Armed Forces Veterans welcomed and greeted Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi for yesterday’s announcement of OROP during the inauguration function of the Badarpur-Faridabad Metro Line at Faridabad today. They presented flowers to the Prime Minister and thanked him

– PIB

The Government has announced the One Rank One Pension scheme for the Ex-Servicemen. This was announced by the Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar here today. The following is the statement of the Defence Minister:

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Source : PIB

The government is ready with a draft proposal on One Rank One Pension or OROP and plans to make an announcement within the next two days, sources have said. But veterans on strike at Jantar Mantar say it is a “unilateral” decision by the government as they have not agreed to it.

NDTV has accessed the government’s draft proposal, which lays out about Rs. 8000 to 10,000 crore annually for the pension package and proposes to make OROP effective from 2014.

But the government has stuck to its ground that pension will be equalised or reviewed every five years and not every year, as demanded by the ex-servicemen. The government says eventually, discrepancies between the pension drawn by ex-servicemen who retired many years ago and those of the same rank who retire now and in the future, will disappear.

The veterans who have been on a strike in Delhi for 82 days now, say they have not heard of the government’s proposal and that if an announcement is made, it will be unilateral.

“The entire definition of One Rank One Pension changes if the review takes place every five years,” said an ex-serviceman.

The veterans and the government have been involved in negotiations for months now. The Prime Minister’s Office stepped in after the strike escalated into a hunger-strike last month when Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to announce OROP in his Independence Day speech on August 15.

In the last few weeks, almost all points of disagreement are said to have been resolved. Sources said that while the five-year review remains a sticking point, the government is banking on the protest losing steam, since some of the veterans want to accept the package on the terms the government is offering.

The draft proposal is being seen as the government’s final word on OROP, a two-decade-old demand that PM Modi had promised to implement when he was campaigning for last year’s national election. The veterans and also political rivals have repeatedly reminded the Prime Minister of his promise.

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. There is a huge discrepancy right now. The scheme will benefit three million veterans

Source : NDTV