Shimla
The Central Government has written a letter to the Himachal Government asking the employees to implement the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). If this is done, the Central Government will give special assistance of Rs 1600 crore to Himachal.
According to the letter issued by the Centre, bringing government employees appointed on contract in the years 2022-23 and 2023-24 to UPS will be beneficial. However, the state government has not yet given any reply regarding the letter. It is noteworthy that the state government has implemented the Old Pension Scheme in Himachal. Center to pay Himachal’s Rs 9,000 crore. This amount is the share of NPS employees deposited with the Centre. The state government is continuously raising the matter with the Centre. This budget has not been received yet.
The government believes that the Center has imposed economic restrictions for the state to implement the old pension scheme in Himachal. The limit for taking a loan has been fixed at Rs 6600 crore. Not only this, limits have also been set for new proposals for economic assistance through externally aided agencies. Himachal will only be eligible for approval of proposals up to Rs 2,944 crore by the end of the financial year 2025-26.
The state government has restored the old pension for 1.36 lakh government employees, fulfilling the election guarantee. Now it remains to be seen whether the state government decides to bring new contract employees under UPS or if they will be given only the old pension.
