Pensioners' chat

[T. SRINIVAS]

Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM), a key policy making body on Economic Affairs of the Nation, stated that continuing with Old Pension Scheme could effectively paralyze Economy of the Country, since it would lead to huge and burgeoning fiscal deficit, and would burden the next generation of huge liabilities to pay the Pension.

Sanyal further went on to say that by continuing with the Old Pension Scheme, Govt. is effectively creating liabilities for new generations which the new generation will not be able to sustain. Through such assertions, Sanyal left no one in doubt that Pension is being paid at the cost of the Tax Payers Money and that such a mechanism is unsustainable and must be done away with.

Sanyal's vocal assertion is nothing but reflective of the thinking in the Govt. and corroborates what is contained in the T.o.R of 8th CPC that Pension is a big liability on the Tax Payers, since it is unfunded and non contributory.

Coming from the mouth of the Economic Advisory Committee of the PM, the statement of Sanyal unambiguously conveys how the Govt. intends to move forward with regard to the Old Pension Scheme.

This statement of Sanyal conveys something more deadly than Pension Revision - it clearly conveys that Govt, in a very calibrated and tacit manner, will, in due course of time, move surely towards complete Abolition of the Pension. This is a visible writing on the wall that needs to be read by each one of us, and should obviously leave none of us in any doubt that it is not Pension Revision that is under attack but it is the very Existence and Continuance of Pension that is under unambiguous threat.