Congress uses a "U-turn" counter the day after the Center introduces the Unified Pension Scheme, saying, "U in UPS stands for."

 The day after the Union Cabinet approved a new Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for Central government employees, the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, criticized the decision. He remarked that the ‘U’ in UPS represents the "U-turns" often made by the Narendra Modi-led government on various policies and issues.

Congress uses a "U-turn" counter the day after the Center introduces the Unified Pension Scheme, saying, "U in UPS stands for."

The newly approved scheme by the Union Cabinet guarantees that Central government employees will receive a pension amounting to 50 percent of their average salary over the last 12 months of service.

In a post on X, Kharge commented, "The 'U' in UPS stands for Modi Govt's U-turns! Since June 4, the power of the people has overcome the Prime Minister’s arrogance." He highlighted several policy reversals by the Modi government, such as the rollback of changes in the budget related to Long Term Capital Gain/Indexation, sending the Waqf Bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), withdrawing the Broadcast Bill, and reversing the Lateral Entry initiative. Kharge asserted, "We will continue to ensure accountability and protect the 140 crore Indians from this despotic government!"

What is the New Pension Scheme?

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the new pension scheme, which guarantees a minimum assured pension of Rs 10,000 per month upon retirement after at least 10 years of service. This scheme is set to benefit around 23 lakh Central government employees.

Under the new scheme, the employees’ contribution remains unchanged at 10 percent of their basic pay plus dearness allowance. The UPS will become effective from April 1, 2025, and will be available to employees who have completed 25 years of service in the government. The scheme includes several key features, such as:

- A family pension for the spouse, which is 60 percent of the employee’s pension income after their death.

- A minimum pension of Rs 10,000 per month for employees who have completed at least 10 years of service.

- Inflation indexation to adjust for rising prices of goods and services.

- An option to withdraw a lump sum amount at the time of retirement.

These new features mark a shift from the existing National Pension Scheme (NPS), which provided pensions based on the contributions made by both employees and the government. The announcement of the new scheme comes at a time when several non-BJP states have decided to return to the DA-linked Old Pension Scheme (OPS), and employee organizations in some other states are also demanding the same.

Since January 1, 2004, the NPS has been in place for all government employees, except those in the armed forces, who joined the central government after that date. The Old Pension Scheme (OPS) ensured that retired government employees received 50 percent of their last drawn salary as a monthly pension, with adjustments for any increase in dearness allowance (DA) rates.