Maharashtra on Sunday became the first state to offer its employees the option to switch to the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), just hours after central government employees' organizations urged state governments to adopt the scheme.
This move by Maharashtra comes in the wake of a recent Union cabinet decision to implement the UPS, which promises employees 50 per cent of their average salary from the last 12 months as a pension, along with inflation adjustments and other benefits for government employees who joined after 2004.
The adoption of UPS by Maharashtra is expected to influence other states, particularly those governed by the NDA, as they prepare for upcoming elections.
The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) is set to benefit 23 lakh central government employees, with the potential to cover up to 90 lakh employees if all states adopt it.
Central government employee representatives have urged state governments to implement the UPS and advised against 'politicizing' the issue.
While they acknowledge that the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) would be ideal as it required no employee contributions, they expressed satisfaction with the UPS.
BJP-Congress Banter Over UPS Announcement
The BJP on Sunday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision to bring a unified pension scheme for central government employees and hit out at the Congress, asking why it has not implemented its promise of bringing back the old pension scheme in Himachal Pradesh and other states where it is in power.
Taking a dig at the government, Congress president Kharge said in a post on X, "The 'U' in UPS stands for Modi Govt's U turns! Post June 4, the power of the people has prevailed over the arrogance of power of the Prime Minister."
However, the BJP asserted that the UPS has been in the making since 2023 and it was reported by media too.
"Kharge ji, The Unified Pension Scheme has been in the making since 2023, much before June 4, 2024...," BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said in response to Kharge's post.
