The Central government last week approved the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for government employees and in the latest scheme, it assures a pension of 50 per cent of the basic salary for those who joined the service after January 1, 2004. The Centre said the new scheme will fulfill a long-pending demand of government employees. Those who opting for the UPS would be eligible for an assured pension after service of 25 years, the Centre said.
The move from the Centre trigerred another political slugfest with the Opposition led by Congress party and the ruling BJP exchanging barbs since August 23. But the question arises as to why is the Opposition is objecting to this scheme? Check these points to explain Opposition's issues with the new scheme:
Political Concerns
The Congress took a jibe at the Centre over its announcement of the Unified Pension Scheme, saying the 'U' in UPS stands for the Modi government's "U-turns". The Opposition also alleged that the UPS appears to be an attack on Dalits, tribals and backward classes.
Taking a dig at the government, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "The 'U' in UPS stands for Modi Govt's U turns! Post June 4, the power of the people has prevailed over the arrogance of power of the Prime Minister."
"Rollback in the budget regarding Long Term Capital Gain/Indexation. Sending Waqf Bill to JPC. Rollback of Broadcast Bill. Rollback of Lateral Entry," he said in a post on X.
Why Opposition objects to UPS
The Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera alleged that the UPS appears to be an attack on Dalits, tribals and backward classes.
"In many states, the upper age limit for government jobs for reserved category is 40 years. In UPSC, this limit is 37 years. Under the unified pension scheme, it is mandatory to render 25 years of service to get a full pension," Khera said.
As per the Centre, the UPS will benefit 23 lakh government employees across India immediately. The Centre said, however, the number could potentially increase to 90 lakh if state governments choose to adopt the scheme, extending its benefits to a broader range of government employees across India.
It should be noted that at least five Opposition-ruled States had moved their employees out of the NPS to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) with guaranteed pension at 50 per cent of salary, according to a report in the Hindu.
How UPS different from OPS
Notably, the OPS and UPS have different ways of calculating pension amounts. As per the OPS, the assured pension was fixed at 50 per cent of the last base salary plus dearness allowance (DA). As compared to the new scheme of UPS, the assured pension in the UPS will be the average basic salary plus the DA drawn in the previous year before superannuation.
As per the UPS scheme, the minimum pension offered per month is Rs 10,000 at the time of retirement after a 10-year minimum service and the present minimum amount is Rs 9,000 after the ten-year minimum service period.
UPS, which is like the OPS assuring government employees of 50 per cent of their last-drawn pay as a lifelong monthly benefit, according to reports.
