This refers to the report "NPS is designed to offer pension to every worker" (August 18). Perhaps, the questions posed by Sreelatha Menon were more informative than the evasive and vague answers given by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Chairman Yogesh Agarwal.
Though the government and the media have been marketing the National Pension Scheme (NPS) as a solution for the social security problems of senior citizens, it is common knowledge that the scheme was introduced through the back door to get over the impossible task of making provisions for an estimated pension liability of Rs 4 lakh crore, when the Sixth Pay Commission was finalising its report in 2006.
Other than the new central government employees who joined service from January 1, 2004, state government and PSU employees, whose contribution adds up to about 85 per cent of the Rs 35,000-crore corpus mentioned by Agarwal, the receipt from the 90 per cent workforce outside the organised sector so far is admittedly too low at Rs 5,000 crore. It is time to conduct a mid-term review of the NPS.
M G Warrier Mumbai
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