Anomalies in OROP : Judicial Committee will submit its report by Dec 2016

Anomalies in OROP scheme

Press Information Bureau 

Government of India

Ministry of Defence

Anomalies in OROP scheme

A Judicial Committee on OROP headed by Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, Retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court has been appointed vide Government order dated 14.12.2015 to look into anomalies, if any, arising out of implementation of OROP. The Committee shall make its recommendation within one year of the date of its constitution.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri Mahendra Singh Mahra in Rajya Sabha today.

Source: PIB News

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One Rank One Pension: Supreme Court notice to Centre in petition alleging “Non - Implementation, False Promise”

One Rank One Pension: Supreme Court notice to Centre in petition alleging “Non - Implementation, False Promise”

The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Central government in a petition filed by the Indian Ex-Serviceman Movement seeking a declaration that non-implementation of the ‘One rank one pension scheme’ violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

The matter was heard by a Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and C Nagappan. Senior Advocate Ram Jethmalani appeared for the petitioner.

The petitioner is a body of ex-servicemen’s organisations as well as individual military veterans from all three defence forces – Army, Navy and Air Force.

One rank one pension is the uniform payment of pension to ex-servicemen who retire in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement. It also involves future enhancement in the rates for recent pensioners being passed on to the past pensioners.

In the petition drawn by advocate Arunava Mukherjee and filed through advocate Balaji Srinivasan, the petitioners have given an exhaustive history of OROP. They have claimed that OROP was followed for 26 years after independence but was “unjustly changed” in 1973 on the recommendation of the Third Central Pay Commission.

The petition then goes on to criticise both the UPA government and the current NDA government for denying OROP to ex-servicemen.

According to the petitioner, the UPA government “astronomically enhanced the salary of civil servants” and introduced Non-functional Financial Upgradation scheme for civil servants but the same was not allowed for Defence services.

“… these decisions had the effect of arbitrarily and discriminatorily downgrading the pay-grades, pension, allowances and status of Defence Services”, the petition states.

The petitioner has also trained its gun on the current NDA government.

Under the head “False promises made to ex-servicemen and electoral fraud on voters”, the petition states that,

“During his election campaign, Mr. Narendra Modi promised that OROP will be implemented. Although, the Hon’ble Defence Minister had worked out a package with an expected outlay of Rs. 8296.40 crores per annum, it is yet to be implemented.”

However, the major grievance of the petitioner is that though the Central government sanctioned OROP, the true meaning of OROP was,

“Illegally twisted by the government to create a perverse definition and murder the spirit of the OROP.”

In a letter written on November 7, 2015, by the Joint Secretary of Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare, to the Chiefs of Army Staff, Naval Staff and Air Staff, the settled and true definition of OROP was arbitrarily and cunningly altered.

“It described OROP as uniform payment of pension to retired servicemen retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, regardless of their date of retirement which implies bridging the gap between the rates of pension of current and past pensioners at periodic intervals. It is submitted that the new perverse definition of OROP does not include that any future enhancement in the rates for recent pensioners would be “automatically” passed on to the past pensioners.”

The petitioner has contended that this new perverse definition will lead to a situation where the pension of an ex-serviceman will be less than the pension drawn by an ex-serviceman who retires in 2014 until an annual periodic review is done to correct the anomaly.

Relying on the case of Union of India v. SPS Vains, the petitioner has submitted that this is arbitrary, unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14 and 21. Based on the above, the petitioner has made of slew of prayers including a prayer to quash the letter of November 7, 2015 as unconstitutional.

The Court after hearing the matter issued notice to, with the matter likely to be listed after eight weeks time.

Source : http://barandbench.com/

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One Rank One Pension – Nipping 7th CPC Anomalies In The Bud

One Rank One Pension – Nipping 7th CPC Anomalies In The Bud

The following questions arises from the recommendations of the 7th pay commission in relation to pensions of pre 01 January 2016 retirees of the defence services.

One Rank One Pension – Nipping 7th CPC Anomalies In The Bud – It may be fitting for services HQs and veterans associations to take up these specific issues for rationalization.

one rank one pension The following questions arises from the recommendations of the 7th pay commission in relation to pensions of pre 01 January 2016 retirees of the defence services.

@ Para 10.2.87 (i) of the recommendations mentions “Pay Band and Grade Pay” as a means of first “fixing” at minimum level in the 7th CPC matrix for calculating notional pay of pre 01 Jan 2016 defence retirees. But retirees of pre 01 Jan 2006 era only had a pay-scale and no grade pay to identify with the “levels” of the 7th CPC matrix. How will pre 01 Jan 2006 retirees fix their notional pay in the matrix as Grade Pay and Pay-Bands were introduced only after 01 Jan 2006 by VI CPC?

@ Then, the same para goes on to recommend that a retiree should add the number of increments “earned” in that level for arriving at the notional pay. Does that mean the increments actually granted or the number of increments from the last pay drawn counting back to the lowest stage of the pay-scale in which a pre 01 Jan 2006 retiree retired?

@ Para 10.2.86 (ii) of the 7 CPC recommendations provides an alternate calculation, viz., of multiplying by 2.57 the pension fixed at time of implementation of VI CPC. But pensioners are already drawing OROP pension with DR at 125%. Thus 2.25 X OROP pension presently being drawn is likely to be higher than the 2.57 X VI CPC pension recommended by 7 CPC. Does that mean 7 CPC will provide a negligible increase, if any, in pensions of defence retirees?

@ To take an example, if five increments plus two stagnation increments actually earned by a Lt Col (or equivalent) who retired with, say, 28 to 30 years of service in August 2004 are put in the matrix at “index” of 7, his notional pay will correspond to a Lt Col of post 01 Jan 2006/01 Jan 2016 era with 13+7=20 years of service i.e. 10 years less than the 2004 Lt Col. Even if the Aug 2004 Lt Col retiree is eligible to count total increments on the pay-scale of 13500-400-17100 down from his last pay (with stagnation increments) of 17900/-, the number of increments comes to 12. If that is put in the matrix, in level 12-A, the Lt Col’s notional pay would be fixed at index 12 which corresponds to a current Lt Col with 13+12=25 years of service, which will be about 4 to 5 years less than the actual service put in by the 2004 retiree. Does the 7 CPC intend to do away with the “equal service” clause of OROP in this fashion?

It may be fitting for services HQs and veterans associations to take up these specific issues for rationalization.

