GUWAHATI : Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that from now on, the compassionate grant for deceased Govt employees will be distributed in the ratio of 80:20.

Further from now 80 per cent of the amount will be given to spouses and 20 per cent to parents.

The precedence all these years has been to grant the entire compassionate amount after a government employee’s death to the spouse. This will ensure parents are also sufficiently guarded.

Earlier, the Assam cabinet approved changes to pension regulations aimed at improving financial security for government employees. Under the newly ratified amendment to Rule 10(1)(b) of the General Provident Fund (Assam Services) Rule 1937, state employees covered by the Old Pension Scheme will see adjustments to their contribution limits.

The revised rule allows employees to contribute between 6.25% and 100% of their monthly emoluments to their provident fund. Further, the total contributions, including arrears, during a financial year are now capped at Rs 5 lakhs.

This modification is expected to provide greater flexibility for employees to manage their retirement savings. The government stated that the change would help alleviate financial hardships faced by retirees and current employees by allowing increased contributions and the ability to withdraw funds for emergencies.