Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar died at his Panaji residence on Sunday evening just over a year after he was detected with pancreatic cancer. He was 63.

Parrikar is survived by two sons and their families. His wife Medha Parrikar died twelve years ago.

“Chief Minister passed away around 6.40 pm Sunday,” a senior state government official said.

“Extremely sorry to hear of the passing of Shri Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister of Goa, after an illness borne with fortitude and dignity,” President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted.

Hours earlier, GOA CMO had tweeted that his condition was “extremely critical” and “doctors are trying their best”.

Parrikar’s health, which has been fluctuating for a year, took a turn for the worse in the past two days.

Parrikar was suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer and had been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, New York and New Delhi over the past year.

Parrikar had been unwell since February 2018 when he was diagnosed with a pancreatic ailment.

Sources said former defence minister Parrikar had been on life support system since late Saturday night.

Parrikar started off in the RSS when he was young and studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. After the RSS approved his joining the BJP, he was elected to Goa’s Assembly in 1994.

He became Chief Minister for the first time in 2000 and in 2014, replaced Arun Jaitley as Minister of Defence. However, he chose to return to Goa as chief minister after the March 2016 elections.

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New Delhi: The armed forces today said they have raised “anomalies” in the 7th Pay Commission with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and were satisfied with his response that the issue will be resolved at the earliest.

The statement by the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha comes just days after the three services issued letters to their formations, saying they have asked the government to hold “in abeyance” the implementation of the CPC in view of the “unresolved anomalies”.

The forces argue that the anomalies lower the status and pay parity of forces vis-a-vis their counterparts in the police and civilian administration.

Raha and Navy Admiral Sunil Lanba had also met with Parrikar on Monday over the issue.

The 7th Pay Commission anomalies in respect of the armed forces were discussed with the Defence Minister in detail by the Service Chiefs and the members of the Armed Forces Pay Commission Cell, a statement by Raha’s office said.

The Defence Ministry is “seized of all the issues and has assured to resolve them at the earliest. The Services are satisfied with the response,” it said.

The statement came amid reports that the forces were not happy with Parrikar’s reply.

PTI

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7th Pay Commission – Armed Forces unhappy – We are still awaiting finer details to come out but on the look of it there are “not bright spots” as of now, defence sources said.

The armed forces are unhappy with the cabinet approval of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations saying the anomalies that they had highlighted has not been taken care of.

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar admitted that “some” of the recommendations that he had strongly pushed on behalf of the armed forces have “not” been accepted.

We are still awaiting finer details to come out but on the look of it there are “not bright spots” as of now, defence sources said.

They said that the fact that the government has set up a committee to look into anomalies arising out of implementation of the Commission’s report is itself an indicator that their concerns have not been taken into account.

Sources said the demand for uniform pay matrix has not been taken into account and that the allowances have not been brought at par with civilian employees.

Non implementation of common pay matrix means that defence pay matrix will be restricted to 24 pay levels even though the bureaucratic pay level is 40.

Another issue of concern is the non-implementation of Non Functional Upgradation (NFU) which would have allowed armed forces personnel to get upper grade of salary even when not promoted like their civilian counterparts.

One of the main grudge that the armed forces have is with regard to risk-hardship matrix. The officers say that a soldier posted in Siachen Glacier, which has the highest degree of both risk and hardship, gets an allowance of Rs 31,500 per month.

In contrast, a civilian bureaucrat from the All India Services draws 30 per cent of his salary as “hardship allowance” when posted anywhere outside the comfort zone.

Under the new scale, a senior IAS official posted in a city in northeast will draw much more as “hardship allowance”, compared to the Rs 31,500 per month drawn by military officers in Siachen.

Source: Hindustan Times

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New Delhi: Concerned over the increasing pay disparity between defence personnel and their civilian counterparts, the three Service chiefs will soon meet the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to convey more such “shortcomings” in the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission.

A notification issued by the state Finance Department today said the whole time state government employees drawing upto 80,000 salary would draw Dearness Allowances at the rate of 75 per cent with effect from January 1, 2016.

There would also be an adhoc increase in the existing wages of daily rated workers under the government with effect from January 1, 2016, the notification said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced the hike in September this year addressing a meeting of the Trinamool Congress affiliated West Bengal State Government Employees Federation.

However, she had said no arrears would be paid.

The state government had last time hiked DA by seven per cent on January 9, 2015.

With this decision, nearly seven lakh state government employees would be benefited, while the ten per cent hike in DA would cost the state exchequer around Rs 2,500 crore annually, state government officials said.

The state government already have set up the sixth pay commission for its employees.

PTI

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New Delhi: The notification on One Rank One Pension scheme will be issued “within days” of the Bihar poll process coming to an end as the model code of conduct is currently in place, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said today.

