“The announcement of the restoration of the old pension Scheme by BJP Governments in Chattisgarah and Rajasthan and by AAP and Congress Governments in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh respectively show that both the ruling and the main opposition parties in the parliament endorse the demand of both the State and Central Government employees for restoration of the old Pension Scheme across the country.”
The nod of the Union Cabinet to Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for the Central Government Employees has not been overwhelmingly welcome by any Central Government Employees Association and henceforth the demand of the employees of Central, State and UT Governments for restoration of Old Pension Scheme (OPS) remains there as it is for a very long time now. The announcement of the restoration of Old Pension Scheme by State Governments in Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chatisgarah as part of the fulfillment of one of the bigger promises by the political parties in power in these states is a pointer to the fact that the trend of restoring Old Pension Scheme (OPS) will spread to other states and union territories of the country. The announcement of the restoration of the old pension Scheme by BJP Governments in Chattisgarah and Rajasthan and by AAP and Congress Governments in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh respectively show that both the ruling and the main opposition parties in the parliament endorse the demand of both the State and Central Government employees for restoration of the old Pension Scheme across the country. So when both the ruling party at the Centre the BJP and as well as the main opposition parties like Congress and Aam Admi Party (AAP) endorse the demand for restoration of Old Pension Scheme, Wisdom demands the Central Government announces the restoration of Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for implementation not only for Central Government Employees but also for the State and UT employees across the country.
“A decision to implement the Old Pension Scheme for employees of both the Central and as well as the State and UT Governments would settle the contentious issue of pensions for the employees across the country and such a decision if implemented with the spirit of “One Nation, One Pension Scheme” could be equally satisfying for the employees of both the Central and State and UT Governments across the country. Administrative wisdom demands that Central Government restores the Old Pension Scheme instead of implementing the Unified Pension Scheme and directs its implementation by all State and UT Governments across the country.”
While the announcement of Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) can be satisfying only for the Central Government, the implementation of such a new pension scheme would be obviously implemented in some states and UTs but not in all states and Union Territories of the country. One Pension Scheme for the Central Government Employees and different pension scheme for different states would generate a sense of discriminate among the employees of the State and UT Government in many states and union territories of the country. A decision to implement the Old Pension Scheme for employees of both the Central and as well as the State and UT Governments would settle the contentious issue of pensions for the employees across the country and such a decision if implemented with the spirit of “One Nation, One Pension Scheme” could be equally satisfying for the employees of both the Central and State and UT Governments across the country. Administrative wisdom demands that Central Government restores the Old Pension Scheme instead of implementing the Unified Pension Scheme and directs its implementation by all State and UT Governments across the country.
