One Rank One Pension – PM Nullifies VRS / ‘Prematurely’ retired veterans Fears

Those injured, those who had to compulsorily leave will get OROP.

Soon after the One Rank One Pension proposal was accepted by the Government, the air was going wild, saying the One Rank One Pension scheme will not be applicable to the one who went on VRS ( VRS is a scheme offered by the government undertakings, PSUs, banks, corporate sector – in which a lump sum amount is given to the employee as ‘golden handshake’ ). According to ex-servicemen, there’s no concept of VRS in defence service. Instead, there is the PMR, which a jawan or an official can opt for during his service tenure.

Commodore (retd) Yashwant Prakash added, “It’s misleading to equate VRS with PMR. If, one doesn’t complete his permissible period, his option of getting pension automatically becomes invalid and so there’s no question of OROP. But, if he’s eligible for pension, OROP should be applicable to him as in normal case announced by the government.”

Amid this confusions of the Ex-Servicemen, Came the Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi’s assurance on Sunday at the launch of the Delhi-Faridabad Metro.  He emphatically reassured the armed forces community that those who opt for premature retirement would receive OROP benefits. Speaking “If anybody gets OROP, jawans will be the first. Those injured, those who had to compulsorily leave will get OROP. A prime minister who loves the armed forces cannot even think of depriving such people of OROP benefits,” he said.

He further reiterated,  “The bulk of the Rs 10,000 crore of OROP will be for the jawans and soldiers who have served 15 years for this country. Don’t be misled. There is no pay commission that has been set up. It is only a judicial commission to address any shortcomings, to see if any small changes are needed.”

Mr. Modi’s forceful intervention seemed to have had its effects with the ex-servicemen significantly scaling down their protests.

Source: The Hindustan Times