Shimla, Feb. 9 -- The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government's flagship poll promise, the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), has hit a fiscal wall. Following the discontinuation of the revenue deficit grant (RDG), the state finance department has issued a warning: The OPS is no longer sustainable.

In a high-level presentation on February 8, the department recommended a switch to the Centre's Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) to prevent a total collapse of the state's treasury.

The shift is not merely a policy suggestion but a financial necessity. Adopting the UPS, a hybrid under the New Pension Scheme (NPS) framework, is seen as the only key to lifting Centre-imposed restrictions on an additional Rs.1,800 crore in borrowings.

Poll guarantee ...