Shimla: The newly formed government in Himachal Pradesh has chosen to send the message that the government would implement the OPS (Old Pension Scheme) at the first Cabinet meeting. However, the Cabinet expansion is yet to be done, but the decision over the OPS will be taken by the CM within 10 days, disclosed Himachal Pradesh Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri.
"If within 10 days Cabinet expansion takes place then it's fine, otherwise I and CM will take a decision on OPS", said the Deputy CM. Adding further he said, "One thing I would like to make very clear is that this government will run for five years and will be stable." On Monday, the government sought the details of beneficiaries, who will be coming under the New Pension Scheme within 10 days. A detailed presentation by the finance department will be made before the CM presents a road map for the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme. Earlier, the Congress party had promised to implement OPS in Himachal Pradesh if it wins the elections on the line of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan.
Notably, the old pension scheme was discontinued by the BJP-led NDA government in December 2003. The government then launched the National Pension System (NPS) as a substitute for the old pension scheme. The NPS came into effect on April 1, 2004. In general, both the old pension scheme and NPS are pension schemes. But the two are different from each other. While the old pension scheme is a pension-oriented scheme, the NPS is an investment cum pension scheme where a part of the money is invested in the market, thus generating more returns.
