Centre approves Unified Pension Scheme for govt employees; family and minimum pension guaranteed

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday, approved the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), which aims to provide assured pension, family pension, and assured minimum pension to government employees.

Under the new scheme, employees would get an assured pension of 50 per cent of the average basic pay drawn over the last 12 months prior to superannuation for a minimum qualifying service of 25 years​. And if the the concerned employee has served less than 25 years, but more has completed 10 years, then the pension would be proportionately derived.

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Further, in case of demise of the retired employee, then his or her family would be able to avail an assured family pension of 60 per cent of the pension received by the employee immediately before his or her demise. The new scheme also assures a minimum pension of ₹10,000 per month on superannuation after minimum 10 years of service.

Addressing the media on the cabinet decisions, union minister for information and broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said the pension would be based on inflation indexation.

Further, the employee would get a lump-sum payment at superannuation in addition to the gratuity​. It would be one-tenth of the monthly emolument as on the date of superannuation for every completed six months of service​. This payment will not reduce the quantum of assured pension​, said a presentation shown by the minister at the media briefing. 

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Further, government has increased its shared of contribution under the new scheme to 18.5 per cent, while the employee contribution would remain the same. Responding to the query from the media, current finance secretary TV Somanathan, who has been appointed the next cabinet secretary said that the new scheme is expected to be more beneficial for employees compared to the current scheme.

Among other decisions, the cabinet, also approved the proposal ‘BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) Policy for Fostering High Performance Biomanufacturing’.

The new policy under the department of biotechnology would include innovation-driven support to research and development (R&D) and entrepreneurship across thematic sectors.

"This will accelerate technology development and commercialization by establishing Biomanufacturing & Bio-AI hubs and Biofoundry. Along with prioritizing regenerative bioeconomy models of green growth, this policy will facilitate expansion of India’s skilled workforce and provide a surge in job creation," said an official statement.

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It noted that the policy would strengthen government’s initiatives such as ‘Net Zero’ carbon economy & ‘Lifestyle for Environment’.

Further, the cabinet also approved continuation of the three schemes of the Department of Science and Technology, and merged them a unified central sector scheme named ‘Vigyan Dhara’. The scheme with an outlay of ₹10,579.84 crore would include science and technology (S&T) institutional and human capacity building, research and development and innovation, technology development and deployment.

"The primary objective of the 'Vigyan Dhara' scheme is to promote S&T capacity building as well as research, innovation and technology development towards strengthening the Science, Technology and Innovation ecosystem in the country. Implementation of the scheme will strengthen the S&T infrastructure of the country by fostering well-equipped R&D labs in the Academic Institutions," said another statement.