OROP – One Rank One Pension

According to Wing Commander (retd) C K Sharma, treasurer of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, who was present at the meeting at South Block along with Major General (retd) Satbir Singh, V K Singh’s name was proposed by Parrikar and accepted by the veterans.

With the government not relenting on the veterans’ demands on One Rank One Pension (OROP) and the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission causing further heartburn, a section of ex-servicemen are planning to take legal recourse against the government.

About 25 lakh armed forces veterans get their first enhanced pension under the OROP, in January, top Ministry of Defence officials said. The enhanced pensions will cost the exchequer around Rs. 7,000 crore.

In a sign of further division among the protesting ex-servicemen, a section of them met Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday and expressed willingness to compromise further on the One Rank One Pension (OROP) demand.

The government deserves a measure of congratulations but the question that remains is: Should it have done more? At least in one respect the answer is an emphatic yes. In one other it could improve on what it has offered.

“The Prime Minister said that the long-pending issue of One-Rank, One Pension has been resolved and it has been granted,” an official release said. Several war veterans have returned their medals as part of their protest against “diluted” OROP.

Even as ex-servicemen’s organisations rejected the official notification for implementing the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme, serving officers have expressed concern that the norm on Premature Retirement (PMR) goes against the efforts of the government over the last two decades to lower the age of Commanding Officers and increase promotion rate with more vacancies being created in the process.

The Centre tonight issued a notification bringing into force the one rank, one pension (Orop) scheme for retired soldiers, which will benefit over 25 lakh veterans and war widows.

Armed forces veterans staging a protest here to press their demand for ‘One Rank, One Pension’ (OROP) scheme on Friday announced that they will return their medals across the country on November 9-10.

The official notification for One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme will be issued before Diwali, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said.

Retired personnel of various paramilitary forces today began a three-day ‘dharna’ in Delhi demanding one rank one pension (OROP) benefits and other privileges under the ex-servicemen category.