Interested employees have until November 30th to take advantage of this one-time option
Release date – Friday, July 23 at 07:20 AM
New Delhi: In a major move, the Center has directed all state governments to offer one-time option to all-India servicemen who fill advertised vacancies prior to the National Pension Scheme (NPS) implementation notification (i.e. 22 December 2003), and those covered by the NPS when they entered government service on or after 1 January 2004 will be covered under the old pension scheme provisions.
The one-time option is available to interested employees until November 30, it added. Eligible employees will have until January 31, 2024 to receive orders to use the old pension scheme, after which their NPS accounts will be closed by March 31, 2024.
In a letter dated 13 July to all Principal Secretaries of the States and Union Territories, the Ministry of Personnel and Training said: “AIS officers are appointed on the basis of positions or vacancies advertised prior to recruitment advertisements or notifications.” Date of NPS notification (i.e. December 22, 2003) who were covered by the NPS when they joined the service on or after January 1, 2004, may be granted a one-time option to be covered under the terms of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) AIS (All India Services) (DCRB) Rules, 1958. “
The letter also stated that, therefore, AIS members elected through the 2003 Civil Service Examination, 2004 Civil Service Examination and 2003 Indian Forestry Examination are entitled to the protection of these provisions. According to a letter, the move was in response to decisions by various courts and CAT judges to allow government servants appointed on or after January 1, 2004 to receive benefits from the old defined benefit pension scheme, rather than the one that began on January 1, 2004. Jobs or vacancies advertised before 1st March. According to the NPS notification (December 22, 2003), the Department has received representations from AIS members in similar positions requesting an extension of pension scheme benefits under the AIS (DCRB) Rules of 1958.
The letter also stated that servicemen who were selected for central government service prior to joining the AIS and whose service was covered under the CCS (Pensions) Rules 1972 (now 2021) or any other similar rules are also eligible for coverage under the 2003 d/o P&PW OM of 3 March 2019 and is therefore eligible for a lump sum option to cover the provisions of the old pension scheme under the AIS (DCRB) Rules 1958.
To clarify, the letter reads, transfers from one service to another require ongoing service and technical resignation. It also said that options exercised by service members under these directions shall be submitted to the government of the state where the cadre to which the service member belongs. “If any clarification is required, references can be sent to the Ministry of Personnel and Training if a member of the Indian Administrative Service; to the Ministry of Home Affairs if a member of the Indian Police Service; to the Environment, Ministry of Forestry and Climate Change briefing.”
“Relevant service members may exercise this option no later than November 30, 2023. Service members who are eligible to exercise this option pursuant to these directions but who do not exercise this option by the specified date shall continue to be covered by the NPS. The option The option once exercised is final.” It also said that if a service member satisfies the conditions for coverage under the AIS (DCRB) Rules 1958 under these directions, the necessary orders in this regard should be issued by January 31, 2024 at the latest.
Therefore, the service member’s NPS account should be closed effective March 31, 2024. Service members opting for the old pension scheme under the AIS (DCRB) Rules 1958 are required to subscribe to the General Provident Fund (GPF).
The Congress governments in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh have announced the implementation of the old pension scheme in the states. Congress also made OPS an important issue before the Karnataka Assembly vote, and announced that if the vote comes to power, it will be implemented in Madhya Pradesh.
