Parama Sen, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, said, "Every country has acknowledged that something on the lines of the OPS is not financially prudent and viable."
As Opposition and opposition-ruled states plan to confront and defy the Centre on the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), the government has reached out to them again to convince them that it would make financial prudence to adopt the UPS and abandon the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
Speaking exclusively to News18, Parama Sen, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, who also works in the pension department, said, “Every country has acknowledged that something on the lines of the OPS is not financially prudent and viable. So, it would, and I hope they realise it, make sense to switch.”
“In fact, experts do accept that the UPS is an improvement on the new pension scheme, which was not seen to be friendly to the bureacrats who wanted a post retirement secure life,” Sen added.
Parama Sen said, “The bureacrats wanted a couple of reassurances – that there would be assured money post retirement, that there would be a family pension scheme, and that it would be inclusive.”
But the Opposition, especially the Congress, haven’t seen it as a U-turn and a victory. Party President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “The ‘U’ in UPS stands for Modi government’s U-turns! After June 4, the power of the people has prevailed over the arrogance of power of the Prime Minister.” However, the Congress has also made it clear that it is not against the UPS and sources say that it is studying it further and will then take a call soon on whether it will adopt it in states where it is in power.
Parama Sen, however, said it was not a U-turn and “the government studied and realised that it needed to bring these changes.” “OPS was not sustainable fiscally, UPS is defined contribution. The government and employees are funding it, there is no U-turn from NPS. This is improvement,” Sen said.
Despite the opp claiming victory , it’s clear that the govt is convinced this scheme would win the babus over.
The Union Cabinet on Saturday, August 24, approved the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), for an assured pension post-retirement. The UPS will be implemented from April 1, 2025. Under the UPS, there will be a provision of a fixed assured pension, unlike the New Pension Scheme (NPS) which does not promise a fixed pension amount.
