Even though the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) had allowed using eKYC (Know Your Customer) back in October 2013, subscribers opening an account online still had to submit a physical application at the end of the online application process. In December 2016, the Authority did away with this requirement of submitting a physical form even if a subscriber opened an NPS account online. According to Sandeep Shrikhande, chief executive officer, Kotak Mahindra Pension Fund Ltd, the pension product has seen 70,000-75,000 accounts being opened through e-NPS till November 2016 (since the time e-NPS started in 2015).
