“Despite the fact that OROP has crossed two stages, protests by army veterans continue in New Delhi. The centre has made official announcements regarding OROP, but protests are continuing demanding the annual revision of pension.”

Equal pension for all ex-servicemen is the most important goal of the OROP scheme. This can be achieved only if pension is revised based solely on the rank and years of service, once every year. Pension revision once every five years is unacceptable. This is the bone of contention for the continuing protests.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met the protesters and expressed his support. He also harshly criticized the centre. “OROP must be implemented in its true essence. The centre’s announcements are not complete because they do not reflect the essence of OROP. The centre should refrain from fooling the army veterans. They are not begging for alms. They are only fighting for what rightfully belongs to them. It is unfortunate that these veterans who fought for the country are now being forced to protest on the streets for their rights. The centre should immediately accept and implement their demands,” he said.

Meanwhile, the army veterans had threatened to return their gallantry service medals if the government did not accept their demands. Some of the frustrated veterans tried to burn down their medals. But others restrained them.

Manohar Parrikar, the Minister of Defence, while addressing a gathering in Madurai, said that returning the medals was akin to insulting the country and the armed forces. He had also clarified that OROP was the promise of a political party, not of the central government. He added that protesting was their right and that they should approach the judicial panel committee. He made it very clear that not all the demands will be fulfilled.

Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement general secretary Group Capt V.K. Gandhi (retd) also said that until the judicial committee submits it report, the veterans could not go to court. This, he said, was a “delaying tactic”.

In an article published by the Indian Express yesterday, it was said that the veterans risk losing public support due to their immoderate position and political leadership also needs to reachout to the veterans.

The army veterans are hoping for an amicable resolution of the protests through fair negotiations with the government.

Source: http://www.cgstaffportal.in/

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Major General Satbir Singh(Retd.), leader and adviser of the United Front of Ex-Servicemen, says that the action will bring to the people’s notice that the Centre has not fulfilled our demands on One Rank One Pension.

We have planned to return our gallantry medals to the government if it intentionally continues to delay implementing the OROP scheme without making the modifications that we have sought for. This time, we won’t be returning them to the President. We will hand them over to the Prime Minister himself!

Ex-servicemen who have been conducting relay hunger strikes at Jantar Mantar for the past 115 days demanding the implementation of OROP have decided to hand over 10,000 gallantry medals to the Prime Minister as a sign of their protest. They have written a letter to Narendra Modi in this regard. This was informed by Retired Major General Satbir Singh, who also is a prominent member of the protest committee.

Although the Centre had, on September 5, agreed in principle, to implement OROP, ex-servicemen are continuing to protest because they are frustrated that seven very important clauses have not been added to the scheme. “We are planning to return the medals to him because PM Modi had promised during the elections, that he will implement OROP. Also, we want the people to know that though OROP was announced, our demands have not been accepted,” he said.

At the time of accepting the demand, on September 5, the Government had said that it will issue proper orders within a month. More than a month has passed, but there are no signs of the orders.

Meanwhile, the United Front of Ex-Servicemen has announced that it will hold a massive rally in Jalandhar on October 18 to protest against the Government’s reluctance and delay in implementing the OROP. While replying to a question, Brigadier Amarjit Singh Minhas said that only 2 percent of the ex-servicemen are happy with the OROP announcement. Seven important demands, including annual revision of pension, year of implementation, one-man commission, and inclusion of soldiers who have taken premature retirement, have not been accepted by the Government.

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Although there is no official confirmation from the government, the ex-servicemen’s United Front are ready to accept the demand if it comes with a once-every-two-years pension revision, instead of five.”

Implementation of One Rank One Pension : After crossing multiple hurdles the One Rank One Pension scheme is stuck at one final block. The Government has clarified that it was impossible to revise the pension each year. It is ready for a revision once every five years. But, there are talks that the Government would relax its stand and agree to revise the pension once every two years.

