No NPS rollback; UPS an attempt to improve it: FM

'Fresh scheme not compulsory for states'

- HARSH KUMAR

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) is "not a compulsion for states", as they are capable of taking their own decisions.

She, however, expressed hope that most states would adopt UPS "as it has a lot of benefits for employees".

"The UPS is an attempt to improve the existing National Pension System (NPS). There is no rollback or U-turn by introducing assured pensions under UPS. It is clearly a new package," Sitharaman said in her first official comments on UPS during a select media briefing here.