Even Tripura is more progressive

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM-led government in Tripura took a major decision 24 days ago, on February 27, to raise the retirement age of its employees from 58 years to 60. Tripura holds another similarity with Kerala - that the life expectancy there is 74, the same as Kerala, and the highest in the country.  The decision to raise the retirement age is part of the new economic policy followed by the Central Government which intends to profit by it by not making new employments. We can’t compare Tripura, which has a dearth of qualified candidates, with Kerala where lakhs of graduates are in the queue for a job, said SFI president P K Biju MP. The government should review its decision to raise the age of superannuation, demanded KSU president V S Joy.  In UP, the former Mayawati Govt had decided to raise the retirement age of regular employees under public enterprises from 58 to 60 years on Dec 17, 2011. Assam, a state which sends home its employees at the age of 60, is now planning to keep them for two more years. Same is the case with  Jharkhand. Among the four southern states, Karnataka leads the pack  with 60 years. In Rajasthan, the BJP Govt had raised the retirement age from 58 to 60 in 2004.