IIEF Policy Roundtable on Design & Implementation of Pension Reforms in India , 2002
15 - 17 October 2002, The Oberoi, New Delhi, India

Cosponsored by:

Principal Sponsor	Jointly Hosted By

In 2001, the Government of India announced the formation of two new Committees to formulate implementation strategies for pension reforms. The first Committee, headed by K.K. Bhattacharya, looked into the government's own pension provisions, while the second Committee, chaired by N. Rangachary, focused on issues in implementing the new, defined contribution scheme proposed for the unorganized sector under OASIS. Both reports have since been submitted to the Government and all eyes are now on North Block to begin the task of pension reforms.

An important objective of this roundtable was to provide useful information and analysis to policymakers and other stakeholders as the pension reforms process graduates to the next level - implementation. Invest India Economic Foundation, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and the OASIS Foundation jointly hosted the roundtable. This roundtable was jointly sponsored by Franklin Templeton Investments, Prudential ICICI AMC, SBI Life Insurance and Zurich India AMC.

In particular, the roundtable highlighted the issues that will arise in the context of implementing fully funded defined contribution schemes. These include administrative mechanisms for efficient collection and recordkeeping of pension contributions by millions of households across India; the costs and charges in the new system - especially in the face of potentially modest contributions; the role and cost of guarantees; investment of retirement savings; annuities and benefits; the impact of financial literacy on voluntary contributions and effective selection of products, fund managers and annuity providers; and, effective supervision and regulation for sustained public trust in the system.

Several papers dealing with these specific reform issues were recently commissioned for a book titled 'Rethinking Pension Provision in India' and some of these papers were presented at the roundtable by teams comprising local and international experts. Leading pension sector experts representing government departments, pension supervisors, practitioners, academic and research institutes and development agencies participated in the program.

The organizers hope that this event will mark an important step in the implementation of pension reforms, which will in turn contribute to greater income security in old age as India enters its demographic transition. Moreover, it is hoped that by reducing fiscal pressures caused by unfunded pensions, and by channeling long-term savings effectively, the new pension system will benefit a much wider population in the decades to come.