in pension schemes such as the National Pension System within her local community.
The Department of Rural Development (DoRD) and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) signed the agreement.
The model draws direct inspiration from LIC’s existing ‘Bima Sakhi’ programme, which trains women to promote insurance awareness and enrolment at the grassroots level.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman first proposed the idea, asking the Department of Financial Services and PFRDA to explore training women as Pension Sakhis around NPS Diwas 2025.
Implementation and Broader Context
The initiative is expected to build on the Self Help Group (SHG) networks operating under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), run by the Ministry of Rural Development.
Yes. In a circular dated March 20, 2026, PFRDA expanded its approved pension agent list to explicitly include Pension Sakhis operating under the NRLM and State Rural Livelihoods Missions framework.
Yes. DAY-NRLM already deploys women as Business Correspondent (BC) Sakhis, who help deliver banking services, loans, and social security products, including pensions and insurance, in remote areas.
Yes. PFRDA has previously partnered with NABARD to reach farmer members through Farmer Producer Organisations and has worked with platform companies to extend pension coverage to gig economy workers.
Based on similar existing models like Bima Sakhi and banking correspondent roles, Pension Sakhis could gain skill development opportunities and potential additional income, depending on the specific incentive structures the initiative adopts.
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