CHENNAI: Southern Railway on Tuesday announced that 62,706 out of 81,311 employees have been enrolled in the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and all of them will be eligible to opt for the Unified Pension Scheme introduced by the union government.
Speaking to reporters at the Southern Railway headquarters, K Harikrishnan, Principal Chief Personnel Officer, said the 62,706 employees covered under NPS include 439 gazetted officers and 62,267 non-gazetted staff. These employees will have the option to switch to the UPS which offers the benefit of an assured pension.
“Under this scheme, 50% of the average basic pay drawn over the last 12 months prior to retirement will be provided as pension, given that the employee has a minimum qualifying service of 25 years. For those with less service, the pension amount will be proportionate, with a minimum requirement of 10 years of service,”
Harikrishnan said. Vishwanath Eerya, DRM, Chennai division, said the fourth line between Chennai Egmore and Beach will be commissioned by October. He also said the new Madurai-Bengaluru and Chennai-Nagercoil Vande Bharat Express trains will soon be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.