Modify New Pension Scheme to get fund to aid COVID-19 fight: Employees' organisation urges govt

The National Pension Scheme (NPS) for central and state government employees, among others, needs to be modified so that a large part of the contributory fund, which is currently invested in the market, can be made available to governments to supplement their fight against COVID-19, said an employees' federation.

Since January 2004, the Centre and state governments have implemented a share-market based pension system for their employees, including the ones in autonomous organisations, president of the National Movement for Old Pension Scheme's (NMOPS) Delhi unit Manjeet Singh Patel said.

The non-profit organisation has over 13 lakh government employees as its members.

He said the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has Rs 3.41 lakh crore assets under management in form of contributions from the central and state government, and their employees as on January 31.

There are around 67.76 lakh subscribers of the NPS, 20.82 lakh in the central government and 46.93 lakh in state governments, Patel said quoting the PFRDA data.

He said his organisation demands that the central and the state governments should come out with relevant legislations to modify this NPS, where both the employees and employer contribute certain sum of money, close on the lines of the Old Pension Scheme.

The old scheme allows contribution of a definite amount of basic salary of the employees into the government's treasury by declaring it as general provident fund (GPF).

The GPF, which would be in many crores of rupees, can then be used by the central and state governments to supplement their fight against COVID 19, as the amount will be with their respective treasuries which are under their control and free from the risk of the stock market, said Patel, who works with the Delhi government.

For many years, the NPS is being criticised by some associations of central and state government employees and many protests have been held by them demanding restoration of a guaranteed older pension system for old age social economical security, he said.

The NMOPS, formed to oppose the NPS system, is working actively in more than 16 states and union territories, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, among others.