One Rank One Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners retiring in the same rank and same length of service.-Government
OROP arrears to be paid in four half-yearly instalments; all widows, including war widows, to be paid arrears in one instalment.
OROP arrears to be paid in four half-yearly instalments; all widows, including war widows, to be paid arrears in one instalment.
To begin with, OROP would be fixed on the basis of calendar year 2013, he said. Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners retiring in the same rank and same length of service.
The government is considering appointing a committee under a judge to go into the issue of equalisation of pension, a leader of the ex-servicemen group fighting for One Rank One Pension said after a meeting with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
It is good what govt has announced on OROP, we are satisfied, Major Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh said after Mr. Parrikar made an onnuncement on OROP.
"We do not accept the decision not to give OROP benefits to those who have taken voluntary retirement," Mr. Singh said.
Ex-servicemen however, disapproved of setting up of one-member judicial committee. "It should be under Defence minister and not given more than one month," Mr. Singh said.
They have sought clarifications on issues like pre-mature retirement benefits and averaging of pension. According to us, govt has only accepted one of our demands and rejected six, Mr. Singh said.
Pension equalisation, an issue
Maj Gen Satbir Singh (Retd), Chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen said the government while accepting the concept of the OROP, was still insisting on pension revision every five years and that is why it was thinking of constituting a committee.
Mr. Singh said after the meeting that in that case a representative of the veterans and one from the services should also be in the committee. He said the committee should not take more than one month.
Ahead of government’s likely announcement of OROP, Mr. Singh said government has broadly accepted the concept of the scheme and that they will study the details after it is made public.
The delegation, he said, presented their views on the sticky issues including pension equalisation.
“Government has accepted the OROP concept broadly,” the Chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen movement told reporters after the meeting.
'No junior should get more pension than senior'
He said it was conveyed to the Defence Minister that no junior should get more pension than senior and that there is nothing like Voluntary Retirement Service in defence forces.
Sounding a conciliatory note, Mr. Singh said the government has accepted 60 per cent of the demands of the ex—servicemen.
He, however, said the “bone of contention” — revision of pension — still remains.
Parrikar meets Amit Shah
After the meeting Mr. Parrikar met BJP president Amit Shah.
Later a BJP leader said all demands of the ex-servicemen have been accepted except the pension revision demand.
BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, who was present at the party chief’s house, said government is close to announcing a solution that will cost the exchequer at least Rs 10,000 crore.
The ex-servicemen have been demanding that the pension revision should take place at least in every two years while government has proposed a five-year revision.
All about OROP:
1 Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar announced thedecision to implement the One Rank One Pension, w.e.f July 1, 2014.
2 OROP arrears to be paid in four half-yearly instalments; all widows, including war widows, to be paid arrears in one instalment.
3 The ex-servicemen, who have been agitating for the last 82 days, said they will not accept review of the pension after every five years.
4 It is understood that a draft proposal on OROP was circulated at a RSS meeting on Friday, which envisaged commencement of the scheme from July 2014, besides revision of pension every five years.
5 Veterans have opposed to excluding ex-servicemen, who had opted for pre-mature retirement, from the ambit of OROP.
6 Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar announced the setting up of a One member Judicial Committee, which will give its report on OROP in six months.
7 Veterans have rejected this committee, and instead demanded a committee under the Defence Minister which will include an ex-serviceman too.
8 To begin with, OROP would be fixed on the basis of calender year 2013.
9 Officials said the annual burden on the pension bill will be about Rs. 8,000 crore which would progressively go up with revision in pensions. The current pension bill of the defence ministry stands at Rs. 54,000 crore.
10 Close to 22 lakh retired servicemen and over six lakh war widows stand to be the immediate beneficiaries of the scheme.
Source :The Hindu
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