Central Record Agency for new pension scheme

With the New Pension Scheme yet to clear legislative hurdles, the government is considering setting up an interim Central Record Agency (CRA) to move ahead with keeping unique records for Central as well as state government employees.

While the office of the chief controller of pensions is keeping record of the Central government employees, the interim regulator is expected to include state governments, railways, postal department and autonomous bodies that might join the scheme.

"This will allow for a smooth transition to the CRA," B Swaroop, chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, said at a penion conclave organised by Invest India Economic Foundation here today.

Uttranchanhal has become the thirteenth state to join the New Pension Scheme (NPS). Karnataka, Maharastra, Punjab and Bihar are also expected to join in the next few months. While a few of these states have drafted their notification, others are waiting for the Central government to first pass its legislation.

The government has also identified 14 states where ADB and the World Bank would carry out technical assistance projects to help build infrastructure for implementing the NPS.

While ADB would work with the state governments of Assam, Kerela, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, World Bank would work with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Orissa.

With the pension regulator - Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority working on an interim basis, the government is trying to ensure that the groundwork for getting the pension system under the NPS up and running is not delayed due the process of getting the pension Bill cleared.