NPS: An unwelcome intruder?


March 18, 2016
NPS: An unwelcome intruder

This refers to your editorial “An Alternative to Annuities in NPS” (Economic Times, March 18, 2016). Let us face the unpalatable reality. New Pension Scheme (the present National Pension System) is an unwelcome intruder into the family of retirement schemes in India. The purpose of its introduction was to avoid funding of government pension schemes. At the time of introduction of NPS prospectively for new entrants to central government service (excluding defence), effective January 1, 2004, the unfunded pension liability of central government alone was over Rs3.50 lakh crore. This liability will continue to grow for many more years.
Now that government employees have accepted NPS in the absence of any other option, government should at least make it comparable to the provident fund scheme administered by EPFO. As the managers of NPS are struggling to make improvements in that scheme without much success, Centre should, without worrying about the ‘loss of image’ graciously transfer NPS to EPFO for management as that organisation has a reputation and expertise built over a long period of sixty years. EPFO should be, then allowed to manage its resources, including personnel, professionally.
M G WARRIER, Mumbai


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

NAVAGRAHA STOTRAM

THE SUNSET OF THE CENTURY

The King of Ragas: Sankarabharanam