The Hindu Editorial Analysis
The Importance of Reading The Hindu Editorial: Reading The Hindu newspaper has several benefits, including improving reading skills, facilitating comprehension, staying informed of current events, enhancing essay writing, and more. For individuals aiming for a career in banking, reading editorials is crucial for vocabulary building. In this article, we will examine today’s editorials, provide practice questions, and highlight important vocabulary words.
Problem in pension
- Union Minister for Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav seems to have little to say on the issue of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) allowing sections of subscribers and pensioners to opt for higher pension under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995.
- With the four-month period fixed by the Supreme Court in November last year set to lapse soon for those who were in service as on September 1, 2014 to exercise the option, his observation that the Court’s directions, which have “legal, financial, actuarial and logistical implications”, are under examination, has not been reassuring.
- The issue of allowing higher pension — pension proposed in the event of employers making 12% mandatory PF contributions on employees’ actual pay that exceeds the statutory ceiling — has been bothering the PF establishment almost from the start.
- Adopting actuarial principles for ensuring long-term financial viability, the Pension Scheme is funded by the transfer of 8.33 percentage points out of the 12% PF contributions by employers coupled with the central government’s contribution of 1.16% of the monthly wages that do not go beyond ₹15,000.
- Opposition to the higher pension is around the projected actuarial deficit in the valuation of PF, lower returns on investments and increasing pensioner longevity.
- The EPFO top brass feels that higher pension may deplete the resource base in no time. The PF establishment has every reason to feel concerned but what has not helped its case is the proviso — paragraph 11 (3) of the pre-amended rules of the EPS — allowing for such requests to be entertained.
- Even in September 2014, when the provision was removed and amendments made to the EPA’s rules, the concept of higher pension was not abolished.
- Instead, the amendments provided 12 months for employees and employers to exercise the joint option.
- This is why sections of pensioners are justified in their demand for higher pension, as their employers had, during their service period, made contributions on their actual pay which had exceeded the statutory ceiling.
Practice Questions:
- What does the union minister say about the issue of the employees regarding EPFO?
- What do you understand by the term EPF and what are the changes occured after 2014?
Important Vocabs:
- Statutory- decided by law
- Actuarial- relating to actuaries or their work of compiling and analyzing statistics to calculate insurance risks and premiums.
- Balk- hesitate or be unwilling to accept an idea or undertaking.
- Referendum- an occasion when all the people of a country can vote on a particular political question
- Reassure- do something in order to stop somebody worrying
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