“There is no confirmation from the Government side, but if they agree to revise the pension once every two years, we will accept the term” Major General (Retd) Satbir Singh, who is heading the protests, said.

Sources claim that a section of the ex-servicemen are not ready to accept the once-every-two-years revision. They want to call a general body meeting and discuss it.

Months, weeks, and days have gone. The announcement from the government is now expected in 48 hours. But, there is always the question of whether one should or shouldn’t trust these news.

Many wonder why the demand, that had remained pending for years, suddenly gained momentum and force now. Plenty of reasons are also being attributed to it. Here are the two most important ones –

1. The fact that Modi had voluntarily offered to implement the OROP if he is voted to power. OROP was also included in his election manifesto.

2. Defence pension has not been revised for more than seven years, since the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission came into being. Thousands of army personnel who had retired before 2006 have not been given any pension revision until now. The Government’s refusal to heed to the countless talks, cases, and judgements of various courts has brought the crisis to this stage.

Source: 7thpaycommissionnews.in

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“The protests that began in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar last Monday, demanding immediate implementation of the OROP continues even as the government chooses to turn a blind eye towards it”

Ex-servicemen have been protesting now for a week at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, demanding the immediate implementation of the OROP scheme. Similar protests are also on at 20 important cities in the country to put pressure on the government to act.

The series of protests is jointly organized by 30 ex-servicemen welfare organizations, under the leadership of Chairman of IESM, Maj. Gen. Satbir Singh. Speaking to the media, Satbir Singh said, “Until now the Government has not tried to negotiate with us. If there are no results for the protests, we will shift our protests to Bihar.”

The protesters believe that the government will be more receptive to their demands if the protests affect the party’s chances of winning the state elections in Bihar.

BJP’s parliamentary election manifesto last year promised immediate implementation of the OROP if they come to power. After coming to power, assurances were given by the ministers including the prime minister himself.

Ex-servicemen expected a formal announcement to be made at the first year rally. But, not a word was uttered about this. The ex-servicemen did not lose hope.

On June 1, in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio show, the prime minister assured that he will implement the OROP scheme.

Media reports indicated that sufficient funds were allocated in the previous financial year and that steps are on to implement the scheme. Reports further added that the revised pension scheme is very similar to those of the MPs. But, one has to also accept the fact that the scheme is much closer to implementation than it ever was during the Congress regime.

Many wonder why the army-men have resorted to protests. A number of reasons are being given for the protests.

Excess of trust in Modi government is one of the reasons. Congress-led UPA government, which failed to implement the OROP scheme, suffered humiliating defeat in the elections. The second reason is that more than 30 lakh ex-servicemen and their families spread throughout the country believed in the promises made by the BJP in its election campaign.

The third reason – contradictory stands among the Ministries of Finance and Defence – is considered to be the most important. There are claims that the Ministry of Finance had asked the Defence Ministry to refer to the 7th Central Pay Commission. This is rumoured to be the stand of the bureaucrats.

There have been warnings that implementing the OROP scheme is an expensive task and changes will have to be made to the current pension structure for the Central Government employees and Pensioners. The message was subtly conveyed to the representatives of ex-servicemen by the defence ministry. This had greatly angered the delegates. Protests were launched amidst worries that OROP will be shelved again.

Even now, the ex-servicemen trust the Prime Minister Modi because he doesn’t believe the bureaucrats easily.

Source: 7thpaycommissionnews.in

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‘Narendra Modi may announce one-rank one-pension later this month’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make an announcement later this month on ex-servicemen’s long-pending demand of one-rank one-pension.

Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State for Defence on Tuesday told media persons that since coming to power in May last year the National Democratic Alliance consulted all stakeholders on the issue and then arrived at a decision.

“We came to power in May last year. Over the past one year we have consulted political parties, all stakeholders on one-rank one-pension, whether they are servicemen or ex-servicemen ,” he said.