Source:https://ashwanisarda.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/nipping-7-cpc-anomalies-in-the-bud/

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OROP Arrears Calculator : Know Your Pension and Arrears through online

OROP Arrears Calculator : Know Your Pension and Arrears through online

KNOW YOUR O.R.O.P PENSION AND ARREARS ON LINE

An on line solution to find the correct pension of a Defence pensioner and Family pensioner is a long pending need. Unfortunately, the PDAs and DPDOs have not given much importance to this aspect. Also frequent changes in the pension regulations, various anomalies arising while implementing the pay commission’s recommendations, rigid attitude of MOD and the lethargic attitude of the CDA(P) and CGDA have all joined together and made the Defence pension pension payment a most complicated job to the Banks.

Now the pensions of the entire 2.5 million Defence pensions have to be revised under OROP Scheme. The Banks are struggling to find a solution to this task. None of the Banks have any comprehensive software for revising the pension of such a huge number of people. The ultimate sufferers are the poor pensioners. The refinement of Defence pension account is an urgent need.

OROP orders were released on 4.2.2016. Till today, none of the banks have bothered to pay the arrears. Nowadays, the banks spent huge amounts for automation. But somehow, they have neglected the Defence pension payment.

In fact the OROP orders have simplified the entire Defence Pension payment system for fixation of revised pension and opened the gates for developing a comprehensive software for calculation of OROP arrears and fixation of revised pension. Even then, the banks are delaying payment. The Table No.7 is the basis for creating all other types of pensions for JCOs and Ors. The various Groups have been reduced to only Two Groups now. Therefore, it is easy for the banks to develop a software only for OROP arrears and revised pension. Unfortunately the banks have not given importance to this aspect. Moreover, the most important parameters required for fixing the new pension is the Rank, Qualifying Service, Group and Date of birth. The banks can pay immediately for whom the above information is available. For others, they can get it from the PSAs on urgent basis. But, it seems that none of the above work is undertaken by any of the banks.

In view of the above, we thought of developing a simple software to calculate the arrears online and forward the working sheet directly to all the CPPCs of the respective banks by email so as to enable them to take up the payment without any further delay.

Click the following link. You will be taken to Exwel Trust website. Follow the instructions given in a posting dated 12.3.2016. http://exweltrust.in/

Defence Pension

Family Pension Arrears

OROP arrears for pensioners

OROP for family pensioners

OROP with disability.

Now click only the OROP arrears for pensioners and filled up all the details. Do not try “Defence Pension” Tab and “Family Pension Arrears Tab” for the time being. At the end you will get Print PDF button. Click and take a print out if you want, and save it in your computer.

Now come back to the original blog, click the link for getting email ids of all the banks. Search your bank’s CPPCs email address and forward the OROP arrears print out as an attachment to your bank.

click here for email ids of all Banks CPPCs

This is our humble effort to make the banks to take up the payment at an early date. All the readers of this Blog, please forward and give us feedback. We welcome your comments on our efforts. Officers OROP arrears are not covered under this system. A separate software is being developed for Officers. We will inform as soon as it is ready.

Source: http://indianexserviceman.blogspot.in/

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Revised Pensionary benefits under OROP released to over Two Lakh Defence Pensioners

Press Information Bureau 

Government of India

Ministry of Defence

Revised Pensionary benefits under OROP released to over Two Lakh Defence Pensioners 

The Defence Pension Disbursing Offices (DPDOs) functioning under Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) in the Ministry of Defence have released revised pensionary benefits to 2,21,224 Defence pensioners drawing service/disability pension. The amount along with first instalment of arrears had been released and credited by the Defence Ministry to the accounts of these pensioners on 01.03.2016. 

In the case of remaining 1,46,335 family pensioners drawing pension from DPDOs, payment along with arrears is expected to be released by March end. Banks are under process of revision work. 

These steps are a follow-up to Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (ESW) of the Ministry of Defence’s notification on 07.11.2015 ordering implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for Defence pensioners. 

The total additional annual financial increase for grant of One Rank One Pension (OROP) is Rs. 7488.70 crores. The total amount on account of arrears to be paid for the period 1.7.2014 to 31.12.2015 is Rs. 10925.11 crores. 

Out of total annual liability of Rs. 7488.70 crores, PBOR family pensioners shall get Rs. 6,405.59 crores, which works out to 85.5% of total expenditure of OROP. 

Due to increase in defence pension budget, the additional liability for current financial year 2015-16 shall be Rs. 4,721.34 crores which will increase the current defence pension liability of Rs. 60,238 crores to Rs. 64,959.34 crores for the year 2015-16. 

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Implementation of ‘One Rank One Pension’ to Defence pensioners-PCDA Orders

OFFICE OF THE PR. CONTROLLER OF DEFENCE ACCOUNTS (PENSIONS)

DRAUPADI GHAT, ALLAHABAD- 211014

Circular No. 555

Dated: 04.02.2016

To,

1. The Chief Accountant, RBI, Deptt. Of Govt, Bank Accounts, Central Office C-7, Second Floor, Bandre- Kuria Complex, P B No. 8143, Bandre East Mumbai- 400051

2. All CMDs, Public Sector Banks.

3. The Nodal Officers, ICICl/HDFC/AXIS/IDBI Banks

4. All Managers, CPPCs

5. Military and Air Attache, Indian Embassy, Kathmandu, Nepal

6. The PCDA (WC), Chandigarh

7. The CDA (PD), Meerut

8. The CDA Chennai

9. The Director of Treasury, All States

10. The Pay and Accounts Officer, Delhi Administration, R K Puram and Tis Hazari, New Delhi.

11. The Pay and Accounts Office, Govt of Maharashtra, Mumbai

12. The Post Master Kathua (J&K), Camp Bell Bay.

13. The Principal Pay and Accounts Officer Andaman and Nicobar Administration Port Blair.

Subject: Implementation of ‘One Rank One Pension’ to Defence pensioners.

Reference: Gol, MoD letter No12 (1)/2014/D(Pen/Policy)-Part-II dated 3rd Feb,2016.

A copy of Government of India, Ministry of Defence letter No. 12(1)/2014/D (Pen/Policy)-Part-II dated 3rd Feb,2016 and Gol, MoD letter No 12 (1)/2014/D(Pen/Policy)-Part¬II dated 7th Nov,2015 on the above subject is forwarded herewith for information and necessary action which is self-explanatory.

