E-Pension Payment Order: New Step in the Right Direction

E-Pension Payment Order: New Step in the Right Direction

Furthering the Digital India-initiatives of Govt. of India, Principal Controller of Defence Accounts(Pensions), Allahabad has startedissuance of electronic-Pension Payment Orders (e-PPOs) to the pensioners along with their Pension Disbursement Agencies viz., Banks, Defence Pension Disbursement Offices, Post Offices, etc. What began in the first phase, for all Commissioned Officers and JCOs/ORs of Armed Forces from the month of October 2017, has now been extended to all defence pensioners including defence civilians.

Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Allahabad is the sole agency under Ministry of Defence which sanctions Pensions for the Defence Services viz., Army, Coast Guard, Defence Research and Development Organization,General Reserve Engineer Force, Border Roads Organization, Military Engineering Services and other Defence organisations including Defence Account Department and Defence Civilians.

The shift from manual system to e-PPO system is expected to minimize delays in pension disbursement and further revision as and when needed. This initiative also eliminates the occurrence of human errors in data entry at multiple levels.

The next big step in this direction would be digitizing pension documents received from 46 record offices and more than 2900 Heads of Offices. This initiative by PCDA (P) will facilitate better implementation of OROP.

Source : PIB

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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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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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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 – 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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The Ex-servicemen will receive good news about OROP by Navratri.” – Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar

Veterans will Receive Good News about OROP by Navratri – Attending the Ceremony, Mr.Parrikar also warned Pakistan, “whether we should withdraw troops from Siachen or keep them deployed is our decision. We do not need any lessons from Nawaz Sharif and I choose to ignore it.”

‘Veterans will Receive Good News about OROP by Navratri’, Defence Minister Mr.Parrikar said on Sunday. Parrikar was in Vadtal, Kheda district of Gujarat, to attend the closing ceremony of a Mahasammelan of retired servicemen under the ‘Akhil Bhartiya Purva Sainik Seva Parishad’ (All India Former Defence Personnels Association).

Attending the Ceremony, Mr.Parrikar also warned Pakistan, “whether we should withdraw troops from Siachen or keep them deployed is our decision. We do not need any lessons from Nawaz Sharif and I choose to ignore it.”

Parrikar replied saying so, when asked to comment about Sharif’s speech at the UN General Assembly on September 30, putting forth a four-point peace initiative with India, which included a proposal of demilitarisation of Kashmir. Parrikar also said that the situation in Kashmir was peaceful and the government was committed to ensuring peace in the valley.

Parrikar said that Make in India was a key program for the defence sector as it was seen as a generator of employment for almost 30 lakh youth, however, advised patience in the implementation of the policy.

Speaking of the overseas deployment of INS Trikand in Istanbul, Parrikar said that Turkey was “our friend” and the exercise would help strengthen friendship. “Turkey is our friend and INS Trikand has reached Istanbul as part of a joint exercise,” Parrikar said about the stealth frigate of Indian Navy that is currently on a deployment in West Asia, Africa and Europe.

Earlier, Parrikar visited the Swaminarayan temple on arriving in Vadtal, Kheda from Vadodara and proceeded to the stage where he also delivered a 30-minute speech to the gathering of over 2000 former servicemen, reminiscing his younger days in Goa. Parrikar said, as a child, he would often accompany Army men posted in the state, to show them directions in Goa.

Veterans present in the ceremony were positive and when asked, a senior veteran said that he believes in the words of Mr.Parrikar and hoped that the Defence Minister will stick to his promise.

Source: Ex-Servicemen Welfare

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One Rank One Pension - Pension promise in peril?

One Rank One Pension - Pension promise in peril?

Pension promise in peril?

Military veterans claim babus are thwarting PM Modi’s poll pledge of one-rank-one-pension by inflating its cost estimates

Roman emperor Augustus started the tradition of military pensions in 13 BC, when every legionary who had fought 20 years for Rome was guaranteed a pension for-life. It set the bar for modern armies, and independent India continued the British tradition of financially privileging military service until the mid-1970s, when soldiers were paid more than civilian bureaucrats, in service and after retirement. 

