Mumbai: The Maharashtra cabinet on Sunday announced its decision to implement the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for state government employees, making Maharashtra the first state in the country to implement the scheme. The move follows the Union government’s approval of the UPS for central government employees who began service after January 1, 2004.
UPS benefits and eligibility criteria
On Saturday, the Modi government introduced a new pension system for central government employees, called the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). Under the scheme, employees who have completed at least 25 years of service will be eligible for a pension equivalent to 50 per cent of their average basic pay. Apart from that, employees with a minimum of 10 years of service will receive a guaranteed monthly pension of Rs 10,000. Furthermore, a provision has been made to provide a pension to the family of an employee who passes away during their service.
25 lakh central govt employees to benefit
The Maharashtra cabinet has set the UPS to take effect from March this year, benefiting all state government employees. While 23 lakh central government employees will benefit from the scheme, the number could increase to 90 lakh if all states adopt it. Central government employee representatives have urged states to implement the scheme and advised against politicising the issue. Although they believe the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) is preferable since it requires no employee contribution, they are still satisfied with the UPS.
Cabinet meet yields 19 decisions
In the cabinet meeting, 19 major decisions were made alongside discussions with the UPS, which include the approval of Rs 7,015 crore for the Nar-Par-Girna river linking project, an uninterrupted power scheme for farmers during the day and the repayment of loans to cooperative sugar mills under government guarantee.
Apart from that, the government has decided to establish a corporation for senior citizens, which is expected to benefit about 5 million elderly residents of the state. The current tenure of the Maharashtra assembly concludes in November, with elections expected in October or November.
