Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told the legislative assembly on Thursday that the government will study the recommendations of the Subodh Kumar committee over the issue of old pension scheme (OPS) and take a decision on it in the next budget session of the legislature.
He said two additional chief secretaries will study the committee’s report before the decision is made. The CM’s announcement came hours after the government, as well as semi-government employees and officials, launched a strike to press for their demand of restoring the OPS.
Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar told reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan premises here that CM Eknath Shinde has assured government employees demanding restoration of the OPS that a decision on it will be taken before the upcoming budget session, which is generally held in February-March every year. CM Shinde said, ”The state government is positive towards the demand of the state employees who went on strike today. We need some time to study the Subodh Kumar committee’s recommendations. Additional chief secretaries of finance and services departments will study them. The state will take a decision about it in the next budget session.” The government received the Subodh Kumar committee’s report last week, he told the lower House of the legislature.
Under the OPS, a government employee gets a monthly pension equivalent to 50 per cent his/her last drawn salary. There was no need for contributions by employees. The OPS was discontinued in the state in 2005. Under the New Pension Scheme, a state government employee contributes 10 per cent of his or her basic salary plus a dearness allowance, with the state making a matching contribution. The money is then invested in one of the several pension funds approved by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and the returns are market-linked.