2. The above Government letter has been issued to implement ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) scheme for Defence Forces Personnel. Salient features of the scheme have been mentioned in Para 3 and 4 of Gol, MoD letter No 12 (1)/2014/D(Pen/Policy)-Part-II dated 7th Nov, 2015

3. The revision of pension in terms of the above Government Orders shall be effective with effect from 01.07.2014,a n d payment of arrears accrued on account of revision of pension, if any, shall be made in a time bound manner as stipulated in para 17.1 of this circular.

4. NON-APPLICABILITY

4.1 The provisions of this circular do not apply to UK/HKSRA/KCIOs pensioners, Pakistan and Burma Army Pensioners.

4.2 These orders do not apply to Reservist Pensioners. 4.3 These orders also do not apply to Pensioners in receipt of Ex-Gratia payments.

Click to Read Continue the PCDA Order

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OROP Tables Released Officially – 101 PENSION TABLES INDICATING RATES OF PENSION – FAMILY PENSION UNDER OROP SCHEME

One Rank One Pension Implementation – DESW issued orders on 3.2.2016

Ministry of Defence letter No.12(1)/2014/D(Pen/Pol)-Part-II dated 03.02.2016 on One Rank One Pension (OROP) to the Defence Forces Personnel.

No.12(1)/2014/D(Pen/Policy)-Part-II

Government of India

Ministry of Defence

Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare

New Delhi, Dated: 03 February, 2016

To

The Chief of Army Staff

The Chief of Navy Staff

The Chief of Air Staff

Subject: One Rank One Pension to the Defence Forces personnel.

Sir,

The undersigned is directed to refer this Ministry’s letter No 12(1)/2014/D(Pen/Policy)-Part-II dated 7th November, 2015 notifying One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for Defence Forces personnel. Salient features of the scheme have been mentioned at Para 3 & 4 of above said letter with the provision that the benefit of the scheme shall be implemented from 1.7.2014 to all pre-1.7.2014 pensioners. Para 6 of the letter provides that detailed instructions relating to implementation of OROP along with tables indicating revised pension for each rank and each category, shall be issued separately for updation of pension and payment of arrears by Pension Disbursing Agencies concerned.

2. The undersigned is directed to say that in order to quicken the process of revision of pension/family pension, total 101 pension tables indicating rates of pension/family pension under OROP scheme notified vide this Ministry’s order dated 7th Nov, 2015, are appended to this order. The appended tables indicate revised rates of Retiring/Service/ Special/ Disability/ Invalid/ Liberalized disability/War Injury Pension including disability/war injury element and ordinary/ special/ liberalized family pension of Commissioned Officers, Honorary Commissioned Officers, JCOs/ORs and Non-Combatants (Enrolled) of Army, Navy, Air Force, Defence Security Corps & Territorial Army retired/discharged/invalided out from service/died in service or after retirement. The existing pension of all pre-1.7.2014 pensioners/family pensioners shall be enhanced with reference to applicable table for the rank (and group in case of JCOs/ORs) in which pension with reference to the actual qualifying service as shown in Column-I of the tables subject to maximum term of engagement for each rank as applicable from time to time. The rate of pension of pensioners/ family pensioners drawing pension more than the rate of revised pension/ family pension indicated in annexed tables, shall remain unchanged.

3. The undersigned is also directed to convey that full pension of PSU absorbees who had opted for 100% commutation of pension, shall also be revised under this order with reference to revised pension of the rank determined for regular category of pensioners. However, there shall be no change in restored amount of pension already notified by respective PSAs in their case.

APPLICABILITY

4. The provisions of this letter shall be applicable to all pensioners/family pensioners who had been retired/discharged/ invalided out from service/died in service or after retirement in the rank of Commissioned Officers, honorary commissioned officers, JCOs/ORs and Non-Combatants (Enrolled) of Army, Navy, Air Force, Defence Security Corps, Territorial Army & Ex-State Forces and are in receipt of pension/ family pension as on 1.7.2014.

4.1 The provisions of this order, however, do not apply to UK/HKSRA/KCIO pensioners, Pakistan & Burma Army pensioners, Reservist pensioners and pensioners in receipt of Ex-gratia payments.

METHODOLOGY FOR IMPLEMENTATION

5. All Pension Disbursing Agencies (PDAs) handling disbursement of pension to Defence pensioners are hereby authorized to carry out revision of Retiring/Service/ Special/Disability/Invalid/Liberalized disability/War Injury Pension including disability/war injury element and ordinary/special/liberalized family pension of all pre- 1.7.2014 pensioners drawing pension as on 1.7.2014 in terms of these orders with applicable rates of dearness relief without calling for any applications from the pensioners and without any further authorization from the Pension Sanctioning Authorities concerned.

6. Where the revised pension as on 1.7.2014 worked out in terms of these orders, happens to be less than the existing pension/ family pension as on 1.7.2014, the pension shall not be revised to the disadvantage of the pensioner.

7. Arrears on account of revision of pension from 1.7.2014 till date of its implementation shall be paid by the Pension Disbursing Agencies in four equal half yearly installments. However, all the family pensioners including those in receipt of Special/Liberalized family pension and all Gallantry award winners shall be paid arrears in one installment.

8. The initial Pension Payment Order (PPO) or its Corrigendum PPO (Corr PPO) indicates rank,group and qualifying service for which the individual has been pensioned. This information is available with Pension Disbursing Agencies as they have revised pension of all such pensioners in the recent past in terms of Government orders issued for implementation of recommendations of Sixth CPC, CSC-2009 & CSC-2012. In case, however, any information regarding qualifying service, rank, group etc., is not available with Pension Disbursing Agencies, such cases may be referred to Pension Sanctioning Authority concerned on the proforma enclosed as Annexure-A. The Pension Sanctioning Authorities concerned will provide the requisite information from the available records within 15 days of the receipt of request from the Pension Disbursing Agencies.

9. In case of any doubt relating to revision of pension in terms of this order, pension disbursing agencies may immediately take up the matter with nodal officers of respective PSAs details of which shall be notified by Pr.CDA(P) Allahabad in their implementation instructions.

10. The OROP shall be basic pension from 1.7.2014 and therefore, additional pension as applicable to the old age pensioners/ family pensioners on attaining the relevant age (80 years and above) shall also be enhanced by the PDAs from 1.7.2014 or the date from which the pensioner attains the age of 80 years or more, whichever is later.

