Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Sep 7: The Karnataka government will soon scrap the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and reintroduce the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), deputy chief minister G Parameshwara said.

Addressing a state-level Teachers’ Day celebration organised jointly by the School Education and Literacy and Higher Education departments in Bengaluru, Parameshwara said the government had taken an ‘important decision’ to scrap NPS and implement OPS.

He said the reintroduction of OPS had been a long-standing demand of government employees and was also a promise made by the Congress party ahead of the elections.

“The chief minister has held discussions on the issue. The government has taken an important decision to scrap the NPS and implement the OPS soon,” Parameshwara said, according to a release.

Parameshwara said OPS could not be reintroduced so far due to certain reasons, but maintained that chief minister D K Shivakumar was keen on scrapping NPS and bringing back the old pension system.

The announcement is likely to be welcomed by government employees who have been seeking restoration of OPS, which offers pension benefits under the earlier system.

While the government has indicated that the transition will take place soon, the announcement did not specify the exact date of implementation or provide details on the eligibility of employees currently covered under NPS.

Further clarity is expected once the government issues a formal order outlining the modalities of the proposed shift from NPS to OPS.