In a reply in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said that the government had moved away from OPS due to its unsustainable fiscal liability on the government exchequer.
"We have not gone back to OPS. A U-turn is when we go back to the old position. Keeping the logical framework intact, we are giving them options."
In the case of Bihar, pensions accounted for 58 percent of the state's own tax revenue in FY24, while 53.8 percent of Assam's earnings went towards annuity payments.
If returns are below 11.5 percent, burden may increase on the government
The government’s pension bill, excluding railways and defence, is expected to be Rs 79,241 crore in the current fiscal
A larger proportion of their revenue goes into servicing pensions
Trade Union Co-ordination Centre (TUCC), one of the 12 Central Trade Union Organisation recognised by Ministry of Labour & Employment suggested imposing an additional 2-percent-tax on the super-rich to guarantee social security benefits for all workers.
Pension sector players expect the Finance Secretary-headed committee tasked with looking into government employees’ concerns about NPS to submit its report around budget time, which could pave the way for a final resolution of the thorny issue.
The working group's recommendations come amid a debate on states' the financial situation, with the decision of some governments to revert to the Old Pension Scheme being seen as a big step back in improving their finances
While there is no estimate – or even definition – of freebies, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar spend the most on subsidies as a percentage of their State Domestic Product. Meanwhile, Delhi is ahead on spending on public health and education.
The primary task is to take the four states – Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Himachal – which implemented OPS between 2022 and 2023, back to NPS. This is easier said than done
The Congress party lost in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, states where it had rolled out or promised a return to the Old Pension Scheme. However, it clinched victory in Telangana without the OPS guarantee.
According to an analysis by economists from the Reserve Bank of India, the fiscal burden on states from reverting to the Old Pension Scheme will be around four-and-a-half-times that of the National Pension System
The risk of not countering the growing chorus for the OPS is huge. For 2022-23, the Railways pension fund bill was Rs 60,000 crore
A finance ministry-instituted committee to review NPS for government employees will look at improving the pension system further.
Restoration of OPS was one of the main promises made by the Congress in the 2022 assembly polls and a decision in this regard was taken at the first meeting of the Cabinet on January 13, 2023.
Aiming to test the waters, Panneerselvam on Friday expressed his desire to meet Dhinakaran to unite all the AIADMK factions.
Capital Minds founder and CEO Deepak Shenoy's reaction comes after Punjab chief minister Bhagwat Mann on Monday said that the government is considering going back to the OPS, and was lauded by Delhi chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
O Panneerselvam, the rival AIADMK leader who was 'expelled' from the party at the July 11 GC meet, said the ruling showed nobody can "usurp" a political party and that the judiciary and God will not allow that.
The hoarding, featuring Modi and Shah has been put up here by the rebel AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam's (OPS) camp. OPS has been making fresh appointments to 'party posts' and the hoarding is a publicity initiative by the supporters of new appointees here.
The proposal to move away from the two-person leadership concept toward a single-leader system has become a serious bone of contention now.
Polling began at 8 AM, with people arriving to exercise their franchise across booths in North Chennai, braving the misty conditions. DMK candidate N Marudhu Ganesh was among the early voters.
Hours after being convicted and sentenced to four years in jail, AIADMK General Secretary Sasikala expelled Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam from the party.
National passenger carrier Air India on Monday said that it disagrees with a report published by data services company FlightStats which has ranked the airline as the third worst global performer in terms of on-time operations in 2016.