Ranchi, Sept 1 (PTI) The old pension scheme came into effect in Jharkhand on Thursday with the state cabinet approving the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for it, an official said.The old pension scheme was discontinued on April 1, 2004, and replaced by the National Pension System (NPS).In the previous cabinet meeting on July 15, it was decided that the old pension scheme would be implemented, scraping the new contributory pension scheme, cabinet secretary Vandana Dadel said."In this regard, it was decided that a SOP will be framed for implementation of the scheme, which was approved by the cabinet today. The scheme will be considered effective from September 1," she said.Hundreds of government employees gathered at the state secretariat in the evening and celebrated the implementation of the old pension scheme.Sharing photos of celebrations, Chief Minister Hemant Soren tweeted, "Another promise fulfilled." Under the old pension scheme, the entire pension amount is given by the government. In NPS, employees contribute 10 per cent of their salary towards pension while the state government contributes 14 per cent. The implementation of the old pension scheme would benefit about 1.5 lakh Jharkhand government employees.Meanwhile, the state cabinet approved as many as 25 other proposals.The cabinet gave its nod to increase the grant under healthcare scheme Mukhyamantri Gambhir Bimari Upchar Yojana from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. Earlier, four diseases, including cancer and kidney transplantation, were listed under the scheme. Now, it will cover 17 critical diseases.The state cabinet also approved the proposal for implementing the rice fortified scheme across 24 districts under the Public Distribution System (PDS).The cabinet also gave its nod to small hydel projects under PPP mode in Chandil and Tenughat dams. The projects will be operated by Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (JREDA). PTI SAN SOM SOM