The NPS is a new contributory pension scheme launched by Government of India with effect from 1 January 2004. NPS is regulated by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), was first introduced for government employees and was opened for all citizens of India in 2009. Under the NPS, you can regularly invest your money into your pension scheme account. On retirement, you have the option of taking a part of the corpus as lump sum amount and the balance in the form of a fixed monthly income.