Underlining the hidden cost of sops andpoll-centricannouncements, forHimachal Pradesh, which is slated to go to polls later this year, the promise of reverting to the old pension scheme will come at a spend of 450% of its own tax revenue, according to the Special Report on Towards A New India Freedom fromFreebiescompiled bySBIResearch. In case ofPunjab, the liability of re-introduction of old pension regime, which the is considering, will be amount to 242% of state’s tax revenue.
The re-introduction of the old pension scheme, which was discontinued in 2004, has been one of the key poll planks in Himachal while the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab on September 20 announced that it is looking at the possibility of going back to the old pension regime under which an employee used to get 50% of the last drawn salary and the entire amount was paid by the government.