Railway pensioners to be brought under the jurisdiction of DOP&PW

The Ministry of Railways has approved a proposal to place pensioners under the jurisdiction of the Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare (DOP&PW).

The government's approval means that pension regulations governing all former Central Government Employees will also apply to railway employees. The Railway Pensions is currently managed by the Railway Service (Pension) Rules, 1993, which were administered by the Railway Ministry.

Despite the fact that the two sets of laws have similarities, due to the different organisational structures of the railways, pensioners are subject to additional regulations. There are about 15 lakh railway pensioners who will benefit from this move. 

The department of pensions may be required to accommodate some rules from the Railway Services(Pension) Rules that have no parallel in the CCS(Pension) Rules, 1972, due to organisational and operational requirements.

The parliamentary standing committee on personnel, public grievances, and law and justice introduced the proposal to modify the pension laws, which was supported by the Ministry of Railways.

While their information will likely be connected with the Bhavishya portal, the retirees may also be required to register on the website. The integration procedure will commence shortly. The move will provide retirees with access to a faster grievance redressal system, real-time updates, and a dashboard with pension information, according to the official.

There will be no disruption in pension services. All of the retirees will be gradually integrated into the system in a phased manner, with the new retirees expected to register for the portal. It also provides them with benefits under the New Pension Scheme of 2021. 

As a result of the merging between the railway budget and the general budget, the integration of regulations has become more significant, according to the report. In this manner, the duplication involved in adopting and disseminating the directions of DoP&PW in Railway Services (Pension) Rules through consultation with other Ministries and subsequent amendment of these rules would be avoided. Similarly, the CCS (Implementation of National Pension System) Rules, 2021 could also be made applicable to Railway Servants, as mentioned above for CCS pension rules