India, Feb. 17 -- The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), introduced by the central government as an alternative to the National Pension System (NPS), will come into effect on April 1, the government announced earlier this year.

UPS will be available to eligible central government employees who are already enrolled in the NPS as an option.

The UPS was brought in due to an ongoing request from government employees for the reinstatement of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) which ensured that retirees received 50 per cent of their final salary as pension.

Under the UPS, government employees will contribute 10 per cent of their basic salary, along with the dearness allowance (DA), while the government's contribution will increase to 18.5 per cent fro...