Srinagar, 16 June (H.S.): Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh today said that the governance and pension reforms initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 12 years are reaching a wider sections of employees and pensioners in Jammu & Kashmir following the transition of the erstwhile State into a Union Territory.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the reorganisation of Jammu & Kashmir led to a significant increase in the number of Central Government employees in the region, bringing with it certain initial workload and service-delivery challenges. These challenges, he said, have been progressively resolved through coordinated efforts of the Government and associated institutions, enabling employees and pensioners across the Union Territory to derive the benefits of the pension reforms introduced during the last ten years.

Dr. Jitendra Singh made a special mention of the role played by the Jammu & Kashmir Central Pensioners’ Associations, saying they have emerged as valuable partners in this transition. He said the Associations have not only extended full cooperation but have consistently brought issues to the notice of the Government along with practical suggestions for their resolution. Their constructive engagement, he said, has helped facilitate the transition of erstwhile State employees into the Central Government framework and contributed to the effective implementation of pension reforms across Jammu & Kashmir.

The Minister said that as a result, pensioners and employees in Jammu & Kashmir are now increasingly benefiting from a series of citizen-centric initiatives launched under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reflecting the wider reach of pension reforms that have transformed the pension administration landscape across the country over the last decade.

Addressing the 59th Pre-Retirement Counselling (PRC) Workshop and 13th Bankers’ Awareness Programme organised by the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC), Srinagar, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the Government has fundamentally changed the approach towards pensioners by placing their welfare, dignity and ease of living at the centre of policy making.

The programme was attended by Ms. Nivedita Shukla Verma, Secretary, Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare; Shri Atal Dulloo, Chief Secretary, UT of Jammu & Kashmir; Shri Amitava Chatterjee, MD & CEO, J&K Bank; and Shri Dhrubajyoti Sengupta, Joint Secretary (Pension), besides senior officers, bankers and employees approaching superannuation.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar