Ramesh's assurance on old age pension reforms

New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh assured delegation from the Pension Parishad that he will write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and draw his attention to their demands.

"The issues raised by the Pension Parishad should offer the government an opportunity to relook at the way Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme is operating," Ramesh said.

He said that except in one or two states, pensioners did not get monthly payments but the dues got bunched once every few months. He added that the immediate task was to restructure the pension payment architecture so that pensioners got pension on an assured date into the bank account every month.

"I have already submitted a proposal in this regard to finance minister," Ramesh made clear to Pension Parishad in a letter Wednesday.