Decision on OPS, CPS or Unified Pension now rests with Tamil Nadu government
Chennai: The pension committee appointed to recommend the right pension scheme for the State from among the Old Pension Scheme, Contributory Pension Scheme and the Unified Pension Scheme submitted its report to the Chief Minister M K Stalin at the Secretariat on Tuesday, just ahead of the government employees’ unions going on strike pressing for their demand for implementation of the Old Pension scheme.
The committee, headed by senior IAS officer Gagandeep Singh Bedi with former director of Madras School of Economics K R Shanmugam and another IAS officer Pratik Tayal as members, was formed in February was discussing the issue. On Tuesday, the report was handed over to the Chief Minister at the Secretariat in the presence of State Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu and other senior officials.
The government employees’ unions under the umbrella of JACTTO-GEO (Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers Organisations and Government Employees Organisations) have been demanding the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme that has been scrapped. The protesting employees were also pointing out that the DMK had promised to do it if it came to power during the elections.
Since the government did not honour its commitment in the last four years, the unions called for different forms of protests on several occasions and finally gave a call for an agitation from January 6, 2026. Now that the committee has presented its report on the pension scheme, the ball is in the government court.
Based on the report, the government will have to take a decision on the pension scheme for government employees and teachers, particularly with the elections for the State Assembly not too far away.
Several opposition political parties, meanwhile, had demanded that the government act fast before January 6 in announcing the pension scheme. PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss said that the DMK government had failed to do it in the past 55 months. It was made to come out of its lethargy only by his party’s persistent calls, he claimed.
The Chief Minister also reviewed the progress of 27 iconic projects that were being implemented by 6 six departments, including the Industries Investment Promotion and Commerce department, at a cost of Rs 58,740 crore.
The government had originally identified 288 programmes under 24 departments as ‘iconic projects’ and was closely monitoring their progress. Of them, 85 had already been completed, an official press release said, adding that the Chief Minister reviewed the progress of 27 schemes implemented at a cost of Rs 87,941 crore by 6 departments on December 22. Tuesday’s review was a follow-up to that.
