Govt appoints Sivasubramanian Ramann as the next PFRDA chirperson

Ramann, who is currently serving as the deputy comptroller and auditor general (CAG) and chief technology officer at the CAG of India, has been appointed for a tenure of five years

Sivasubramanian Ramann, a 1991-batch Indian Audit & Accounts Service (IA&AS) officer, was on Wednesday appointed as the chairperson of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). 

 

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the name Ramann, an LSE graduate who will take the place of Deepak Mohanty whose term ends in May.

 

Currently serving as the Deputy Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) and Chief Technology Officer at the CAG, Ramann will be at the helm for the next five years.

 

His appointment comes at a crucial juncture when PFRDA has started the implementation of the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) from Tuesday.

 

The UPS was approved by the Central government in August last year to provide a guaranteed pension to retirees with a minimum of 25 years of service.

The pension will be equivalent to 50 per cent of their average basic pay from the last 12 months prior to retirement.

 

The PFRDA is working on implementing the UPS for National Pension Scheme (NPS) members.

 

The PFRDA had invited applications for the position in late November, along with those for two whole-time members.

 

Ramann has served as the Chairman & Managing Director (MD) of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for a three-year period starting April 2021. Before joining SIDBI, he was MD & chief executive officer (CEO) of National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL) from December 2016.

 

Prior to joining NeSL, Ramann was the Principal Accountant General (Audit), Jharkhand during 2015-2016. He also worked with Sebi as chief general manager and later executive director between 2007 and 2013.

 

Ramann has a bachelor’s degree in economics from St Stephens College and MBA from FMS, Delhi University.

 

He has M.Sc. degree in regulations from London School of Economics (LSE) and is a Certified Internal Auditor from IIA Florida. He completed LLB from Mumbai University and Post Graduate Diploma in Securities Law.

 

PFRDA was instituted in 2003 with the goal of promoting, regulating, and developing the pension industry of the country. It was initially designed for government employees exclusively, but its services were subsequently expanded to include all Indian nationals and non-resident Indians, including self-employed persons.

 

India’s demographic trends, characterised by a rapidly aging population and increasing life expectancy, emphasise the critical need for financial security post-retirement. However, only 5.7 per cent of Indian household assets are allocated to provident and pension funds, reflecting a significant gap in retirement preparedness.