Beyond small mercies - The Hindu
Beyond small mercies - The Hindu
Online comments posted on December 25, 2013:
Online comments posted on December 25, 2013:
This refers to the article
“Beyond small mercies”(December 25). The article throws much more light on the
ground level realities of Indian Pension System outside the organised sectors
than the 2007 report of the team comprising experts from ING and IIM-B, which
studied Indian Pension Systems in the context of the introduction of New
Pension Scheme(now rechristened as National Pension System)-Facing the future:
Indian Pension Systems.
Jean Dreze has crisply and
clearly explained the drawbacks of the pension schemes now being implemented for
the benefit of the widows and the elderly. One expects, the powers that be will
do some follow up for remedial action on the following observations made by
Dreze:
·
Pension schemes for widows and the elderly have
five major flaws as things stand: narrow coverage, bureaucratic procedures, low
pension amounts, irregular payments, and high collection costs.
·
The Central government’s odd insistence on
fast-tracking the transition to “UID-enabled” payments of social security
pensions(one of the least appropriate applications of this problematic
technology) is likely to be very disruptive-“UID-disabled” may well turn out to
be a more accurate term in this case.
The National
Pension System is under attack from all stakeholders except perhaps the equity
market which is waiting with an unquenchable thirst for funds. PFRDA will do
well to put its acts together and overhaul its schemes for its prospective
clientele outside the organised sector taking lessons from the observations
made by Dreze here after a reasonably extensive field study. The authority may
revisit its dole money concept and its need/adequacy and methods to attract
savings from the 85 per cent workforce not covered by regular retirement savings
schemes.
M G Warrier, Thiruvananthapuram
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