Govt announces One Rank, One Pension scheme

[srshkmr]

New Delhi: The government today announced the implementation of the long-awaited One Rank One Pension or OROP which was rejected by military veterans who have vowed to continue their protest.
Here are the latest developments:

1. "Despite the huge fiscal burden, given its commitment to the welfare of ex-servicemen, Government has decided to implement OROP," the Defence Minister said at a press conference that was attended by the three service chiefs.
2. The scheme will be effective from July 1, 2014 with arrears that will be paid in four half-yearly installments. The base year for calculating the arrears has been fixed at 2013.
3. The estimated cost to implement OROP would be Rs. 8,000-10,000 crore and will further increase in future, Mr Parrikar said.
4. But the government will stick to revision of pension every five years and not the one, or maximum two years as demanded by the veterans.
5. That is not acceptable, the veterans said after the announcement. Another key demand to not exclude ex-servicemen who opted for voluntary retirement from OROP benefits was not acceded has not been included in the announcement.
6. "They accepted one point and rejected six points... we are not fully satisfied," said Major General Satbir Singh (retd.) after the announcement.
7. Widows, including war widows, will be paid arrears in one installment.
8. Since there are many cases of veterans of the same rank earning different pensions, the government proposes to take the average of the maximum and minimum pension paid per rank, while protecting those who earn above average pensions in their rank.
9. The veterans and the government have been involved in negotiations for months now. The Prime Minister's Office stepped in last month after the strike escalated into a hunger-strike.
10. OROP was a key promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was campaigning for last year's national election. OROP will give the same pension to ex-servicemen who retired many years ago as that which soldiers of the same rank retiring now draw. The scheme will benefit three million veterans.

Government Announces One Rank One Pension for Ex-Servicemen

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Govt announces One Rank, One Pension scheme - The Times of India

 

[magudi]

OROP is congress lesson to people and BJP. If it was possible they would have implemented

 

[knight11]

New Delhi. The Government has announced the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for the Ex-Servicemen.



Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar issued the following statement in this regard on Sep 5:


“Government of India respects its Defence Forces and Ex-Servicemen for their valour, patriotism and sacrifices. The Government is proud of their devotion to duty and bravery. Our forces, besides vigilantly and gallantly defending the nation, have displayed exemplary standards of courage and bravery in natural calamities, law and order situations and other difficult circumstances.

The issue of “One Rank One Pension” (OROP) has been pending for nearly four decades. It is a matter of deep anguish that the various governments remained ambivalent on the issue of OROP. In February 2014, the then Government stated that OROP would be implemented in 2014-15, but did not specify what OROP would be, how it would be implemented or how much it would cost. An estimated Rs 500 crore provided for OROP in the budget presented in February 2014 by the then Government was not based on any thorough analysis. It is pertinent to mention that the then Minister of State for Defence in 2009 had, in reply to a question, informed Parliament that there are administrative, technical and financial difficulties in implementing OROP. It is for these reasons that the present Government took some time to fulfil its promise.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has, on various occasions, reiterated the Government’s commitment to implement OROP for Ex-Servicemen under military pension. As stated above, the previous Government has estimated that OROP would be implemented with a budget provision of a mere Rs 500 crore. The reality, however, is that to implement OROP, the estimated cost to the exchequer would be Rs 8,000 to 10,000 crore at present, and will increase further in future.

Under the OROP Scheme:

• The benefit will be given with effect from 1st July, 2014. The present government assumed office on 26th May, 2014 and therefore, it has been decided to make the scheme effective from a date immediately after.

• Arrears will be paid in four half-yearly instalments. All widows, including war widows, will be paid arrears in one instalment.

• To begin with, OROP would be fixed on the basis of calendar year 2013./li>

• Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners retiring in the same rank and with the same length of service as the average of minimum and maximum pension in 2013. Those drawing pensions above the average will be protected.

• Personnel who voluntarily retire will not be covered under the OROP scheme.

• In future, the pension would be re-fixed every 5 years.

The Government held extensive consultations with experts and Ex-Servicemen. The main argument for OROP is that the defence personnel retire early and thus are not able to get the benefits of serving till normal retirement age. Despite the huge fiscal burden, given its commitment to the welfare of Ex-Servicemen, the Government has taken a decision to implement the OROP.

In simple terms, OROP implies that uniform pension be paid to the Armed Forces personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, regardless of their date of retirement. Future enhancements in the rates of pension would be automatically passed on to the past pensioners. This implies bridging the gap between the rate of pension of current and past pensioners at periodic intervals.

Under this definition, it has been decided that the gap between rate of pension of current pensioners and past pensioners will be bridged every 5 years.

It is estimated that the expenditure on arrears alone would be ten to twelve thousand crores of rupees. Apart from the fact that the previous Government had provided for only Rs 500 crore in the budget, it is noteworthy that the Koshiyari Committee had accepted the estimate of Rs 235 crore as additional financial burden to implement OROP. The present Government has accepted OROP in true spirit without being constrained by these inaccurate estimates.

OROP is a complex issue. A thorough examination of interests of retirees of different periods and different ranks is needed. The inter-service issues of the three Forces also require consideration. This is not an administrative matter alone. Therefore, it has also been decided that a One Member Judicial Committee would be constituted which will give its report in six months.

Prime Minister Shri Modi has fulfilled his commitment and approved OROP for Armed Forces personnel. Ministry of Defence will soon issue detailed Government Order.”


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