The OASIS (Old Age Social & Income Security) Project was the first comprehensive study of India 's pension sector and was commissioned to IIEF by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE). Under this Project, the MoSJE and IIEF set up a Expert Committee headed by Dr. S.A. Dave. This Committee included Joint Secretaries from the Ministries of Finance, Labor and Social Justice & Empowerment. IIEF served as the Member-Secretary of the Project OASIS Expert Committee and as the Convenor and Coordinator of the Project on behalf of the MoSJE.

IIEF commissioned 14 research papers to leading domestic and international experts on issues linked to old age income security including demographics, investment of pension assets, regulation of pension funds, international experience with pension reforms, existing pension provisions for formal sector workers in India , annuities and benefits, civil service pensions, etc. Over the duration of this Project, IIEF hosted over 40 workshops and technical consultations with domestic and overseas experts and relevant Government officials. IIEF participated in an Indian Government delegation to Sweden and USA on pension reforms and invited international experts to contribute to the policy analysis and policy formulation process. These interactions and technical consultations played a proactive role in building a awareness and a policy consensus on pension reforms in India.

The OASIS Project resulted in two policy proposals. The first Report submitted to India 's Finance Minister by MoSJE and IIEF in January 1999, examined the shortcomings of existing pension provisions in India and proposed important changes and improvements to these schemes. These included the EPF and EPS managed by the Ministry of Labor, the PPF managed by the Ministry of Finance, the unfunded pension provisions for central and state government employees and the old-age and social assistance programs for current destitute old. IIEF submitted the second and final Project OASIS Report to the MoSJE and thereafter jointly to India 's Prime Minister on 14 January 2000 . This Project OASIS Report recommended the establishment of a new pension system for India 's 300 million informal sector workers who are excluded from formal pension provisions. This pension system would be based on individual retirement accounts created by individual members, central recordkeeping and administration for lower costs and portability, asset management by competing professional pension fund managers. The system would offer three simple, standard schemes and nationwide access through the postal and banking network. This Report has served as the basis for India 's pension reform and has provided a useful policy direction for improving retirement outcomes for India 's vast workforce.

India has recently announcing the first privately-managed, DC pension system in South Asia for new civil servants and informal sector workers. This pension reform was first proposed in 2000 by the Old Age Security and Income Security (OASIS) Project commissioned to IIEF by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India in 1998. The Project OASIS Report provides an outline of the existing pension provisions in India as well as the policy framework and institutional architecture for a new pension system for the over 300 informal sector workers.