Asked if it would be a Diwali gift to the protesting veterans, he said, “I am trying to have it before Diwali (November 11).”

The counting of votes in Bihar will take place on November 8 but the model code of conduct will remain in place till November 12.

“It (notification) will be issued within days after the Bihar poll process ends,” Parrikar told reporters here.

He said the government did not come out with the notification as the model code of conduct has been in place.

The protesting ex-servicemen had yesterday in a letter signed in blood to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanded early implementation of OROP scheme.

On the 133rd day of their relay hunger strike at Jantar Mantar here, the veterans said that the announcement made by Parrikar on September 5 regarding the implementation of OROP had “seven serious shortcomings”.

If implemented without the removal of the shortcomings, it will kill the definition of OROP, the letter claimed.

The letter further accused Parrikar of “changing the goalpost” every now and then.

The protesting veterans asked the Prime Minister to issue notification to implement OROP scheme at the earliest.

Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement spokesperson Col (retd) Anil Kaul said the letter was signed in blood by around 200 general officers and others.

PTI

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Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said there might be a few small issues pertaining to implementation of ‘One rank, one pension’ (OROP) scheme, which over time will get automatically addressed.

“OROP as a principle has been accepted, full financial requirements have been fulfilled. There might be a few small issues which over a period of time will get automatically addressed,” he told reporters here.

Parrikar said the issue has more or less been resolved.

“According to me the issue is more or less resolved, have you ever seen that 100 per cent things are fulfilled to everyone’s satisfaction?,” Parrikar said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today made it clear that the armed forces jawans who have had to give up their jobs prematurely would be covered by OROP benefits announced by the government on Saturday. Welcoming the statement the agitating ex-servicemen decided to call off their hunger strike but said would continue their protest till all the “sticky” issues are resolved.

Maj Gen (retd) Satbir Singh, leader of the association leading the agitation, said the protest will continue till four specific points raised by the ex-servicemen are not accepted by the government.

One of them was revision of pension every two years but the government has decided to revise pension every five years.

PTI

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New Delhi, Sept 5 (PTI) The government is considering appointing a committee under a judge to go into the issue of equalisation of pension, a leader of the ex-servicemen group fighting for One Rank One Pension said after a meeting with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Maj Gen Satbir Singh (retd), Chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen

said the government while accepting the concept of the OROP, was still insisting on pension revision every five years and that is why it was thinking of constituting a committee.

Singh said after the meeting that in that case a representative of the veterans and one from the services should also be in the committee. He said the committee should not take more than one month.

Ahead of government’s likely announcement of OROP, Singh said government has broadly accepted the concept of the scheme and that they will study the details after it is made public.

The delegation, he said, presented their views on the sticky issues including pension equalisation.

“Government has accepted the OROP concept broadly,” the Chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen movement told reporters after the meeting.

He said it was conveyed to the Defence Minister that no junior should get more pension than senior and that there is nothing like Voluntary Retirement Service in defence forces.

Sounding a conciliatory note, Singh said the government has accepted 60 per cent of the demands of the ex-servicemen.

He, however, said the “bone of contention” — revision of pension — still remains.

After the meeting Parrikar met BJP President Amit Shah.

Later a BJP leader said all demands of the ex-servicemen have been accepted except the pension revision demand.

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, who was present at the party chief’s house, said government is close to announcing a solution that will cost the exchequer at least Rs 10,000 crore.

The ex-servicemen have been demanding that the pension revision should take place at least in every two years while government has proposed a five-year revision.

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NEW DELHI: Upset military veterans on Friday boycotted the launch of the golden jubilee celebrations of the 1965 war, even as their negotiations with the government on implementation of one rank, one pension (OROP) remained deadlocked despite further meetings.

The almost month-long celebrations of the 1965 war began with President Pranab Mukherjee paying tributes at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate, on a day when Indian soldiers had captured the strategic Hajipir Pass from Pakistan 50 years ago.

READ ALSO: PMO directly involved in addressing OROP, defence minister Manohar Parrikar says

PM Narendra Modi also paid tributes to the soldiers who fought the 1965 war. “As we mark the 50th anniversary of the 1965 war, I bow to all brave soldiers who fought for our motherland in the war,” the PM tweeted.

But not even two km away from the Union government’s seat on Raisina Hill, the veterans at their Jantar Mantar protest site were clearly unhappy with the continuing delay in implementation of the much-promised OROP.

They commemorated the 1965 war’s golden jubilee event in their own quiet way, with participation from some who had participated in the conflict like Brigadier (retd) D P Nayar, a Hajipir operation veteran, and Wing Commander (retd) Vinod Nebb, who was awarded the Vir Chakra for bringing down a Pakistani Sabre fighter.

