Currently 3.5 lakh people are employed with the state government, Manpreet Singh Badal said (File)
The retirement age of Punjab government employees will be reduced to 58 years from 60 years currently in a move intended to offer more employment opportunities to young people.
The announcement was made by state Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal while he presented the Rs 1.54 lakh crore budget for 2020-21 on Friday.
"The retirement age of government employees has been reduced from 60 to 58 years. With this, we will be able to provide employment to three to four times the number of people who retire. We will also be able to get more talented pool of young people to serve Punjab," Mr Badal said while addressing the media later.
He said the number of employees who will be affected by this move is yet to be worked out and that the decision will be implemented in two phases.
"Those who have turned 59 will retire on March 31 this year and those who are 58 will retire starting September 30," said Mr Badal.
He said at present, 3.5 lakh government employees are working in the state departments.
He further announced six per cent dearness allowance arrears to the state government employees from March this year and said it would involve financial implication of Rs 1,000 crore.
The government will also implement the 6th Pay Commission recommendations in 2020-21 and for this, a sum of Rs 4,000 crore has been earmarked in the budget, he said.