Grecian plot
Sir — The lure of a good book is hard to resist — even for burglars. A thief in Rome was caught in the act because he was distracted by a book on Greek mythology in the middle of the theft. He was just about to make away with his loot when he chanced upon a retelling of the Iliad and, forgetting all about his thievery, sat down to read it in the very apartment that he was robbing. He was so immersed in the book that he did not realise that the owner of the house had woken up and called the police. The book he picked up, The Gods at Six O’Clock, explains the Iliad from the perspective of the Greek gods, malicious beings who delight in tormenting others. One wonders then if it was the Greek gods who were having a bit of fun at the expense of the robber.
Aditya Basu, Calcutta
Middle path
Sir — The Union government announced a new Unified Pension Scheme for its employees which will replace the National Pension System (“Shade better”, Aug 28). Several state governments will perhaps follow suit. The governments in Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh had already announced a shift back to the Old Pension Scheme. This is a big disappointment not only because it rolls back important reforms but also owing to the confusion that surrounds the decision.
One possibility is that the government sets up a separate fund for the UPS, collects contributions, invests them, and uses this fund to pay the pension. The other possibility is that the government continues with the NPS architecture and everything proceeds as is, except that at retirement, the government guarantees a 50% pension with an inflation indexation. The government must make its future plan clear.
Abhijit Roy, Jamshedpur
Sir — The decision to introduce the UPS in place of the NPS for Central government employees will address key concerns. The UPS guarantees a regular pension with an assured sum of Rs 10,000 for those who have put in at least 10 years of service. Introducing the NPS feature of employee contribution of 10% with a government share of 18.5% makes the UPS a win-win for employees. The Opposition’s criticism that it is old wine in a new bottle does not stand. The UPS has more positive features. If at all any guarantee of an assured minimum pension is to be thought of, it should be for all citizens above a fixed age.
S.S. Paul, Nadia
Sir — The NPS was no replacement for the OPS and the Consumer Price Index-driven Dearness Allowance. The decision to introduce the UPS is thus welcome. However, to lower the burden that this will put on the exchequer, the existing 10% contribution by employees under the NPS may be hiked appropriately through mutual consent in the proposed UPS. Moreover, a permanent security blanket must be extended to all employees in their old age instead of them having to depend on the whims of political parties who change pension schemes as they please.
Soumendra Choudhury, Calcutta
Sir — The government seems to have adopted a middle path amidst growing demands for the rollback of the NPS. Under the new UPS, the government’s contribution will increase from 14% to 18.5%. With life expectancy increasing around the world, whether the government will be able to fund these expenses for long periods is a question that needs to be pondered. Employees should also keep in mind that the NPS had the unique advantage of equity exposure over a long period of time. The UPS thus might not exactly be good news.
Bal Govind, Noida
Delayed count
Sir — The Central government is reportedly mulling the expansion of data collection in the long-delayed census to include caste enumeration. If this is a deliberate delaying tactic in order to wait for the delimitation exercise to be conducted in 2026, it will be harmful not just to public policy but also to the Centre’s relations
with states.
Jakir Hussain, Kanpur
Sir — India is one of 44 out of 233 countries not to have conducted a census in this decade. The ostensible reason for this was the Covid-19 pandemic. But 143 countries conducted the census after the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. India shares the dubious distinction of not having a census with countries affected by conflict, economic crises or turmoil such as Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Sri Lanka and those in sub-Saharan Africa. Several public schemes, such as the National Food Security Act and the National Social Assistance Programme, are dependent upon the census being conducted. Besides, statistical surveys that inform policymaking use the census to set their sampling frames. With the 2011 census data getting increasingly outdated, the lack of a fresh census is affecting thousands of Indians.
Rajesh Chajjar, Calcutta
Too free
Sir — That free speech is not absolute and subject to certain restrictions for public order and health is something that has been codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The founder and CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has emphasised absolute free speech on his platform and allowed dissidents to use the messaging application. Durov has now been arrested by the French authorities. His laissez-faire approach to content on Telegram has meant that it is host also to extremism, drug dealers, scammers and, according to France, child pornography as well. Durov says that “privacy... is more important than our fear of bad things happening”. But can such freedom override the responsibility to prevent consequences which could endanger people’s safety and freedom? Free speech absolutists like Durov and Elon Musk must ponder this.
Samaresh Khan, West Midnapore