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One rank, one pension gets Rahul push, Gandhi will meet a delegation to discuss the OROP issue

Around 3 million defence pensioners may finally see their long-standing demand of ‘one rank, one pension (OROP) fulfilled with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi reportedly backing the proposal.

Gandhi will meet a delegation of ex-servicemen (ESM) on Friday to discuss the OROP issue, which could boost the Congress’ fortunes in an election year.

“He is taking personal interest in the OROP issue and there could be some forward movement,” a source said. The Congress vice-president will also address an ESM rally in Uttarakhand on February 22.

The OROP will ensure that retired soldiers of the same rank and the same length of service receive the same pension, irrespective of their date of retirement. The scheme is estimated to cost Rs. 2,000 crore annually.

Currently, all pre-2006 (the year the 6th pay panel report became effective) pensioners receive lesser pension than not only their counterparts but also their juniors. For instance, a major general who retired in 1995 draws a basic pension of Rs. 30,350 but an officer retiring in the same rank after 2006 gets Rs. 38,500. Similarly, a colonel who retired in 2003 gets Rs. 26,150, compared to Rs. 34,000 drawn by a colonel who retired this year.

Gandhi’s now-famous interventions are seen to produce results, be it raising the cap on LPG cylinders from nine to 12 or junking a controversial ordinance shielding convicted lawmakers.

The push for OROP, which will benefit about 600,000 widows, comes at a time when Gandhi has made a strong pitch for women’s empowerment.

He also seems to have tapped into a potent source of discontent among defence pensioners.

“My pension is lesser than a colonel’s. It is humiliating. The ESM vote will go to the party that implements the OROP,” said Major General Satbir Singh (retd), who heads an ESM outfit. ESM groups claim they can influence at least three crore votes.

Decorated veterans have in the past returned their medals, gone on hunger strikes and signed petitions in blood to draw the government’s attention to the OROP issue.

The government had in 2009 declared that it had earmarked Rs. 2,200 crore annually to improve the pension of jawans, a step it described as “partial implementation” of the OROP that had benefitted 1.2 million pensioners.

Source:http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/one-rank-one-pension-gets-rahul-push/article1-1183813.aspx

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One rank One Pension to the Armed forces personnel.

Parliament of India

(Rajya Sabha Secretariat)

Press Release

   Hundred and Forty-second Report on the petition praying for grant of one rank one pension to the armed forces personnel.

   The Committee on Petitions of Rajya Sabha under the Chairmanship of Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari. MP, presented its Hundred and Forty-second Report to the Rajya Sabha on 19th December, 2011 on the petition praying for grant of one rank one pension to the armed forces personnel.

   2. The Petition was submitted by Shri Sanjay Prabhu and others, resident of Bangalore and countersigned by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP, Rajya Sabha.

   3. The Committee during the course of its deliberations interacted with the petitioners, representatives of Departments of Ex-servicemen Welfare (M/o Defence), Expenditure (M/o Finance) and Pensions and Pensioner’s Welfare (M/o Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions) and some organizations/individuals.

   4. Following are the important recommendations of the Committee:-

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Welfare Of Defence Personnel - "One Rank One Pension"

Welfare Of Defence Personnel

A committee was constituted under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary to look in the issue of ‘One Rank One Pension and other related issues’. After considering all aspects and keeping in mind the spirit of the demand, several recommendations to substantially improve pensionary benefits of Armed Forces pensioners have been made, which have been accepted and are as follows:-

(i) Inclusion of classification Allowance for PBOR from January 01, 2006.

(ii) Removal of linkage of full pension with 33 years from January 01, 2006.

(iii) Revision of Lt General Pension after carving out a separate pay scale for them.

(iv) Bringing parity between pension of pre and post October 10, 1997 PBOR pensioners.

(v) Further improving PBOR pensions based on award of Group of Ministers 2006.

(vi) Broad banding percentage of disability /war injury pensions for pre- January 01, 2006 disability/war injury pensioners.

(vii) Removal of cap on war injury element of pension in the case of disabled pensioners belong to Category E.

Government orders in implementation of the same have been issued on October 30, 2009, January 19, 2010, January 20, 2010 and March 08, 2010. Approximately 12 lac pensioners are benefitted by the recommendations.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju in a written reply to Smt Sumitra Mahajan in Lok Sabha .
PIB

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