The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the amendments of agreement with the National Pension Scheme Trust for introducing contributory pension scheme for government employees in the State. The scheme applies to staff recruited from April this year. It also approved agreement with the National Securities Depository Limited for record keeping.
It asked government and quasi-government establishments and government-owned companies, which pay pensions to retired staff, to switch to the contributory pension scheme.
The Cabinet also decided to reward athletes from Kerala for their good show at the first Asian School Athletic Championship held at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia last week.
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Briefing media persons on the Cabinet decisions, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that athletes from Kerala had played a crucial role in India winning the second place in the championship. Keralites won eight of the 12 gold medals won by India, including one in relay. Each of the gold medal winners would be awarded Rs.1 lakh. The silver medal winner would be presented with Rs.50,000. The three bronze medal winners would get Rs.30,000 each.
Special school
The Chief Minister said the government would give no-objection certificate (NOC) to St. John of God Special School under the Society for Empowerment of the Hearing Disabled at Velloor in Kottayam district to start a diploma course in Special Education.
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The Cabinet sanctioned a package for the next of kin of Fire Force official Jithendran who had died while trying to save stranded Sabarimala pilgrims from the rising waters of Pamba River. His son would be given employment in government service on attaining 18 years of age.
Till then, his mother would be given salary drawn by Jithendran, considering it as a special case. Besides, the family would be given a solatium of Rs.5 lakh.
The Alappuzha District Collector would be asked to locate five cents for building a house for them.
An amount of Rs.1,000 would be given as monthly pension from the Social Security Scheme of Social Justice Department to patients who had undergone kidney or liver transplants.
JNNURM buses
Mr. Chandy said the Centre had sanctioned funds for purchase of 1,000 buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) to the State. The State was to contribute 20 per cent of the total cost of Rs. 680 crore.
Postings
The Cabinet decided to post IAS officer Tom Jose as Secretary (Planning and Economic Affairs). Government secretaries V. J. Kurien, P. H. Kurien and K. R. Jyothilal were given additional charge of Aviation, Managing Director of KSIDC and Fisheries respectively.