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Mumbai:
With an increase in the number of retirees, pension liabilities
are expected to rise and could emerge as an important
expenditure item for state governments, the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) has said in its study of state budgets
for 2002-03.
The
burden is likely to increase as some of the states have
proposed to introduce a new contributory pension scheme
for their newly recruited employees, the apex bank said.
Pension payments of the states have shown a sharp rise,
especially since the second half of 1990s. Salary revisions
have also led to increased pension liabilities.
During
1995-96 to 2000-01, the annual average increase in pension
expenditure was as high as 27.1 per cent. In financial
year 2001, pension payments preempted more than 10 per
cent of the revenue receipts. Considering the enormity
of the financial burden on the states, reforms of the
existing pension schemes assume critical importance, it
added.
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