The Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh has promulgated an ordinance raising the retirement age of State government employees from 60 years to 62 years with effect from January 1, 2022. The January 31 decision has surprised many, not the least the government employees themselves since they have not agitated for or even insisted on a change in the retirement age.
The decision will impact the lives of thousands of State government employees. Many officers in the Andhra Pradesh bureaucracy see the move resulting in a lowering of the efficiency of the administration since very little or no new infusion of fresh blood will occur. Promotions will also be affected, causing dissatisfaction across the hierarchy. Many averred that the move will stall social engineering and new families from the weaker sections will not get empowered.
Jagan Mohan Reddy first announced the government’s plans to raise the retirement age on January 7, justifying the move by saying that the “employees’ experience is an invaluable asset to the State government machinery” and an increase in the retirement age would facilitate a better utilisation of available manpower.
While this may indeed be true, several senior officials Frontline spoke to insinuated that the Andhra Pradesh government had taken the decision because of the paucity of funds in the State exchequer. With the government employees’ service being extended by two years, the government will also be able to defer by two years the substantial expenses incurred in the payment of superannuation benefits and pension to many staffers. Payment of pension and superannuation benefits constitute a major part of the State government’s annual expenditure. Officials said the government, on an average, pays out around Rs.30 lakh to every superannuating employee.
A senior bureaucrat from the Andhra Pradesh administration said: “For the post-COVID economy to recover and to spur accelerated industrial growth in a new State, we actually need to lower the retirement age and give voluntary retirement schemes to get rid of dead wood. Unemployment will not be addressed. And if the government as a responsible employer doesn’t take up recruitments, market will be skewed. It will cause unrest among the educated youth. Top-heavy pyramids won’t be good for any organisation. Instructions will get issued, but at the execution level there’ll be tremendous stress. We are not Japan with an ageing population. On the contrary, our average age is reducing and young population needs to be progressively engaged.”
The government has also decided to hike the salaries of government employees by 23.39 per cent and announce a timeline for the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
The previous Andhra Pradesh government of N. Chandrababu Naidu had enhanced the age of superannuation of government employees from 58 to 60 in June 2014.
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