PAYMENT OF LIFE TIME ARREARS (LTA)

11. If a pensioner to whom the benefit accrues under the provisions of this letter has died/dies before receiving the payment of arrears, the Life Time Arrears of pension (LT A) shall be paid in the following manner: –

a) If the claimant is already in receipt of Family Pension or happens to be the person in whose favour Family Pension already stands notified and the awardees has not become ineligible for any reason, the LTA under the provisions of this letter should be paid to such a claimant by the PDA on their own.

b) If the claimant has already received LTA in the past in respect of the deceased to whom the benefit would have accrued, the LTA under the provisions of this letter should also be paid to such a claimant by the PDA on their own.

c) If the claimant is a person other than the one mentioned at 11(a) & 11(b) above, payment of LTA shall be made to the legal heir/heirs as per extant Government orders.

12. The following elements shall continue to be paid as separate elements in addition to the pension revised under these orders-

i) Monetary allowance attached to gallantry awards viz. Param Vir Chakra, Ashok Chakra etc.

ii) Constant Attendance Allowance, where admissible.

iii) Dearness relief as sanctioned by the Government from time to time.

MISCELLANEOUS INSTRUCTIONS

13. No arrears on account of revision of pension/family pension shall be admissible for the period prior to 1.7.2014.

14. No commutation of pension shall be admissible on revised/additional amount of pension accruing as a result of revision of pension under these orders. However, the existing amount of pension, if any, that has been commuted will continue to be deducted from the revised pension.

15. As a result of these orders, there will be no change in the amount of gratuity already determined and paid with reference to the rules in force at the time of discharge/invalidment/ death.

16. Any overpayment of pension coming to the notice or under process of recovery shall be adjusted in full by the Pension Disbursing Agencies against arrears becoming due on revision of pension on the basis of these orders.

METHODOLOGY FOR REPORTING

17. An intimation regarding disbursement of revised pension shall be furnished by the Pension Disbursing Agencies to the Office of the Pr. CDA(P) Allahabad in the format prescribed as Annexure¬B to this letter in the following month in which revision takes place. PDAs shall also ensure that an intimation regarding revision of pension is invariably conveyed to the pensioners concerned for their information irrespective of the fact the same is beneficial to them or not. The Public Sector Banks who are disbursing defence pension through Central Pension Processing Centres (CPPC), the progress report shall be furnished by the CPPC of the bank directly to the office of the PCDA (Pensions) Allahabad through electronic scrolls.

18. All other terms and conditions which are not affected by this order shall remain unchanged.

19. This issues with concurrence of Finance Division of this Ministry vide their ID No PC. 1 to 10(11)/2012/FIN/PEN dated 2.2.2016 .

Sd/-

(Manoj Sinha)

Under Secretary to the Govt. of India

source: www.desw.gov.in

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OROP Table : One Rank One Pension (OROP) Implementation Tables Issued

OROP Table : One Rank One Pension (OROP) Implementation Tables Issued

The Government of India had taken the historic decision to implement OROP in November, 2015. This fulfilled the long standing demand of the Defence Forces personnel after 42 years and benefited over 18 lakh ex-servicemen and war widows.

In pursuance of the order issued on 07/11/2015, detailed instructions alongwith OROP Tables have been issued today.

• The annual recurring financial implication on account of implementation of OROP at the current rate will be approximately Rs. 7500 crore.

• The arrears from 01/07/2014 to 31/12/2015 would be approximately Rs. 10,900 crore.

• 86 percent of the total expenditure on account of OROP will benefit the JCOs/ORs.

• Payment of arrears and revision of pension under OROP is to be made by the Pension Disbursing Authorities in four installments, except for family pensioners and pensioners in receipt of gallantry awards who will be paid arrears in one installment.

• The total increase in the Defence Budget for pensions is estimated to go up from Rs. 54,000 crore (BE 2015-16) to around Rs. 65,000 crore (proposed BE 2016-17), thereby increasing the Defence Pension Outlay by about 20 percent.

OROP TABLE – Download pdf official link

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OROP – UFESM WRITES TO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

OROP – UFESM WRITES TO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

Dear Veterans,

Letter to Members of Parliament regarding One Rank One Pension (OROP) dated 11 Jan 2016 is enclosed herewith for your information and widest circulation please.

With Regards

Maj Gen Satbir Singh, SM (Retd)

Advisor United Front of ESM & Chairman IESM

UNITED FRONT OF EX –SERVICEMEN (UFESM)

ONE RANK ONE PENSION (OROP)

Dear Members of Parliament,

You are all aware of the issue of One Rank One Pension of Armed Forces. This issue is being debated since 1984 and finally OROP was strongly recommended by Koshyari Committee in 2011

As per Koshyari Committee Report, and the deposition by Secretary (ESW), Ministry of Defence, before the Committee One Rank One Pension is defined as.

Definition

“One Rank One Pension implies that uniform pension be paid to the Armed Forces Personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement and any future enhancement in the rates of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners”.

The above definition of OROP has been accepted by both houses of the Parliament. Honourable Supreme Court has also ruled in favour of OROP in many judgments. The same definition was included in the Executive Order of the Govt of India for the Implementation of OROP vide its letter No- 12(01)/2014-D (Pen/Pol) dated 26 Feb 2014 (Copy enclosed).

The One Rank One Pension which has been announced on Sep 5, 2015 and notified on Nov 7, 2015 is not the real OROP. It has many anomalies illustrated below which if not corrected will completely destroy the definition of OROP approved by the Parliament.

1. Revision every 5 years instead of every year: This defeats the very concept and definition of OROP.

Illustration: 20 YEARS OF SERVICE FOR THE FOLLOWING 2 SEPOYS:

Sepoy A and Sepoy B join army on 1 July 1991

Sepoy A- retires in Nov 2011- Rs.4000/- as basic wage. Pension = Rs.2000/-.

Sepoy B – retires in March 2012- Rs 4500/- as basic wage (Increment as per Jan 1st). Pension = Rs. 2250/-

A is getting Rs 250+ DA = Rs. 600/- less than B and having served for the same length of service of 20 yrs.

Loss incurred – Rs.7200/- per year or Rs 36,000/- in 5 years.

2. Govt has announced that Benefit of OROP will be effective with effect from 1.7.2014: Instead of 01 Apr 2014, thereby causing a loss to the ESM of 2100 Crores that is presuming annual expenditure of Rs 8400/ crore on OROP.

Illustration: All articles approved in any budget are applicable from 1st April each year. Hence OROP should also be effective from 1st April 2014. By making it effective from 1st July 2014 government is putting ESM at a loss of Rs.2100/-Crores for three months

3. Govt has announced that Base year for award of OROP to be the calendar year of 2013 instead of Financial Year of 31 March 2014.This defeats the definition of OROP and puts the old pensioners at loss as compared to the present pensioners. This will also mean that a pensioner holding senior rank will get pension less than his junior rank.

