Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
Also written PMSBY
A government accidental insurance scheme for bank account holders aged 18 to 70, with a fixed annual premium auto-debited from one savings account.
In plain language
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, or PMSBY, is a government scheme. It gives bank account holders accidental insurance at a low, fixed yearly cost.
The age band is clear: 18 to 70 years. Each year, a fixed premium is taken from the account on its own, through auto-debit. The account holder does not have to remember to pay it.
The scheme pays for one thing: permanent and partial disability caused by an accident.
How it works
Three mechanics are worth learning as a set:
- Age band: 18 to 70 years of the bank account holder.
- A fixed annual premium, deducted through auto-debit from the bank account of the insured — no separate payment action is needed each year once enrolled.
- One savings bank account only — a person would be eligible to join the scheme through one savings bank account only, so multiple accounts cannot be used to enrol multiple times.
The workbook does not state the exact premium amount or the sum insured for PMSBY in this booklet — it gives the mechanism (age band, auto-debit, one-account rule, and the disability cover) without a specific rupee figure attached.
A worked example
Manoj, aged 45, holds a savings account at a public sector bank and enrols in PMSBY through that one account. Each year, a small fixed premium is auto-debited from his account without him having to visit the branch.
Manoj also has a second savings account at a different bank. Because the workbook states a person is eligible to join through one savings bank account only, he cannot also enrol using the second account — one PMSBY cover per person, not per account.
When Manoj suffers a permanent partial disability in a road accident, the scheme pays out for that disability, exactly as the cover the workbook describes.
Why NISM asks about it
Chapter 9 (Government Schemes for Various Savings and Investment Options), under Basic Insurance Schemes Run by Government of India, lists PMSBY first, immediately before PMJJBY. Expect a question testing the age band (18–70) and distinguishing PMSBY (accidental cover) from PMJJBY (life cover) by name and by age band.
Common exam traps
- PMSBY covers accidental permanent and partial disability — it is not a life insurance scheme. PMJJBY, the next scheme in the same chapter, is the life-cover one.
- The age band is 18 to 70, wider than PMJJBY's 18 to 50 — candidates frequently swap the two ranges.
- Eligible through one savings bank account only — holding several accounts does not allow several enrolments.
- The workbook gives no specific premium amount or sum insured for PMSBY — do not answer with an assumed rupee figure.
Check yourself
1.Which pair correctly matches the scheme to its cover and age band?
- a)Suraksha Bima Yojana — life cover, 18 to 50; Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana — accident cover, 18 to 70
- b)Suraksha Bima Yojana — accidental cover, 18 to 70; Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana — life cover, 18 to 50
- c)Both provide life cover, for ages 18 to 60
- d)Suraksha Bima Yojana — health cover, 18 to 70; Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana — accident cover, 18 to 50
Show the answer
Answer: (b) Suraksha Bima Yojana — accidental cover, 18 to 70; Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana — life cover, 18 to 50
"Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana — Provides ACCIDENTAL insurance cover to bank account holders in the age group of 18 TO 70 years... Insurance covers PERMANENT AND PARTIAL DISABILITY due to accident." "Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana — Provides LIFE insurance cover to bank account holders in the age group of 18 TO 50 years." This is the most-swapped pair in the chapter, and a memory hook helps: Suraksha means protection — from an accident — and it runs longer, to 70; Jeevan Jyoti, the lamp of life, is life cover ending at 50. Both share the same mechanics: "a fixed annual premium is deducted from the bank account of the insured through AUTO-DEBIT facility" and "person would be eligible to join the scheme through ONE SAVINGS BANK ACCOUNT ONLY." The disability clause on Suraksha is the one most often missed and, for anyone whose income depends on physical capacity, the most valuable.
Where this is taught
Free preparation for NISM Series SEBI-ICERelated terms
- Insurance policyThe written contract an insurer gives a policy holder. It states the premium, the sum assured, and the conditions under which the insurer will pay a claim.
- Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan YojanaThe Government's financial inclusion scheme launched in August 2014: a zero-balance bank account with a RuPay debit card, insurance cover, an overdraft facility and direct benefit transfers.
- Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima YojanaA government life insurance scheme for bank account holders aged 18 to 50, with a fixed annual premium auto-debited from one savings account.
- Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya YojanaA government healthcare scheme, also called Ayushman Bharat, giving free hospital treatment to families identified in the 2011 SECC database, with no restriction on family size, age or gender.
- Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima YojanaA crop insurance scheme that pays farmers based on the gap between a threshold yield and the actual yield, compulsory for farmers who have taken institutional loans.