As many as 62,267 serving employees of the Southern Railway will benefit from Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) approved by the Union Cabinet for Central government employees. K. Harikrishnan, principal chief personnel officer, Southern Railway, and Malabika Ghosh Mohan, principal financial advisor, Southern Railway, said on Tuesday that the new scheme that will come into force on April 1, 2025, will benefit 23 lakh Central government employees appointed on or after January 1, 2024, who come under the National Pension System (NPS).
Of the total 81,311 employees in Southern Railway, 62,706 employees (439 gazetted and 62,267 non-gazetted staff) are covered by the NPS. There are 7,487 employees under the NPS in the Thiruvananthapuram Division. These employees will become eligible to opt for the UPS, which will provide them with an assured pension, family pension among other benefits, they said. The Southern Railway will have to find an additional ₹240 crore to implement the new scheme, while the Thiruvananthapuram division requires an additional ₹30 crore while switching to the new scheme.
The media briefing was organised as part of creating awareness about the new scheme. Viji M.R., Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Thiruvananthapuram; Meera Vijayaraj, senior divisional finance manager; and Lipin Raj, senior divisional personnel officer were present at the media briefing.