Illustration: if Base year for pension is likely to be 2013 as against 31 Mar 2014 when OROP is applicable from 1st April 2014. This put a soldier behind by one year / annual increment which is Rs. 500/-. However if the effective date for implementation is planned to be 1 July 2014 then the pension should be based on 30 June 2014.

4. Fixation of pension as the mean average of the pay band instead of the top level: This adds insult to injury and defeats the definition of OROP. Puts the old pensioners at loss as compared to the present pensioners.

Illustration: By making it the mean of the year 2013 the defence personnel retiring with pension above the mean will be at disadvantage. This would require application of protection clause for a large number of retirees.

Supposing A soldier retires in 1980 on completion of 20 years of service.

OROP means his pension should be brought at par with the pension of the soldier retiring on 31st March 2014 with 20 years of service. By taking mean of min and max pension of 2013, the soldier will be put to financial loss. This loss can only be calculated once pension tables are declared by CGDA.

5. One person judicial committee instead of a five person committee: This commission will not have representative from ESM but will have a member from IAS as secretary. Hence, it is expected that the recommendations of the committee will be influenced by IAS lobby (based on inputs from the IAS lobby). Recommendations of 7 CPC are indications wherein Armed Forces have not been given due justice. However announcement of judicial committee by GOI along with the notification is a clear indication that GOI is sure that this notification is faulty and will not be accepted by the Defence Fraternity.

In the age of smartphones and Social Media, no person is left unaware of the happenings in any part of the country. The serving members of the Armed forces are well aware of the acts of the government and the Protest Movement by the Ex-Servicemen at Jantar Mantar and across the country. The present Prime Minister made a promise to the Armed Forces at Rewari before the General Elections in 2014 that his Government will deliver OROP on taking oath of office if elected to form Govt. Implementation of OROP was also included in the President address to both houses of Parliament when the NDA Govt took over. That promise has not been fulfilled by this Government even after one and half year.

It is a common knowledge that more than 70% of serving soldiers are relatives of the Ex-servicemen. Ill treatments of veterans will have direct de-motivating effect on the serving soldiers.

It is also noteworthy that there is shortage of 30% in the Armed Forces. Policies adopted by the government have led to a situation where the youth of today is de-motivated to join the Armed Forces. Clearly, this shall lead to more reduced number than existing today. These deficiencies are serious nature and have direct bearing on National Security.

May we request you to ponder over the situation and think about the security of India in coming years. May we also request you to ask for serious discussion in Parliament on National Security and nail the Government so that every Indian is educated about the fraud being played on the nation by the GOI. May we also ask you to raise questions in the Parliament and ask the government to Implement One Rank One Pension (OROP) after removal of the seven shortcomings pointed out and issue fresh Notification exactly as per approved definition of OROP.

With Regards

Maj Gen Satbir Singh, SM (Retd) 

Advisor United Front of ESM & Chairman IESM

Tele No : 0124-4110579,09312404269

Email : satbirsm@gmail.com

Source:http://indianmilitaryveterans.blogspot.in/    &     http://ex-servicemenwelfare.blogspot.in/

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Financial obligations due to Implementation of OROP and 7th CPC Recommendations in the coming financial year – Finance Minister

Finance Minister: Due to various policy measures undertaken by the present Government, Indian Economy has achieved robust growth rate despite volatility and uncertainty in global economy; asks Captains of Indian Trade and Industry to come forward and make increased Private Investment especially in Infrastructure Sector .

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that in the first half of the Current Financial Year 2015-16, the Indian Economy has achieved robust growth rate despite volatility and uncertainty in global economy. He said that this was made possible by a slew of policy measures undertaken by the present Government including enhanced public investment, kick starting stalled projects, improving the status of financial inclusion significantly, improving governance through systematic changes like open auction of natural resources like coal and spectrum in a transparent manner, and greater fiscal federalism and improving business environment through reforms in policies and regulation among others. Shri Jaitley said that the current level of growth rate of our economy and sound fiscal fundamentals present better growth prospects for the next Financial Year 2016-17 as well. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley was making the Opening Remarks during his third Pre-Budget Consultative Meeting with the representatives of Industry and Trade Groups here today.

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the Government will continue to expand public spending even during the next financial year despite the major financial implications of the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission which reduced the share of the Central Government by 10% and its forthcoming financial obligations due to implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) and 7th Pay Commission Recommendations in the coming financial year. He asked the representatives of Business and Trade Sector to increase the private sector spending especially in infrastructure sector.

Various suggestions were received during the aforesaid Consultative Meeting. Major recommendations include higher investment in irrigation and rural infrastructure sector as this will increase the spending capacity of the rural people which in turn will create demand for various items and increased economic activity. Other suggestions included focus on disinvestment of public sector undertakings by the Government to raise additional revenue and to reduce Government borrowings which, in turn, will make more money available for the private sector to borrow. Other suggestions included reduction in subsidy outflows and direct payment of fertilizer subsidy to farmers.

Suggestions were made that 7th Pay Commission recommendations be implemented in staggered manner and tax collections be increased by expanding the base. It was suggested that Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) by withdrawn in calibrated manner, tax exemptions and allowances be withdrawn while tax rate may be rationalised in order to bring transparency, certainty and less discretion to make the tax administration more transparent and efficient. Tax incentives be given for use of debit and credit card, payment of utilities be made mandatory by cheques or through e-payment, clarity of policies by CBEC & CBDT to its field offices to avoid any discrepancies and discretions in tax administration and implementation of GST at the earliest.

Other suggestions include measures be taken to revive private sector investment especially in infrastructure sector through NIIF, use of Infrastructure Finance Companies like IIFCL to rebuilt the capacity of the private infrastructure sector by making it easier for them to raise funds. Bank guarantees be replaced by ‘bid bonds’ or ‘surety bonds’ for companies which, in turn, will help them getting credit at reduced cost and removal of cess and surcharges etc.

Other suggestions include measures to attract youth to agriculture sector by making farming highly mechanized and improving productivity. For this ‘Agriculture Equipment Banks’ may be set-up, segments of land be made in three categories, viz, barren land, single crop land and multi-crop land and separate rules for dealing with each category may be made.

