New Delhi:

A post claiming that the Union Cabinet has approved an increase in the retirement age of central government employees to 62 is going viral on social media platforms (here, here, and here). Through this article, we will fact-check the claim made in the post.

Claim: The Government of India has increased the retirement age of central government employees to 62.

Fact: The Government of India has not increased the retirement age of central government employees to 62. The Press Information Bureau of the Government of India has clarified that the government has not made any such decision to raise the retirement age of central government employees. Moreover, in August 2023, the government confirmed in the Lok Sabha that there is no proposal under consideration to change the retirement age of central government employees. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.

To verify the veracity of the viral claim, we conducted a relevant keyword search. Neither did we find any credible reports suggesting that the Government of India has increased the retirement age of central government employees to 62 nor that the Union Cabinet has recently approved or reviewed any proposal to increase the retirement age of central government employees. If such a decision had indeed been made by the government, it would surely have been reported by the media.

During this search, we found multiple reports (here, here, and here) published in August 2023, stating that in reply to a Lok Sabha question on 9 August 2023, Union Minister Jitendra Singh confirmed that there is no proposal under consideration to change the retirement age of central government employees. The Lok Sabha reply given by Union Minister Jitendra Singh regarding the retirement age of central government employees can be viewed here.

We have also reviewed the Press Information Bureau (PIB) press releases regarding Union Cabinet meetings (here) but did not find any information related to Cabinet discussions on the retirement age of central government employees. In the most recent Union Cabinet meeting, held on 06 November 2024 and chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet approved ‘PM Vidyalakshmi’, a new Central Sector scheme aimed at providing financial support to meritorious students, ensuring that financial constraints do not prevent anyone from pursuing higher studies (here). Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw briefed the media about the Union Cabinet meeting held on 06 November 2024 (here).

The 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) did not make any recommendations regarding an increase in the retirement age of central government employees to 62 (here). However, the retirement age of certain central government employees is higher than 60 years. The 5th Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommended raising the retirement age of central government employees from 58 to 60. It also stated that the maximum retirement age should not exceed 60 years, and there should be a complete ban on extensions of service beyond the age of superannuation, except in the case of medical and scientific specialists, who may be granted an extension on a case-by-case basis, up to the age of 62 years (here, here). In September 2017, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the enhancement of the superannuation age for doctors, other than those of the Central Health Services (CHS) under various departments, ministries, and autonomous organisations, to 65 years (here).

When many posts have gone viral on social media claiming that the government has increased the retirement age of central government employees to 62, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of the Government of India clarified on their official fact-check X(Twitter) handle on 19 November 2024 that this news is false and the government has not made any such decision.

सोशल मीडिया पर वायरल हो रहे खबरों में दावा किया जा रहा है कि भारत सरकार ने केंद्रीय कर्मचारियों की रिटायरमेंट आयु में 2 साल की वृद्धि करने का निर्णय लिया है#PIBFactCheck

यह दावा फर्जी है

भारत सरकार ने ऐसा कोई निर्णय नहीं लिया है

बिना सत्यता जांचे खबरें साझा न करें pic.twitter.com/KahXlVIrAF

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) November 19, 2024

To sum it up, the Indian government has not increased the retirement age of central government employees to 62.

(This story was originally published by Factly, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective) 
 

Kolkata:

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee on Thursday said Donald Trump’s election as US president has proved that age is not a factor if someone has popular support, amid the debate in his party over a call for fixing a retirement age for leaders.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, TMC’s General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee had called for implementing a retirement age in politics, citing a decline in work efficiency and productivity.

“In politics, age is not the factor. If one is capable of working for the people of the country and capable of discharging all functions, if he is popular amongst the people, then he can remain in politics,” said the four-time MP from Serampore.

“Trump won the election at the age of 78,” the 67-year-old added.

The controversy on the issue within the party reached such a level a few months before the Lok Sabha polls that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had to intervene, asking young members to respect senior leaders, and dismissing assertions that the veterans should retire from politics.

The MP refused to comment on party leader Kunal Ghosh hinting that Abhishek Banerjee could become the next chief minister of West Bengal after Mamata Banerjee.

He, however, said, “When the party asks me to go, I will leave without getting into any controversy.”