on 08.08.2017 your predecessor Shri. S K Gangwar, in reply to unstarred question No.2444 of Prof. Rajeev Gowda in Rajya the Sabha stated that there is no proposal to improve the pension of retired bankers as it will directly affect the profits of banks.
The wrong reply was the result of distorted and mischievous information Indian Banks’ Association furnished to the Ministry. Pension in banks being paid out of Pension Funds created out of the contributions that were previously payable as contribution to CPF pursuant to EPF Act does not impact the profits of banks and the government also has no expenditure on it.
Improvement in pension is a statutory benefit already sanctioned to retired bankers vide regulations 31.1 and 56 of the Bank (Employees’) Pension Regulations, 1995 and it is in no way a new benefit sought.
Regulation 35.1 of Pension Regulations in banks previously stated that “in respect of employees who retired between the 1st day of January, 1986but before the 31st day of October, 1987, basic pension and additional pension, will be updated as per formulae given in Appendix –I” was later amended in 2003 as “ Basic Pension and additional pension wherever applicable, shall be updated as per the formulae given in Appendix-I”
The updation which originally confined to retired in a time zone was thus extended to employees retiring on any date through the amendment and expressed as mandatory by substituting the words shall be in place of “will be” making the updation mandatory.
The above apart, regulation 56 unambiguously states that the pension scheme in banks is exactly on all fours with the liberalized Central Civil Pension Scheme by stating that “in case of doubt in the application of these regulations, regard may be had to the corresponding provisions of Central Civil Service s Rules, 1972 or Central Civil Services ( Commutation of Pension) Rules 1981 applicable for Central Government employees with such exceptions and modifications as the Bank , with the previous sanction of the Central Government , may from time to time determine”.
Central Government having so far permitted no deviations from regulation 56, it is mandatory that pension in banks be improved with each Bipartite Settlement just in the same was the Central Civil Pension gets revised with the implementation of each Pay Commission.
Ministry of Finance had, after taking the opinion of Law Ministry in the case of RBI Pension Regulations issued a speaking order containing the following vide F No.16/1/58/2008-IR dated 23.10.2009:
As the pension regulations are framed in exercise of statutory powers under the RBI Act, these are statutory regulations.
Any deviation/amendment of the provisions of these pension regulations without formally amending it after following the procedure prescribed by the RBI Act will not be permissible under the law. No deviation / amendment of pension regulations can be made by administrative orders / instructions.”
Any administrative order or instruction which circumvent the provisions of the Regulations is unsustainable. Further, the Regulations have the precedence over the Administrative Orders / Instructions.”