Read more at www.indiatoday.intoday.in

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WHOM TO BELIEVE, OROP SLIPS DAY BY DAY, ESM TO TAKE IT TO STREETS

Dear Colleagues,
Accompanied by IESM Governing Body members Hony Captains Nagendar Singh and Balwan Singh as well as Risaldar Om Parkash I met the Raksha Mantri today. While I did highlight some other points, OROP inevitably topped the agenda. The RM has all the details worked out, including the expenditure involved in implementing OROP separately for officers, JCOs/OR, families, disabled etc. He did mention the latest spanner thrown in by a related Supreme Court decision (in the case of Maj Gen SPS Vains) where the OROP has been mentioned. However, he appeared confident of resolving the issue without much problem.

The RM is in full grip of the situation. He exudes and inspires confidence. In a relatively short time he has acquired good understanding of the complex manpower structure of the defence forces. He is also fully supportive of the uniformed personnel.

Timeline for OROP? All clearances seems to be in place. Work is progressing apace. My own estimate is OROP will come latest by 26 May 2015, when the NDA completes one year in office.

I have given the farthest limit so that we do not again fall prey to disappointment. Having said that I am hopeful it will come much sooner than 26 May. Till then let us be patient.

Other Points

Some other points that were mentioned and handed over to the RM are:
1. Reservists’ Pension. They are entitled to 2/3 of the minimum pension of a Sepoy with 15 years’ service, but not less than Rs 3,500/- per month. As of now they are getting their entitlement. With OROP the minimum pension of a Sepoy will rise, necessitating up-scaling of the Reservists’ pension.Their number is very small.

2. Pension of pre-2006 Hony Naib Subedars. As of today, Hony Naib Subedars of post 1.1.2006 era are getting the pension of a regular Naib Subedar but the pre- 2006 retirees are getting a Havildar’s pension. Number of the affected persons being small and finite, this anomaly needs to be removed.

3. Pension of Majors. It was highlighted that concept of OROP as well as Supreme Court ruling speak against creating a dividing line for grant of pension. Therefore, while considering grant of a Lt Colonel’s pension to a pre 16.12.2004 Major, there should be no further dividing line based on 1.1.1996. Officers that retired prior to 1.1.1996 in the rank of Major are only about 700 in number and should not be subjected to any discrimination. The point was registered.

4. Minimising Court Cases. It was highlighted that till the Third Pay Commission, there were practically no court cases. Any pay commission anomaly that was perceived was discussed and resolved between the Army Chief, Defence Secretary and their assisting staff. That system needs to be revived.

In this connection I also highlighted that when a military person seeks legal intervention, he is actually a representative of a larger group. There should be a provision where the relief provided to an individual should automatically extend to others similarly affected. The RM clarified that legally, since it is not a PIL, the individual fights for himself and the courts cannot give that benefit to others. However, an administrative mechanism can be put in place for extending such benefit to others. He further added that he is already having it examined for implementation. This showed how positively he is disposed toward resolving the soldiers’ problems.

Best regards,
Lt Gen Raj Kadyan
Chairman IESM
262, Sector – 17A
Gurgaon – 122 001

Source: www.ex-airman.blogspot.in

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Aiming to fulfill a long-standing demand of ex-servicemen regarding the implementation of ‘one rank, one pension’ norm, the government may categorise ‘military pension’ as a different pension category.

Official sources said that is likely that military pension may be soon categorised as a separate category which would ensure that it cannot be equated with other pensions.

“There are several reasons because of which the government is contemplating such a move to differentiate this service. First of all this is the only service where a majority of soldiers retire at the age of 34 years. There is constant risk to life and the service hours are round the clock,” a well placed source said.

Explaining the logic further, the source said that military is also the last line of defence and such a step will also have a motivational and inspirational value.

Sources said that the Finance ministry and the Defence Ministry are making efforts towards fulfilling the commitment.

It is learnt that the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar have been deliberating on the issue.

The move is expected to cost around Rs 8,000 crore, the sources said.