The veterans did meet home minister Rajnath Singh later in the day. But much like the series of such meetings with defence minister Manohar Parrikar, PM’s principal secretary Nripendra Misra and Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, the impasse persisted.

The main bone of contention has become the veterans’ demand for “pension equalization” at least once every two years, while the government is ready only for “adjustment” at five-year intervals. Another sticking point is the date of OROP implementation, with the veterans remaining steadfast about it being effective from April 2014, as they were promised earlier. From an earlier position of April 2015, the government has now come down to September 2014.

READ ALSO: Demand for rolling pension change plan holds up OROP

Parrikar, on his part, said the government was working “to fill in the small gaps” and the ex-servicemen should have some patience since the PMO was “directly involved” in resolving the OROP issue.

But this did not go down well with the veterans, who sought an immediate appointment with the PM. “We are rather disheartened. The government is saying it (pension equalization) will be done after five years, which is totally incorrect because it will defeat the very definition of OROP,” said Major-General (retd) Satbir Singh, chairman of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement.

“We are not asking for more than what was sanctioned. What they are offering us is not acceptable to us. I think the bureaucracy is not in favour of giving us OROP. The intention is first to dilute it and then deny it,” he added.

Holding that they had had “full faith” in Modi, the veterans said the PM should meet them to understand the correct position. “All the wrong information fed by the babus would be thrown away and what is right will be accepted and he will give us OROP in totality,” said Maj-Gen Singh.

READ ALSO: OROP talks remain deadlocked as veterans reject govt proposal

Grant of full OROP will mean an additional annual cost of at least Rs 8,300 crore as pension for the over 25 lakh veterans in the country. Taking it into account from April last year, it now adds up to at least Rs 16,600 crore, ahead of the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission from 2016 onwards, as reported by TOI earlier.

Times View

The armed forces personnel are among the most patriotic lot in the country. And as people who have the country’s interest upper most on their mind, they must realise that their one-rank-one-pension (OROP) demand is simply not feasible for any government to meet without seriously messing up its finances not just for the present but for all time to come. If the government accepts the demand that the pensions of all ex-servicemen will increase each time anybody of the same rank retires, the sheer scale of the pay-out will run into tens of thousands of crores a year at present and keep escalating with each passing day. That is clearly not a sustainable proposition. Those demanding such an arrangement are being irresponsible. Both the UPA and NDA must also bear the blame for having played competitive populism in promising they would accept the demand. But ultimately this is not just about ex-servicemen, governments or parties. It is the taxpayer whose money will be recklessly splurged if the demand is accepted, and the country’s future will be harmed. We are sure that that is the last thing our brave and patriotic soldiers want.

Source: http://mlife.mtsindia.in/

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Enhancing Military Capabilities is the Top Priority– Manohar Parrikar

 The Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar has said that his top priority is to enhance military capabilities of the country with due focus on modernization of the armed forces. Inaugurating a two-day Controllers’ Conference of Defence Accounts Department, here today, he said, high serviceability levels of equipment and weapon systems and high morale of soldiers is also necessary which is possible with an effective and optimum resource utilisation. He stressed on working as an integrated whole with shared resources of data and information, specifically in area of pension, payments, compilation and accounting preferably on real time basis. The Defence Minister emphasized that faster and transparent decision making and focus on “Make in India” are the two pillars of our strategy for leapfrogging our economy to a higher growth. Shri Parrikar cautioned the Defence Accounts officials against any attack of hackers on their database.

Shri Parrikar also inaugurated Pension Call Centre for dealing the queries from the pensioners and their families regarding their entitlement and pension payments. The Pension call centre for Army pensioners has been established in the office of PCDA (Pension) at Allahabad and can be accessed through the toll free number 1800 180 5321. The Defence Minister also hinted that an order regarding implementation of One-Rank-One-Pension (OROP) may be issued very soon. He said after the implementation of OROP the pension related anomalies will be reduced. On this occasion a statistical hand book on defence expenditure was also released by the Defence Minister. Earlier, Director General of Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) Shri MJ Joseph presented a ISO 9001 certificate to Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) Shri Arvind Kaushal for its Delhi Defence Accounts Office.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh, CGDA Shri Arvind Kaushal and Financial Advisor (Defence Services) Ms Vandana Srivastava were amongst the dignitaries who graced the inaugural function.

The theme of the conference is ‘Good Governance through strategic collaboration. During the conference, four business sessions concerning shared Database, E-Governance, Strengthening of IFAs System and HRD issues have been planned covering the Department’s working and emphasizing synergy with its client etc. of the defence services. Senior officer of the department as well as defence forces will lead the panel discussions on these issues and provide a road map for collaborated system improvements.

Source: PIB News

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