Jammu, Feb 18 (KNO): Jammu & Kashmir Government on Wednesday ruled out any proposal to revive the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for its employees.
In a written reply to a cut motion submitted by Peoples Conference MLA Sajad Gani Lone, the Minister in-charge of Finance informed the Legislative Assembly that there is no proposal to revive OPS, stating that the transition to the New Pension Scheme (NPS) was a conscious decision aimed at balancing fiscal sustainability with social security for government employees.
“The introduction of the New Pension Scheme in 2004 by the Government of India, subsequently adopted by States and Union Territories, was a conscious decision aimed at safeguarding fiscal sustainability while ensuring post-retirement social security to government employees,” the reply reads, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
The Minister added that the government has consistently followed a policy of adopting employee welfare measures introduced by the Government of India, with the objective of maintaining parity and uniformity in service benefits for employees.
Defending the shift to NPS, the Minister said that the growing pension bill posed a serious challenge to the State’s financial stability.
“The Jammu and Kashmir, being an expenditure-led state with limited avenues for investment, modest revenue receipts, and growing pension liabilities, faced a serious challenge. Pension liabilities had expanded disproportionately, with pension expenditure doubling from Rs 731 crore in 2004–05 to Rs 1495 crore. It was observed that continuation of the defined pension scheme (OPS) would be fiscally unsustainable in the long run and could pose significant risks to the State’s financial stability,” the reply stated.
The New Pension Scheme was approved by the NC–Congress cabinet in 2009 and became applicable to all employees appointed on or after January 1, 2010—(KNO)