Modi government acts tough
No question of reverting to Old Pension Scheme fir retired employees
The Modi government is not buckling under the popular pressure to bring back the 'Old Pension Scheme” for retired government employees. The expenditure on central government pensioners stood at over Rs 2.54 lakh crores in 2021-22 which rose to more than three lakh crores in 2022-23. The new pension scheme was made compulsory by the Vajpayee government in 2004 which has continued since then.
However, many state governments have resorted to popular pressure and reverted to old pension schemes and are facing acute financial crises. Lakhs of retired central government employees have been demanding that the Centre should also revert to the Old Pension Scheme.
But the Union Government emphatically denied today that there is no question of reverting to the Old Pension Scheme(OPS). The OPS had provided for employees to give pension of 40 to 45 per cent of the last drawn salary replacing the existing market linked pension.
The Government was asked in the Rajya Sabha today whether the Committee constituted by Government to review existing new pension schemes for the Government employees has given its report; and if so, the findings thereof. But the government made it clear that no such proposal is under consideration and there is no question of any such proposal to be considered. Earlier, Union Personnel Minister Jitendra Singh had said that the number of pensioners on the rolls of Central government is about 77 lakh, than active service personnel, which is about 50-60 lakh.
