The Karnataka government has officially issued a notification to include approximately 13,000 state government employees within the ambit of the Old Pension Scheme. According to the notification, these employees were recruited after 2006. Taking to X, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah affirmed that he had committed to meeting this demand when government employees staged a strike opposing the introduction of the new pension scheme.
"An order has been issued to cover the old pension scheme to about 13,000 government employees of the state government recruited after 2006. Even before the election, I visited the place when the National Pension System (NPS) employees were on strike and promised to fulfil the demand after we came to power," the Chief Minister stated. "I hope this decision has given comfort to all the families of 13,000 NPS employees," he added.
Old Pension Scheme vs New Pension Scheme
The Old Pension Scheme ensures that a government employee receives a monthly pension post-retirement, typically amounting to half of their last drawn salary. In contrast, the New Pension Scheme involves employees contributing a portion of their salaries to a pension fund, leading to a one-time lump sum payment upon superannuation. The transition occurred in December 2003 when the old pension scheme was discontinued, and the new pension scheme was implemented on April 1, 2004.
Siddaramaiah hits out at Centre
The Karnataka Chief Minister also hit out at the central government, saying it failed to provide two crore jobs per year as promised. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who promised to create 2 crore jobs per year, failed to do so. 20 crore jobs were to be provided in ten years, which did not happen," Siddaramaiah said. He made these remarks after inaugurating a project to fill 150 lakes and ponds in 79 villages in Periyapatna taluk from the Cauvery River at Muthtinamulusoge on Wednesday, January 24.
(With inputs from ANI)
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