Over 32 lakh pensioners would be benefited by the Central Government's decision to increase the minimum pension under the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) to Rs 1,000.
The Union Women and Child Development Mnister Maneka Gandhi said this while addressing a function organised at the Brigadier Gambhir Singh Auditorium in Survey of India campus to felicitate pensioners on Tuesday. Gandhi said that Union Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken three major initiatives for welfare of workers in the first 100 days of assuming office. She listed increase in wage ceiling for coverage under the schemes of Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from Rs 6,500 pm to Rs 15,000 pm and increase insurance coverage under Employees' Deposit linked Insurance Scheme (EDlI) from Rs 1.30 lakh to Rs 3.60 lakh apart from increasing minimum pension to Rs 1,000 as these measures. The Cabinet Minister said that the EPFO has taken a series of measures to bring in greater transparency and efficiency in its functioning which include online registration and pension payment through NEFT and core banking. Gandhi also appealed the people of Uttarakhand to enthusiastically participate in the Swachh Bharat Scheme launched on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. She said that people should take a pledge to stop using the plastic in their daily life.
Speaking on the occasion labour Minister of Uttarakhand Harish Chandra Durgapal said that the increase in minimum pension would go in a long way for welfare of the labours. He said that the Central Government should help in building 100 beds ESI hospitals at SIDCUl Haridwar and Rudrapur. The regional officer EPFO Rajiv Bisht said that 12,835 pensioners in the State would be benefited by increase in minimum pension. He informed that the organisation settled 1,55,068 cases in the year 2013-14.
Maneka Gandhi felicitated first ten pensioners which included Vimla Devi a tea estate worker in Premnagar, Saroj Bala, Kanta Goyal and Nathilal on the occasion. The programme was also attended by Mussoorie MlA Ganesh Joshi, Secretary Medical Education RK Sudhanshu, The Surveyor General of Survey of India Swarn Subbarao and others.