Centre clears wage and pension revisions for insurers, NABARD and RBI staff

The central government on Friday approved long-awaited wage and pension revisions for employees of public sector general insurance companies, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and retirees of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

According to a finance ministry statement, the decisions will benefit more than 46,000 employees as well as over 46,800 pensioners and family pensioners across the three institutions.

For public sector general insurance companies (PSGICs), the wage revision will take effect from 1 August 2022. The overall wage bill will rise by 12.41 per cent, with a 14 per cent increase in basic pay and dearness allowance. Around 43,247 employees are expected to benefit.

The revision also raises the government’s contribution to the National Pension System from 10 per cent to 14 per cent for employees who joined after 1 April 2010. In addition, family pension has been standardised at 30 per cent, benefiting more than 14,600 family pensioners.

The total financial outlay for the insurance sector revisions has been estimated at Rs 8,170.30 crore, including arrears, enhanced pension contributions and family pension payments.

The PSGICs covered under the decision include National Insurance Company, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance, General Insurance Corporation of India and the Agricultural Insurance Company of India.

For NABARD, the government approved a pay and allowances increase of about 20 per cent for Group A, B and C employees, effective from 1 November 2022. The revision will benefit around 3,800 serving and former staff members.

Pensions for NABARD retirees recruited directly by the bank and who retired before 1 November 2017 have also been revised, bringing them in line with those of former RBI-linked NABARD retirees. The pay revision will add roughly Rs 170 crore annually to the wage bill, with arrears estimated at Rs 510 crore.

The pension revision for NABARD will involve a one-time arrears payment of Rs 50.82 crore and an additional monthly outgo of ₹3.55 crore, benefiting 269 pensioners and 457 family pensioners.

The government has also approved a revision of pension and family pension for RBI retirees. Under the decision, pensions will be increased by 10 per cent on basic pension plus dearness relief, effective from 1 November 2022. This translates into an effective rise in basic pension by a factor of 1.43.

The RBI pension revision will benefit 30,769 individuals, including 22,580 pensioners and 8,189 family pensioners. The total financial implication is estimated at Rs 2,696.82 crore, comprising Rs 2,485.02 crore in arrears and a recurring annual expenditure of Rs 211.80 crore.

With IANS inputs