Start-up parks for attracting young entrepreneurs be set-up on the line of IT parks. Suggestions were made that in order to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Ease of doing Business’ successful, measures may be taken to reduce the cost of doing business for which we need to improve infrastructure and reduce credit cost. To deal with the problem of NPA, recapitalization of banks be done through offering of shares to public. As regards tax matters, it was suggested that no appeal should be made where the two consecutive orders are in favour of the assesse except in rare situation and assesses may not be asked to deposit in case of first appeal and be asked to deposit only in case of second appeal.

It was suggested that measures be taken to generate demand in real estate sector which will in turn boost the steel and cement sectors which are major sectors for employment generation. Other suggestions include raise in exemption limit in case of income tax be raised from Rs. 2.00 lakh to Rs. 5.00 lakh, corporate tax be reduced to 25%, nominal rate of interest be charged on delayed payments, rationalization of exemptions and allowances and reduction in tax rates, reduction in corporate tax be extended to partnership firms etc.

It was suggested that measures be taken to uplift the power sector which is facing a challenging time, credit to MSME sector be boosted, Mid Day Meal Scheme may be scrapped due to large scale seepages and non-transparency in the implementation of the same. Suggestions were made to boost the exports, especially the MSME exports. It was suggested to boost e-commerce in mobile payment to achieve the goal of cashless economy, guidelines be issued for removal of anomalies in case of taxes being imposed by different States on e-payment and e-commerce. It was suggested to reduce customs duty on set-top boxes from 10% to 5%,and media entities be included for carry forward of losses in case of merger among others.

Along with the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley, the Pre-Budget Consultative Meeting with the representatives of Industry and Trade Groups was also attended among others by Shri R.N. Watal, Finance Secretary, Shri Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, DEA, Dr. Hasmukh Adhia, Revenue Secretary, Ms. Anjuly Chib Duggal, Secretary, Financial Services, Shri Amitabh Kant, Secretary, DIPP and Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA). The representatives of the Industry and Trade Groups present during the meeting included Shri Sumit Mazumdar, President, CII, Shri Sunil Kanoria, President, ASSOCHAM, Shri Harshavardhan Neotia, President, FICCI, Shri R. Chandrasekhar, Chief Economist, NASSCOM, Shri Ajay Piraman, Piramal Enterprises Ltd, Shri S.C. Ralhan, President, FIEO, Shri R Seshasayee, Vice Chairman, Ashoik Leyland, Shri Ashish Gupta, Consulting CEO, Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), Shri P.K. Shah, Chairman, EEPC India, Shri G. Venkatesh Babu, LANCO Anpara Power Ltd, Shri Sangam Kurade, President, Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME), Shri Abhishek Tiwar, Federation of Indian Women Entrepreneurs (FIWE), and Shri Girish Srivastava, Secretary General IBF among others.

Source: PIB News

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Flaws in OROP concept – Ranson

The concept of One Rank One Pension (OROP) is to bridge the gap between the rate of pension of the current pensioners and the past pensioners, and also future enhancements in the rate of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners. In armed forces, equality in service has two components, namely, rank and length of service.

Hence, two armed personnel in the same rank and equal length of service should get same pension irrespective of date of retirement and any future enhancement in rates of pension be automatically passed on to the past pensioners. The proposal per-se sounds legitimate and reasonable but seems to be lopsided and without much merit.

The OROP concept has been developed with respect to the basic pension and not the residual pension. The pension has two components viz.(a) Basic Pension (b) Residual Pension or better known as monthly carry home pension after deduction of commuted portion of pension. The basic pension is fixed with respect to the last basic pay drawn.

The residual pension is the sum total of basic pension plus dearness relief minus commuted portion of pension. Whatever may be the basic pension but what it matters to a veteran is his monthly carry home pension or residual pension. Therefore the residual pension should be more important and relevant than the basic pension to a veteran.

Hence the concept and approach of OROP with respect to basic pension needs to be changed to remove the basic flaw and more emphasis to be given to the Residual Pension. This will ensure that all veterans of the same rank and seniority irrespective of their date of retirement are given the same rate of monthly residual pension.

After the implementation of 6 CPC in 2006 the veterans retired post 2006 got higher basic pension as compared to pre-2006 veterans. Though post 2006 veterans got higher rate of basic pension but it did not render them higher rate of residual pension (monthly carry home pension after deduction of commuted portion). As a matter of facts, the pre-2006 veterans who are drawing less basic pension than the veterans of post 2006 are in receipt of more residual pension than post 2006 veterans.

This is nothing but true and no pre-2006 veterans would dispute it. But, somehow, the argument for OROP was developed on the basis of all veterans with same rank and seniority must be given same rate of basic pension without realizing that same rate of basic pension for all pre-2006 and post-2006 veterans will vitiate the existing financial parity and unnecessarily tilt the balance to give undue advantage to pre-2006 veterans without any rhyme or reason.

In the existing system old veterans (pre-1.1.2006) are already drawing more residual pension (monthly carry home pension after deduction of commuted portion) and any sort of upgradation in basic pension to them will not only lead to widen the gap and enable the past veterans to get more residual pension than the post 1.1.2006 veterans but also put all post-2006 veterans in great financial loss for no rhyme or reasons. The following two live examples will prove the above point:-

Example- 1. The basic pension of a Lt col who retired on 31.12.2000 was revised to Rs. 26265 as on 1.1.2006 post 6 CPC. The pension Commutation value is Rs. 3624. His present residual pension is Rs. 53896. (B.P.26265 + 119% DA Rs. 31255 – commuted portion Rs. 3624= Rs. 53896)

Example-2. Another Lt.Col who retired on 30.6.2010 draws basic pension of Rs.31350. Commuted portion is Rs. 15675. His present residual pension is Rs. 52982 which is less by Rs. 914 as compared to the veteran who retired in 2000 ( Rs. 53896 – 52982 = Rs. 914 per month).

Note:- For the sake of argument just think of a situation when the basic pension of the Lt col mentioned at example -1 is fixed at par with another Lt col mentioned at example-2 i.e. Rs. 31350. With a basic pension of Rs. 31350, the residual pension works out to Rs. 65033 pm (Rs.31350 plus 119% DR minus Rs.3624 commuted portion = 65033) which higher by 12051 as compared to the residual pension of the Lt col who retired post 2006. In this case will the residual pension of the later be stepped up at par with the former? What are we fighting for? And whose interest is being looked after with present OROP concept? Is there any flaw in the concept of OROP?