“Detailed planning is required as there are hundreds of ranks and thousands of permutations and combinations involved,” a source said.

One rank, one pension scheme has been a long-standing demand of the over 2 million ex-servicemen in the country.

It seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel who retire at the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement.
PTI

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Implementation of Government decision on the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries 2012 on the issues related to Defence Service Personnel and Ex-Servicemen – Enhancement of Ordinary Family Pension in respect of pre- 2006 JCO/OR family pensioners.

No.1(14)2012/D(Pen/Policy)

Government of India
Ministry of Defence
Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare

Dated: 25th November, 2014

To
The Chief of the Army Staff,
The Chief of the Naval Staff,
The Chief of the Air Staff.

CORRIGENDUM

Subject:- Implementation of Government decision on the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries 2012 on the issues related to Defence Service Personnel and Ex-Servicemen – Enhancement of Ordinary Family Pension in respect of pre- 2006 JCO/OR family pensioners.

Sir,

Kindly refer to MoD letter No.1 (14)/2012/D[Pen/Policy) dated 17.01.2013 on the captioned subject, enclosing therewith tables indicating the rates of ordinary family pension.

2. The provision of enhanced rate of Ordinary Family Pension could not be reflected in the body ofthe main letter hence the following lines may be inserted below para 3 of the MOD letter No. 1 (14)/2012/D[Pen/Policy] dated 17.01.2013:-

Similarly, the minimum guaranteed enhanced rate of ordinary family pension in respect of family members of pre-2006 JCO/ORs including honorary Commissioned Officers and Non-Combatants (Enrolled) of Army, Navy. Air Force, DSC 8: TA, shall be determined as 50% of the minimum of the fitment table for the rank in the revised pay band as indicated under fitment tables annexed with SAI/1/8/2008 as amended and equivalent instructions for Navy & Air Force, plus the grade pay corresponding to the pre-revised scale from which the pensioner had retired discharged / invalided out/ died including Military Service Pay and ‘X’ Group Pay, wherever applicable.”

3. Amendments in Table No.2 (Army) – following additions/deletions may be carried out in table No.2 (Army) attached with MoD letter No.1 [14]/2012/D(Pen/Policy] dated 17.01.2013

[i] Columns in 5th horizontal row from above were not numbered properly. Hence, Column Numbers 1 to 32 from left to right may be marked therein. Further, in Co1 No.6 [for Hony. Naik, Gp-Z) & Col. No.9 (for TS Naik, Gp-Z) for Q.S. 20 years the existing figure 3628 may be read as 3500.

(ii) in Co1.No.9 (for TS Naik, Gp-Z), the rate for Q.S. 24.5 years and above, is deleted. Similarly, in Col No.15 (for Hony. Hav, Gp-Z) rates for Q.S. of 26.5 years and above is deleted.

(iii) Following figures may be inserted in column 12 in respect of Naik Group Z for respective Qualifying service as mentioned against each in the table below:

4. Amendment in Table No.4 (Navy) (attached with MOD letter No.1 (14]/2012/D[Pen/Palicy] dated 17.01.2013):- the existing figures in the respective columns may be replaced by the figures as mentioned in the table below:-

5. Amendment in Table No.5 (Air Force) [attached with MOD letter No.1 (14)/2012/D[Pen/Policy) dated 17.01.2013): the existing figure in the respective column maybe replaced by the figure as mentioned in the table below:-

Q.S. AC, Group-X
(Col.No.1)
16
6225

6. The provisions ofthis letter shall take effect from 24.9.2012.

7. This issues with the concurrence of the Finance Division of this Ministry vide their ID No. 10(11)/2012/FlN/PEN dated 15.10.2014.

Hindi version will follow.

[Prem Parkash)
Under Secretary[Pension / Policy)

Source: http://www.desw.gov.in/sites/upload_files/desw/files/pdf/D%28Pension-Policy%29-25th-Nov-20140001.pdf

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