Government jobs have come down in 2021 after a year’s low in the pandemic. The number of subscribers to the New Pension Scheme (NPS) of both the central and state governments, including public sector enterprises, has come down by 8.8 percent to 5,65,500 in 2022.
The central and state governments have made NPS mandatory for all government jobs. In such a situation, analysts believe that NPS can be considered as a metaphor for the creation of new jobs in the public sector.
However, some opposition-ruled states like Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Punjab have recently announced revival of Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and abandoned NPS.
Of the total 1,18,020 central government subscribers likely to become members of the NPS in 2022, the share of youth subscribers (18 to 28 years) has come down to 65.2 per cent from 67.8 per cent in the previous year.
However, the number of new female youth subscribers increased by 2 percentage points to 21.2 per cent. At the same time, the number of young male subscribers has decreased marginally from 78.9 percent to 78.6 percent.
An earlier analysis of Employees’ Provident Fund Organization data by BLiTZ found the share of 18- to 25-year-olds in new formal jobs to rise to at least a five-year high of 56 per cent in 2022 , which was 50.9 percent in 2018.
In comparison, of the 4,47,480 subscribers to the NPS by state governments in 2022, only 33 per cent are in the age group of 18 to 28 years. There has been an increase of 2 percentage points in their number as compared to last year.
The share of young women in getting these jobs, however, is set to drop to 35.4 percent in 2022, from 37.1 percent the year before. This is opposite to the position seen in the centre.