From the above illustration one can see that the veteran who retired during 5 CPC draws Rs. 914 more than the veteran retired with higher rate of basic pension post 6 CPC. Further, all those veterans who retired pre-2006 and had completed 15 years of post retirement are already drawing much higher residual pension. This being the factual position on ground how can pre 2006 veterans justify their demands for OROP in its present form. Therefore the hue and cry being made by all pre-2006 veterans is uncalled for and unreasonable.

A very pertinent point to be highlighted here is that though the basic pension of post 2006 veteran is fixed at higher level than the veteran of pre-2006 yet in reality the later gets more carry home pension than the former as given in the above illustration. Besides the above the veteran mentioned at example-1 above will start drawing his full pension from 1.1.2016 by which time his residual pension will be much higher than the pensioners retired post 2006.

This phenomenon will more or less continue till the post 2006 retiree completes 15 years of post retirement period and starts drawing his full pension or until the difference in residual pension get negated by virtue of increases in future dearness relief. This means that the existing rules governing payment of residual pension to all past veterans are in order and are intended to protect the interest of all past veterans. Therefore the question of OROP for all and sundry does not arise in the first place.

However, on completion of 15 years of post retirement by the post 2006 veterans’, the old veterans (pre-2006) will be placed in disadvantageous state and therefore needs to be given financial up gradation at par with post 2006 retiree. The 7 CPC is round the corner and is likely to be implemented very soon. And all veterans retired up to the last date of 6 CPC will be given the same rate of pension as per fixation formula to be accepted. Again all veterans will be back square one again and the same problem will crop up for future retirees.

In the back drop the OROP is presently needed for post 2006 retirees at par with pre 2006 veterans and not vice versa as pre-2006 veterans are in receipt of higher residual pension than the post-2006 retirees. Therefore the basic concept of OROP needs to be revamped totally to ensure that all veterans with same rank and length of service get equal rate of residual pension irrespective of his/her basic pension whether it is higher or lower. Further the basic pension of pre-2006 should only be revised with respect to post 2006 retiree in case the former draws less residual pension than the later.

As far as commutation of pension is concerned it is well known that the commuted amount is refundable with interest to govt. over a period of 15 years after which one starts earning his full pension. Since the commutation value is refundable the old veterans cannot make a stand or argue that they got less commutation value than the post 2006 retirees. After implementation of 7 CPC, the amount payable on account pension commutation to future retirees will be much more than the amount received by a person retired during 6 CPC. The present concept of OROP to ensure same basic pension to a veteran with same rank and length of service is in another way is to hoodwink the government to give pension commutation parity to all pre-2006 veterans at par with post 2006 veterans without having to refund it to government with interest. This is a gross injustice to all post 2006 veterans.

The successive CPCs had already given pension parity as per ranks to all officers’ community. Therefore the need of the hour is to implement the concept of OROP for PBORs, War widows and family pensioners first to remove all kinds of existing anomalies. The pension of old and new veterans (pre-2006 and post 2006) who have completed 15 years of post retirement and drawing full pension need only be revised and not all and sundry. As given in the illustration above, the pre-2006 veterans are already drawing more residual pension than the post 2006 veterans, hence their cases are not required to be looked into and they do not deserve the OROP concept as they are already drawing more residual pension.

I am a post 2006 veteran and draw less residual pension than the veterans retired during 3rd, 4th and 5th CPC. Can the OROP concept ensure that I get the same rate of residual pension as that of the past pensioners? The real concept of OROP, therefore, should be to ensure that all veterans of the same rank and length of service whether pre-2006 or post 2006 retirees get the same amount of carry home pension (residual pension) and not to give any sort of linkage to the basic pension which will give a wrong picture as illustrated above. Also it is not true to believe that higher the basic pension higher the residual pension.

In fact it works other way round that higher the basic pensions lower the residual pension. If the OROP concept is not changed to ensure same level of residual pension for all with the same rank and length of service it will lead to an unhealthy situation where the pre-2006 veterans will attain monetary benefits for no rhyme or reason and the post 2006 veterans will be left high and dry without any monetary gains. The judicial review team may look into these aspects and to ensure that veterans who are already drawing more residual pension than the veterans of post 2006 is not given any financial upgradtion in the name of OROP which is not a well conceived idea and it revolves around basic pension and not the residual pension which is the final amount that a veteran gets from the government every month as his/her pension.

(View and Opinions expressed in this article belong to its writer Mr.Ranson)

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Notification on appointment of Judicial Committee on OROP – DESW Orders issued on 14.12.2015

Finally the Central Government issued orders on appointment of a one man judicial committee headed by Justice L.Narasimha Reddy, retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court. The copy of the order is given below for your ready reference…

No.12(01)/2014-D(pen/Pol)-Part-II

Ministry of Defence

(Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare)

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, 14th December, 2015

Whereas the Central Government has decided to implement One Rank One Pension (OROP) for the Ex-Servicemen for payment of uniform pension to the armed forces personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, regardless of their date of retirement, which implies that briding the gap between the rate of pension of current and past pensioners at periodic intervals.

Whereas it is necessary to implement the same in an equitable manner keeping in view the existing pension structure, the conditions of service, the reasons for varying pensions in case of service personnel of the same rank with same length of qualifying service retiring at different points of time as well as the principle of OROP decided by the Government vide Govt. of India letter No.12(1)/2014/D(Pen/Pol)/Par-II dated 7.11.2015.

Now, therefore, the Central Government hereby appoints a Judicial Committee headed by Justice L.Narasimha Reddy, retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court.

2. The Terms of Reference for the Committee shall be;

To examine and make recommendations on references received from the Central Government on the following matters:

i. Measures for the removal of anomalies that may arise in implementation of the OROP letter No.12(1)/2014/D(Pen/Pol)/Par-II dated 7.11.2015.

ii. Measures for the removal of anomalies that may arise out of inter-service issues of the three forces due to implementation of OROP order ibid.

iii. Implications on service matters.

iv. Any other matter referred by the Central Government on implementation of the OROP or related issues.

In making its recommendations, the Committee shall take into account the financial impact of its recommendations.

3. The Committee shall make its recommendations within six months of the date of its constitution. It may, if necessary, make interim reports on any of the matters mentioned in Paragraph 2 above.

4. The committee will devise its own procedure and may call for such information and take such evidence, as may be considered necessary. Ministries and Departments of Government of India shall furnish such information and documents and other assistance, as may be required by the committee.

5. The committee will have its Headquarters in Delhi. All administrative support will be provided by Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence.

