Requirement of agitation in Ram Leela Maidan New Delhi for implementation of Old Pension system and scraping of New Pension Scheme for Government Employees

*Pension plans in India can be traced back to the time when the British ruled the country. The Royal Commission of Civil Establishments was set up in 1881 to give government workers their first pensions.*

*History of Pension Scheme In India*

*The first pension system in India was introduced by the British in 1857, after the Indian first movement for Independence. The purpose of the system was to ensure that the local rulers continued to collect their British pensions and did not rebel again. The system was based on the British pension system, but it did not provide enough financial security for retirees. In 1871, the Indian Pension Act was passed to address the problems with the previous system. The act provided for a more generous pension and a dearness allowance to help retirees cope with inflation.*

*In 1881, the Royal Commission on Civil Establishments introduced the first pension benefits for government employees. These benefits were later expanded to cover all employees in the public sector. After independence, the government of India established a number of pension programs to provide retirement benefits to workers in the private sector.*

*Additional provisions for government employee pensions were included in the Government of India Acts of 1919 and 1935. The government of India has several pension plans for people who work for the government or private companies.*

*These benefits were pensions, which are a regular payment made to a person after they have retired from work.  These provisions consolidated the pension plans and expanded them to cover all employees in the public sector. After the country gained independence, the government of India established a number of pension programs in order to provide retirement benefits to workers in the private sector.*

*The Old Pension Scheme (OPS) vs. the New Pension Scheme (NPS)*

*The Old Pension Scheme (OPS) was introduced in India in 1957. Under the OPS, government employees were guaranteed a pension upon retirement, based on their last drawn salary and length of service. The NPS, on the other hand, was introduced in 2004. Under the NPS, government employees contribute a fixed percentage of their salary towards a pension fund, which is then invested in a variety of financial instruments. The amount of pension that an employee receives upon retirement will depend on the performance of the pension fund.*

Why are government employees demanding the restoration of the OPS?

There are a number of reasons why government employees are demanding the restoration of the OPS. First, the OPS provides a guaranteed pension, while the NPS does not. Second, the OPS is a defined benefit scheme, while the NPS is a defined contribution scheme. This means that the amount of pension that an employee receives under the OPS will not depend on the performance of the pension fund, while the amount of pension that an employee receives under the NPS will. Third, the OPS is more transparent than the NPS. Under the OPS, employees know exactly how much pension they will receive upon retirement, while under the NPS, employees have to rely on the performance of the pension fund.

The agitation in Ram Leela Maidan

In recent years, there have been a number of agitations in Ram Leela Maidan in New Delhi demanding the restoration of the OPS. The most recent agitation took place in June 2023. Thousands of government employees from across the country gathered in Ram Leela Maidan to demand the restoration of the OPS. The agitation was led by the National Movement for Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS).

The future of the OPS

It is unclear whether the government will restore the OPS. However, the agitation in Ram Leela Maidan has put the issue of the OPS back in the spotlight. It is possible that the government may be forced to reconsider its position on the OPS in the future.

Conclusion

The agitation in Ram Leela Maidan is a sign of the growing discontent among government employees with the NPS. The OPS is a more secure and transparent pension scheme, and it is understandable why government employees are demanding its restoration. It is too early to say whether the government will cave in to the demands of the protesters, but the agitation has certainly raised the profile of the issue.