New Delhi, 24 March, 2023 (MTNews): Centre today announced that a committee will be set up to suggest measures for improving the National Pension System under the Chairmanship of the Finance Secretary.
While moving the Finance Bill 2023 for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the new approach to the NPS will be designed for adoption by both central and state governments.
“I propose to set up a committee under the finance secretary to look into the issue of pensions and evolve an approach which addresses the needs of employees while maintaining fiscal prudence to protect common citizens,” she said.
She said a committee will look into the issue of pensions and evolve an approach that addresses the needs of the employees while ensuring fiscal prudence. She said the new approach will be designed for adoption by both Central and State governments.
The decision comes in the backdrop of several non-BJP states deciding to revert to the DA-linked Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and also employee organizations in some other states raising demand for the same.
NPS was introduced by the Centre for all government appointments made after January 1, 2004, and is regulated under the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA) Act 2013. So far, 5 states including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh have scrapped the NPS and have restarted OPS.