The BJP-led central government appointed a committee headed by Cabinet Secretary-designate T.V. Somanathan in March 2023 to review the New Pension Scheme.
The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) approved by the Union government on Saturday (August 24) — a mix of contribution and assured pension, to replace the New Pension Scheme (NPS), a wholly contributory mechanism — will provide some social security to government employees after retirement.
The NPS became applicable in all states, except West Bengal, which continued with OPS, from January 1, 2004.
The scheme, which is virtually akin to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) that NPS replaced in 2004, assures government employees 50% of their last drawn pay as a lifelong monthly benefit like OPS will be applicable to the central government employees; states can also extend it to its employees.
The genesis of the UPS lies in protests against the NPS by government employees from across the country, citing low pension benefits. In some cases, the pension was as low as ₹10,000 of the basic pay, even for class 1 government officials such as college lecturers. The NPS created two pension systems for the same set of government employees, one getting assured pension under OPS and other uncertain retirement benefits under the NPS.
