Roadways, power, pollution control & varsity staff may come under OPS

Jaipur: The state government may announce bringing employees of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies under the old pension scheme (OPS) in the coming budget.
Around 1.05 lakh employees of the roadways, power board, pollution control board and universities and institutes set up after January 1, 2004, will benefit by the move, said a finance department official.
OPS was restored in the state from April 1, 2022. Finance department officials had assured representatives of New Pension Scheme Employees’ Federation of Rajasthan (NPSEFR) on Friday that the employees of the autonomous bodies/government bodies/universities that came into existence after January 1, 2004, would also be brought under OPS soon.
“The officials have identified 75 universities that came into existence after January 1, 2004. Other autonomous bodies include those under power and roadways sectors. They have sent a proposal in this regard to the higher authorities for approval,” said NPSEFR state coordinator Vinod Kumar.
On September 6, the finance department had issued a circular asking state government employees who were appointed on and after January 1, 2004, and who had withdrawn money under NPS between April 1, 2022, and August 28, 2022, to return it by December 31, 2022. The date was later extended up to March 31, 2023.