Jharkhand Budget 2025: In the Jharkhand Budget 2025, Rs 832 crore will be spent on the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for 1.62 lakh government employees. A pension fund has been formed, which will benefit retired employees and their dependents.
Jharkhand Budget 2025: The Hemant government has given a Holi gift to more than 1.62 lakh government employees working in Jharkhand and lakhs of retired pensioner government employees. In the annual budget presented for the financial year 2025-26 on Monday, the government has made a provision to spend about Rs 832 crore on the old pension scheme. This move of the government will benefit more than 1.62 lakh government employees and retired pensioner employees and their families.
Pension fund formed in Jharkhand
In his budget speech in the assembly, Finance Minister Radhakrishna Kishore said that the pension fund has been formed with a view to reducing the financial burden of the old pension scheme to ensure a secure financial source to the employees of Jharkhand by keeping them away from financial risks when they retire. For this, Rs 700 crore was invested in the pension fund in the year 2023-24 and Rs 780 crore in 2024-25. A budget of Rs 832 crore is proposed for investment in the financial year 2025-26.
What is the old pension scheme?
The old pension scheme is a retirement benefit scheme for government employees in India. The central government has discontinued it from January 1, 2004 and implemented the New Pension Scheme (NPS) in its place, but the old pension scheme is still in force in Jharkhand. Under the old pension scheme, the government employee does not have to make any contribution from his salary.
After retirement, the employees get 50% of the last salary as pension. Apart from this, pensioners get the benefit of increase in Dearness Allowance (DA). After the death of the employee, his dependents get pension and the employee gets pension for life, which keeps his financial condition stable.
1,62,931 government employees will benefit in Jharkhand
The old pension scheme of the government will benefit about 1,62,931 government employees of Jharkhand. Apart from this, more than 1.58 pensioner government employees will also benefit from this move of the government.
According to a report by Navbharat Times, in the financial year 2024-25, the total number of sanctioned posts in the Jharkhand government was 3,26,049, out of which 1,58,846 posts were vacant and 1,67,203 posts were occupied by employees. The state government has started a health insurance scheme for employees from March 1, 2025. This will benefit 1,62,931 employees and their dependents.
