The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). The objective of this scheme is to provide guaranteed pension, family pension and minimum assured pension to central employees. This scheme will come into effect from April 1, 2025. Central government employees will be able to choose either the National Pension Scheme (NPS) or the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). Apart from this, those who are currently receiving the benefit of the Central Government’s NPS will also have the option to switch to UPS. Meanwhile, state governments will also have the option to adopt the Unified Pension Scheme.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that today the Union Cabinet has approved the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for government employees. About 23 lakh central government employees will benefit from the Unified Pension Scheme.
Understand Unified Pension Scheme in 5 points
Assured Pension: Under this scheme, government employees who have worked for at least 25 years will get 50 per cent of the average basic salary of the last 12 months before retirement as a guaranteed pension.
Assured Family Pension: If a pensioner dies, his family will get 60 percent of the pension received by the deceased.
Assured Minimum Pension: Under the Unified Pension Scheme, a government employee will get a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 on leaving the job after 10 years.
Benefits of Inflation Indexation: Under the Unified Pension Scheme, you will also get the benefit of inflation indexation. This means that Dearness Relief (DR) money will be given according to inflation, which will be based on the All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPI-W).
Lump Sum Payment: An employee will be given his salary and allowances for the last 6 months of his job as a lump sum amount.
What will be the contribution of the central government
According to PTI, the central government’s contribution to pension under UPS will increase from the current 14 percent to 18 percent, while the employees’ contribution will remain at 10 percent. Ashwini Vaishnav said that some central employees met the Prime Minister. They were in support of UPS in the meeting. He said that last year Finance Secretary TV Somanathan led a committee to review the government pension scheme and propose updates. The committee was formed when some non-BJP states decided to implement the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
Ashwini Vaishnav said that PM Modi constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan. This committee held more than 100 meetings with various organizations and almost all the states. There is a difference in the way PM Modi and the opposition work. Unlike the opposition, PM Modi believes in holding extensive discussions.
Approval to continue three schemes
Along with this, the Cabinet has approved the continuation of three existing schemes, which have now been merged into a new central scheme named ‘Science Stream’ under the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The scheme has a proposed budget of Rs 10,579.84 crore for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26. Apart from this, the government has also approved the Biotechnology Department ‘BioE3 Policy’. The objective of this policy is to promote bio manufacturing by supporting research, development and entrepreneurship in key areas.
