Centre says no proposal to restore Old Pension Scheme

The Old Pension Scheme is a plan that promised government workers a fixed pension every month after they retired, paid for by the government.

The Government of India says it will not bring this old plan back.

A minister named Pankaj Chaudhary told Parliament that paying big guaranteed pensions forever would cost the country too much money.

A lawmaker named Indra Hang Subba had asked the government about it.

Some states in India, like Rajasthan, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, want the old plan for their own workers.

But the central government says the money saved in workers' pension accounts cannot be returned to the states because the rules do not allow it, though states are free to decide for themselves.

Many workers were unhappy because the newer savings plan does not promise a fixed pension.

So the government created a new plan called the Unified Pension Scheme, which guarantees a smaller monthly pension.

The government believes this new plan is a good middle path that helps workers while staying affordable.