Govt launches Rs 1K minimum pension across the country

Subscribers to the retirement fund EPFO will get a minimum of Rs 1,000 a month from October 1 under Employees' Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS-95) as the government formally launched the programme today.
The government will shell out an estimated Rs 1,200 crore to provide for this entitlement.
According to EPFO estimates, around 32 lakh pensioners under the scheme, who get less than Rs 1,000 every month as pension, will benefit immediately.
There are 49 lakh pensioners under the scheme and about 13 lakh get less than Rs 500 a month.
The government had last month notified amendment to the EPS-95 to provide a minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 to beneficiaries under the scheme which provides for the benefit after attaining the age of 58.

As many as 37 Union Ministers and other MPs presided over separate functions simultaneously to launch the entitlement at different offices of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation across the country, a senior official said.

EPFO has over 120 offices in the country. However, these launch functions were not held in the EPFO's regional offices in Maharashtra and Haryana in view of forthcoming assembly elections scheduled next month.
Union Ministers present at 37 different locations included Home Minister Rajnath Singh (Lucknow), Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad (Kolkata), Railway Minister D V Sadananda Gowda (Manglore), Water Resource Minister Uma Bharti (Allahabad).
Labour Minister Narendra Sigh Tomar attended the function at Gwalior. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan presided a similar function at Delhi.

Tomar said: "EPFO is making history by providing Rs 1,000 as guaranteed pension. Labour Ministry has increasingly come under the limelight in the recent days and now 'Shramev Jayate' is the new mantra of the government."
He also stressed upon the need to accord due respect to workers, saying that the growth of the national economy will follow suit.
Generating employment and giving respect to workers can help tackle unemployment as well as corruption, Tomar said, adding that the dignity of labour and workers has to be restored if the nation is to progress.