AP Government Planning To Introduce Guaranteed Pension Scheme

AMARAVATI:  The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday came out with a new proposal to bring in a new Guaranteed Pension Scheme (GPS) in place of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath said that the AP government intends to implement the  GPS scheme which would benefit state employees as much as possible.

Under the CPS (Contributory Pension Scheme) scheme, the quantum of how much pension will be received on the basic pay per month at the time of retirement cannot be calculated exactly. As per the government, exactly 33 percent of the pension will come under the same GPS. While the unions say that 50 percent of the pension would come under the old pension scheme. That has been repealed and CPS has come into force. The government has restructured the GPS to increase pensions by 33 percent on the last month's salary.

Representatives of several employee unions said they would consider the proposal thoroughly and submit their suggestions which they consider appropriate. The committee set up to discuss the CPS with union leaders and met them at the Secretariat in  Velagapudi on Monday. Rajendranath, a member of the committee, said that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy wanted to ensure that the government employees benefitted after retirement. However, the implementation of the old pension scheme (OPS) has become a major challenge not only across the country but also globally. He said the implementation of the old pension scheme was a feasible factor in view of the state's economic conditions, future generations of government employees, and the welfare of the people.

The AP government constituted a fresh six-member committee, comprising three ministers and an equal number of senior officials, to examine the CPS even as government employees and teachers stepped up their agitation demanding that the scheme be abolished forthwith. Ministers Botsa Satyanarayana, Buggana Rajendranath, A Suresh, government advisor (public affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, and Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma will be members of the new committee while the Special Chief Secretary (Finance) will be the member-convenor.

The Committee shall examine the issue of CPS and deliberate and discuss with the employees' associations and furnish its recommendations to the government for taking a decision in the matter, the Chief Secretary said in an order. Simultaneously, the government conducted a meeting of the Joint Staff Council wherein it mooted the GPS, instead of doing away with the CPS. However, a section of the employees' associations said they oppose the GPS, and were firm on their demand for scrapping the CPS and reverting to the old pension scheme.

Education Minister Botsa Satyanarayana said that clarity over the CPS  would be given soon. Speaking to reporters at the Ramatheertham temple in Nellimarla in Vizianagaram, for the inauguration of the Rama Tirtha Kodanda Ramaswamy temple, he said the government was always in favour of the employees and that they would address their issues and resolve them as far as possible. 

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