New Delhi: A special savings scheme to assuage the woes of the pensioners amid falling interest rates is on the anvil, the Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha indicated on April 17.

"We are considering it (special scheme for retired persons). As I have said earlier, I will announce it only in Parliament," Sinha said after a meeting of Group of Ministers in New Delhi on April 17.

On employees provident fund (EPF) rates, the minister said, "We have not yet decided".

The Labour Minister Sharad Yadav, who is also the chairman of Central Board of Trustees of EPF, has favoured continuing with the current EPF rate at 9.5 per cent, though Sinha had hinted at a 0.5 per cent cut in line with other savings schemes.

The finance minister is under pressure from BJP to restore tax rebate on savings and to start a special savings scheme to safeguard the interest of pensioners. The economic resolution at the BJP national executive at Panaji also voiced this demand.

On the Monthly Income Plans (MIPs) of Unit Trust of India, Sinha said, "those are SEBI-regulated schemes. We have asked them (UTI) to find a solution."

Some of the MIPs are slated to mature by the month end, which is expected to put some pressure on the country's largest mutual fund.

However, the MIPs have been floated in compliance with SEBI norms and the returns are subjected to their net asset values (NAV) determined through market forces.

Sinha reiterated the government's support to UTI's flagship scheme US-64, which offered administered rates of return.

PTI