Sd/-

(K.Damayanthi)

Joint Secretary to the Govt. of India

Authority: http://www.desw.gov.in/

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One Rank One Pension to Retired/Serving personnel of CAPF

One Rank One Pension

As per report received from the Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO), Ministry of Finance, total number of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles (AR) pensioners are 3,28,010 and the pension expenditure as disbursed by Banks for the period 01/04/2014 to 31/03/2015 is Rs.4317.38 crore.

The posted strength of CAPFs and AR as on 01/11/2015 is 8,94,616 (AR-67,018, BSF-2,48,799, CRPF-2,89,182, CISF-1,29,468, ITBP-81,747 & SSB-78,402).

The Government has received representations for implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme from the retired/serving personnel of CAPF and broadly seeking parity with the Defence Forces in the matter of pension. As per records available, the Supreme Court has not issued any directive in this regard. Representations from in-service or retired personnel of CAPF & AR received from the time to time, are examined on merit and appropriate decision taken.

This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju in a written reply to question by Shri Chhedi Paswan, Shri Vinayak Bhaurao Raut, Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Shri Rahul Shewale and Mohammed Faizal in the Lok Sabha today.

Source: PIB News

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Latest MoD orders on One Rank One Pension published on 07.11.2015

12(1)/2014/D(Pen/Pol)-Part-II

Government of India

Ministry of Defence

Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare

New Delhi Dated 7th Nov 2015

To

The Chief of the Army Staff

The Chief of the Naval Staff

The Chief of Air Staff

Subject: One Rank One Pension (OROP) to the Defence Forces Personnel

In view of the need of the Defence Forces to maintain physical fitness, efficiency and effectiveness, as per the extant Rules, Defence Service personnel retire at an early age compared to other wings in the Government. Sepoy in Army and equivalent rank in Navy & Air Force retire after 17/19 years of engagement/service and officers retire before attaining the age of 60 years i.e. the normal age of retirement in the Government. Considering these exceptional service conditions and in the interest of ever vigilant Defence Forces, the pensionary benefits of Ex-Servicemen have accordingly, over time, been fixed.

2. It has now been decided to implement “One Rank One Pension” (OROP) for the Ex-Servicemen with effect from 1.07.2014. OROP implies that uniform pension be paid to the Defence Forces Personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, regardless of their date of retirement, which, implies bridging the gap between the rates of pension of current and past pensioners at periodic intervals.

3. Salient features of the OROP are as follows:

i. To begin with, pension of the past pensioners would be re-fixed on the basis of pension of retirees of calendar year 2013 and the benefit will be effective with effect from 1.7.2014.

ii. Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners on the basis of the average of minimum and maximum pension of personnel retired in 2013 in the same rank and with the same length of service.

iii. Pension for those drawing above the average shall be protected.

iv. Arrears will be paid in four equal half yearly instalments. However, all the family pensioners including those in receipt of Special/Liberalized family pension and Gallantry award winners shall be paid arrears in one instalment.

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

4. Personnel who opt to get discharged henceforth on their own request under Rule 13(3)1(i)(b),13(3)1(iv) or Rule 168 of the Army Rule 1954 or equivalent Navy or Air Force Rules will not be entitled to the benefits of OROP. It will be effective prospectively.

5. The Govt. has decided to appoint a Judicial Committee to look into anomalies, if any, arising out of implementation of OROP. The Judicial Committee will submit its report in six months.

6. Detailed instructions relating to implementation of OROP along with tables indicating revised pension for each rank and each category, shall be issued separately for updation of pension and payment of arrears directly by Pension Disbursing Agencies.

7. This issues with concurrence of Finance Division of this Ministry vide their ID No. MoD (Fin/Pension) lD No.PC to10(11)/2012/Fin/Pen dated 07 November 2015.

8. Hindi version will follow.

Sd/-

(K. Damayanthi)

Joint Secretary to the Govt. of India

Source : http://www.desw.gov.in/

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Notification for Implementation of OROP Issue and Salient features

Press Information Bureau 

Government of India

Ministry of Defence

Notification for Implementation of OROP Issued

The Government today issued the notification regarding  implementation of ‘One Rank One Pension’ in respect of Defence Forces  personnel.

Defence Forces of India have a rich history and tradition of bravery and gallantry. Defence forces have not only defend our borders with exemplary courage and valour but have also performed with fearless attitude and empathy in natural calamities and other trying circumstances. Government of India recognizes and respects their contribution.

The issue of One Rank One Pension was a long standing   demand. Defence Forces had been demanding it for almost four decades but the issue could not be resolved. However, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had made a commitment to implement it for the welfare of the ex-servicemen. Accordingly the Government had announced modalities for implementation of OROP on 05.09.2015.  The Government Order by Ministry of Defence, which could not be issued due to model code of conduct, has been issued today.

Salient features of the OROP as stated in the Order are as follows: 

 I.        To begin with, pension of the past pensioners would be re-fixed on the basis of pension of retirees of calendar year 2013 and the benefit will be effective with effect from 1.7.2014. 

 II.        Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners on the basis of the average of minimum and maximum pension of personnel retiring in 2013 in the same rank and with the same length of service. 

III.        Pension for those drawing above the average shall be protected. 

 IV.        Arrears will be paid in four equal half yearly instalments. However, all the family pensioners, including those in receipt of Special/Liberalized family pensioners, and Gallantry award winners shall be paid arrears in one instalment. 

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

 4. Personnel who opt to get discharged henceforth on their  own request under Rule 13(3)1(i)(b),13(3)1(iv) or Rule 16B of the Army Rule 1954 or equivalent Navy or Air Force Rules will not be entitled to the benefits of OROP. It will be effective prospectively.

5. The Govt. has decided to appoint a Judicial Committee to look into anomalies, if any, arising out of implementation of OROP. The Judicial Committee will submit its report in six months.  

6.    Detailed instructions along with tables indicating revised pension for each rank and each category, shall be issued separately for updation of pension and payment of arrears directly by Pension Disbursing Agencies. 

The previous Government had made a budget announcement to implement the OROP and made a provision of Rs 500  Crore.   The present Government undertook the task earnestly and realized that the actual additional annual expenditure would be eight to ten thousand crore at present and will increase further in future.   Notwithstanding the financial constraints, true to its commitment the present Government has issued the Government order to implement the OROP in true spirit.

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Government Announces One Rank One Pension Scheme for Ex-Servicemen

Press Information Bureau 

Government of India

Ministry of Defence

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.” 

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