Since the BJP government took office in 2017, pension accounts for approximately 8 lakh state government employees have been opened in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday.

In response to a question on the New Pension Scheme (NPS), Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath highlighted significant strides made by his administration in this regard.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was addressing the Legislative Council( Upoer House) regarding the New Pension Scheme (NPS) on Wednesday.

He said, “The NPS was originally implemented in 2005 during the tenure of the SP government led by Mulayam Singh Yadav. Despite the BSP being in power from 2007 to 2012 and the SP from 2012 to 2017, not a single pension account was opened for employees during those periods.”

He added that in 2018, upon discovering issues with the pension accounts, his administration formed a committee chaired by the then Finance Secretary. The committee also included relevant experts and held discussions with employee organizations, addressing concerns that affected about 8 lakh employees.

The Chief Minister explained that the committee found it essential for the government to increase its contribution slightly to provide 50 percent of the employee’s last drawn salary as pension.
Assessments indicated that if both the government and employees deposited money on time and connected their contributions to a scheme, employees could receive approximately 60 percent of their money as pension after retirement.

“To address this, the government’s share in the pension scheme was increased from 10 percent to 14 percent. The accounts of all employees were opened, and the contributions from 2005 to 2017, which had not been deposited due to the lack of accounts, were also credited,” Yogi added.

He informed that approximately 70,000 employees, who were in the final stages of appointment when the NPS was implemented in 2005, have been retained under the Old Pension Scheme, with many of these employees being teachers.

CM Yogi also addressed concerns about the NPS funds being deposited in private banks, stating that these complaints have been taken seriously.
He assured that actions have been taken to rectify this, and efforts are underway to ensure the return of these funds. He emphasized that it is a priority for the government to ensure that money from any government scheme is deposited only in nationalized banks.

Earlier, the Chief Minister congratulated Lal Bihari Yadav on becoming the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council. He quipped, “I hope you always remain the Leader of the Opposition.”

He highlighted the diverse representation in the Upper House, where members come from various societies, including local bodies, teacher constituencies, graduate voters, and nominations by the Honorable Governor.

He affirmed the government’s commitment to fully respecting the sentiments of the honorable members and adhering to any necessary guidelines received from the bench.