New Delhi: The central government has said it will finalise a pension scheme for the unorganised sector by June 2002. The scheme will be implemented from November 2002 onwards.

The group of ministers headed by Planning Commission deputy chairman K C Pant held its first meeting on pension reforms on 16 April, in which Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) chairman N Rangachary made a detailed presentation on the proposed insurance scheme for unorganised sector workers, involving a monthly contribution of Rs 100.

The IRDA chairman has submitted a scheme for discussion. We will take a decision after deliberations and discussions by the members. We will definitely like to meet the June 2002 deadline set by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha for laying the basic roadmap in his budget speech, Pant told newspersons after the meeting.

The IRDA chairmans presentation focussed on the regulatory aspects of the proposed scheme, including the requirement for all pension fund providers to register themselves with a regulator to monitor the sector. The providers could include asset management companies who may offer a bouquet of schemes for the subscribers to choose from.

There will also be strict restrictions on investments of the pensions monies with the regulator to decide on the pattern on investment.