NC-JCM seeks Old Pension Scheme for NPS employees recruited against pre-2003 vacancies; who can benefit?

In a meeting with the secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), on September 3, 2026, the National Council – Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) requested that the vacancy-sanctioned letters issued prior to December 22, 2003, to National Pension System-bound central government employees be considered as a notification to determine their eligibility criteria for the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).

In a letter dated September 5, 2026, written to all the staff side members of the NC JCM, Shiva Gopal Mishra, secretary, NC-JCM, informed about various issues he discussed with the secretary, DoPT. One of the key issues discussed was the OPS option that he requested should be provided to certain NPS-bound central government employees.

In the meeting, Mishra referred to his September 3, 2026, letter written to the Secretary, DoPT, in which he informed about various courts had upheld that if the vacancy sanctioned letter of a central government is dated prior to December 22, 2003, then the employees recruited against those vacancies on or after January 1, 2004, be brought under the Pension Scheme of CCS (Pension) Rules 1972 (Now 2021) in accordance with DOP&PW OM dated March 3, 2023.


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In simple terms, such employees should be provided the option of the OPS.

The NPS was notified on December 22, 2003, but it came into effect for central government employees on January 1, 2004. It means that at the time of its notification, employees who joined their service on or after January 1, 2004, had the only option of joining the NPS.

But as time passed, many employees who were recruited against vacancies advertised before the implementation date of January 1, 2004, moved the court to get the OPS option.

Why did court decisions emphasise the December 22, 2003, date?

Citing the examples of the judgments of CAT, Ernakulam Bench, dated September 16, 2025, High Court of Kerala, June 22, 2026, and CAT, New Delhi, on July 23, 2026, Mishra said in the letter, “All these judgments have upheld that the vacancy sanctioned letter of a Department/Ministry of Central Government is dated prior to December 22, 2003, then the employees recruited against those vacancies on or after January 1, 2004, they all should be brought under the Pension Scheme of CCS (Pension) Rules 1972 (Now 2021) in accordance with DOP&PW OM dated March 3, 2023.”

But as time passed, many employees who were recruited against vacancies advertised before the implementation date of January 1, 2004, moved the court to get the OPS option.

Speaking to ET Wealth Online, C Srikumar, general secretary, the All India Defence Employees’ Federation (AIDEF), cited the example of the Ministry of Defence, which had sanctioned more than 7,000 vacancies on May 5, 2003, for ordnance factories. He said that the recruitment action went up to the year 2008 and all the employees were given the option of the NPS.

Srikumar insisted that, since many courts have established that a vacancy sanction letter is a notification of the OPS, the government should not force each and every employee to go to the Court.

How NPS was implemented step by step

In its December 22, 2003 notification, the Ministry of Finance had said that all employees appointed on or after January 1, 2004, to the posts in central government services (except Armed forces) are mandatorily covered under the NPS.

But many NPS-bound employees moved to the courts to get the option of the OPS, citing that they were declared successful in the results declared on or before December 12, 2003, against vacancies that occurred before January 1, 2004.

The Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare, in an office memorandum dated February 17, 2020, provided such employees a one-time option to join the OPS.

Taking a cue from this decision, many NPS-bound central government employees requested the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare to provide the OPS option, citing that their appointments were made against the vacancies advertised or notified for recruitment prior to the NPS notification date of December 22, 2003. These employees were backed by court judgments of various High Courts and Central Administrative Tribunals.

In an order dated March 3, 2023, the DoPPW said that central government civil employees who had been appointed against a post or vacancy advertised or notified prior to the date of the NPS notification of December 22, 20023, and were covered under the NPS on joining service on or after January 1, 2004, may be given a one-time option to be covered under the CCS(Pension) Rules, 1972 (now 2021), i.e. the OPS.

What NC-JCM wants now

The NC-JCM says that in cases of employees whose vacancies were sanctioned by the ministries/departments before December 22, 2003, but where directorates, headquarters or units delayed the recruitment process beyond December 22, 2003, such vacancy sanction letters of the ministries or departments should be treated as notifications for deciding their eligibility for the Old Pension Scheme.

The key difference is that the NC JCM wants the recruitment letters to be considered equal to the December 22, 2003, NPS notification.

Mishra, in his letter, informed staff members that the Secretary, DoPT, has assured him of looking into the matter and taking appropriate action.