Manjeet Singh Patel, President of the All India NPS Employees Federation, submitted the complaint to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), questioning the proposed investment of ₹17,000 crore from the pension corpus in two startups, Altirra Capital and Trifecta, allegedly without adequate guarantees.

Seeking Modi’s intervention, Patel has demanded the immediate dissolution of the NPS Trust and a high-level investigation into its functioning.

The NPS employees’ leader said, “We demand a comprehensive audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), recovery of any losses suffered by public funds, and the fixing of accountability for alleged financial and administrative lapses.”

As the controversy intensified after symbolic cheques worth ₹400 crore were reportedly presented to the two startups on the occasion of NPS Day, Patel questioned the rationale behind committing such a substantial amount of employees’ retirement savings to high-risk ventures without clear safeguards.

The federation represents employees covered by the NPS, including approximately 28 lakh Central government employees and nearly 70 lakh state government employees.

Retirement Security At Risk?

The allegations and proposed investment commitments now raise questions about transparency, risk assessment, and accountability in the management of the vast retirement savings.

In the complaint, Patel has argued that the retirement security of these employees cannot be compromised by investment decisions, where risks and guarantees have not been adequately explained or factored in.

“The proposed investment has also raised questions about the role of the NPS Trust, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), CRISIL, and private advisers involved in the pension investment framework,” Patel said, while questioning “how these institutions could commit public money to startups”.

The complaint calls for an investigation into the circumstances that led to a ₹17,000 crore investment commitment, the due diligence undertaken before selecting the startups, the safeguards available to protect employees’ contributions, and the possibility of conflict of interest.

It also seeks scrutiny of the financial and administrative decisions taken by the NPS Trust and PFRDA.

Raising concerns about investment returns, Patel said, “Returns on public retirement funds have remained unsatisfactory over the past five years and turned negative during the last year.” He also questioned the adequacy of safeguards for employees’ long-term savings amid volatility in financial markets.

Blockade Threatened

The federation has warned that it will ‘gherao’ – blockade - the PFRDA office on 20 December if the government fails to address its concerns and establish accountability. It has urged the authorities to act before alleged irregularities cause further damage to employees’ retirement savings.

The complaint alleges that financial negligence, administrative failures, and preferential treatment of private entities have undermined the institutions entrusted with protecting the pension contributions of government employees. It warns that any failure to safeguard these funds could have serious consequences for the social security of millions of workers.

Patel has also drawn a comparison with the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) crisis, which involved liabilities and losses running into tens of thousands of crores of rupees. He has cautioned that the potential fallout from the alleged lapses in pension fund management could be several times more serious than the ₹92,000 crore figure cited in connection with the IL&FS crisis.

“Copies of the complaint have been forwarded to the Union Finance Minister, the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the CAG, the Cabinet Secretary and the Finance Ministry Secretary,” Patel said.

The claims, however, would require independent verification and a response from the institutions concerned.