The Finance Ministry on Thursday constituted a committee headed by Finance Secretary T V Somanathan to review the pension arrangements for government employees. The committee will suggest to the government whether any changes are required in the existing structure of the National Pension System (NPS) applicable to government employees.
Also, the committee will suggest measures to modify it with a view to improving the pensionary benefits of government employees covered under NPS keeping in view the fiscal implications and impact on the overall budgetary space. The committee, headed by Somanathan, will have secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), special secretary in the Department of Expenditure and chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) as members.
Also read: Old Pension: Employees do not have faith in the committee formed by the Finance Minister, the old pension restoration movement will intensify
Earlier last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that a committee headed by the Finance Secretary will look into the issue of pension under NPS for government employees. Also, she will suggest ways to meet the needs of the employees while maintaining fiscal prudence.
Significantly, this announcement comes in the backdrop of the decision by several non-BJP states to withdraw the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) linked to DA and the demand for the same by employees’ organizations in some other states.