A quiet fault line is emerging in the government’s pension reforms. While the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) has been rolled out as a major upgrade for Central Government employees under the National Pension System, employees of Central Statutory Bodies—who were mandatorily placed under the same NPS framework post-2004—have been left out, according to sources.

The irony is hard to miss. These statutory bodies are government-funded, function under statutory control, and adopted NPS strictly in line with Central Government instructions. Yet, when the NPS ecosystem was reformed through UPS—promising assured pensions and family security—the benefit stopped short of them. The result: two sets of employees under the same pension regime, treated very differently at the finish line.

Insiders point to the role of the Department of Financial Services and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, arguing that the exclusion defeats the very idea of parity and uniformity that justified NPS adoption in the first place. With retirement outcomes now left “to the mercy of the market,” the charge is clear—this is a case of a class being created within a class.

As the government positions itself as a champion of equity and employee welfare, bureaucratic circles say the ball is firmly in its court: extend UPS to statutory body employees, or explain why equal rules suddenly deserve unequal rewards.