Comments
In a decision that comes as a relief to 32 lakh pensioners in the organised sector, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the ₹ 1,000 per minimum monthly pension scheme in perpetuity. The scheme had been put on hold by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation from April 1, 2015 pending government clearance, leading to protests by workers’ representatives.
“The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for continuation of the minimum pension of ₹1,000 per month to the pensioners of Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 (EPS) beyond 2014-15 on perpetual basis. Currently, it is effective only up to March 2015,” an official release said.
The Cabinet also approved a corresponding grant of continuous annual budgetary support for implementing the minimum pension of ₹ 850 crore a year on a tapering basis, the release added.
The scheme for giving ₹1,000/month was announced by the previous UPA government but could not be implemented because of the code of conduct for the general elections in 2014. In September last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced at a rally in Bengaluru that the scheme would be effective from October 1, 2014.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.