Ex-servicemen await benefits of one-rank-one-pay

Meeting a long-pending demand of over a crore defence veterans and 12 lakh serving jawans, the government substantially increased the pension of ex-servicemen. The new, revised pension would be implemented beginning this month, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha while presenting the Budget for 2009-10.

Ex-servicemen organisations have been demanding "One Rank One Pension" (OROP) arising out of pay commission recommendations, as they felt that there was a disparity in the amount to personnel holding the same rank and service record, but retiring at different point of time.
One Rank One Pension for defence personnel approved, Budget 2009

Monday, July 6, 2009

Budget Proposal: One Rank One Pension for Ex-Servicemen (OROP)
"Our country owes a deep debt of gratitude to our valiant ex-Servicemen. The Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary on OROP has submitted its report and the recommendations of the Committee have been accepted. On the basis of these recommendations, the Government has decided to substantially improve the pension of pre 1.1.2006 defence pensioners below officer rank (PBOR) and bring pre 10.10.1997 pensioners on par with post 10.10.1997 pensioners. Both these decisions will be implemented from 1st July 2009 resulting in enhanced pension for more than 12 lakh jawans and JCOs. These measures will cost the exchequer more than Rs.2,100 crore annually. Certain pension benefits being extended to war wounded and other disabled pensioners are also being liberalised."

Source : FM's Budget Proposal.

Budget Proposal: One Rank One Pension for Ex-Servicemen (OROP)
Posted by SIGNAL on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 Links to this post
Labels: Grievances of ESM, One- Rank One- Pension for All Ranks, Pension Adalats, Pension Parity, Rank Based Pension, Welfare Ex- Servicemen
Ex-servicemen await benefits of one-rank-one-pay
7 Jul 2009, 0131 hrs IST, TNN
PUNE: With 45 per cent of ex-servicemen of Maharashtra settled in the Pune region, the Union Budget's one-rank-one-pension' announcement spelt good cheer. However, most of beneficiaries now await the actualities of how they stand to benefit from the move.

Under the Union Budget for 2009-10, the government has increased the pension of ex-servicemen. The new and revised pension will be implemented beginning this month, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha while presenting the Budget.

"Based on the recommendation of a committee on one-rank-one-pension', the government has decided to substantially improve the pension of the pre-January 1, 2006, defence pensioners below officer rank and bring pre-October 10, 1997, pensioners on par with post-October 10, 1997, pensioners," Mukherjee said during the presentation.

It may be noted that the pre-January 1, 2006, pensioners were affected following implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations last October, while the pre- and post-October 10, 1997, pensioners were impacted by the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations.

For long, organisations of ex-servicemen had been demanding that the disparity in pension to personnel holding the same rank and service record, but retiring at different points of time, be removed.

"The decision will benefit a large number of soldiers, especially those who retired before 1996," said Bhagatsinh Deshmukh, former director of Maharashtra State Sainik Welfare Board. "Still, this is just an announcement. The realities will show after the full details are revealed."

According to Deshmukh, nearly 60,000 defence personnel retire in our country every year. Out of this, 10 per cent are from Maharashtra. There are around two lakh ex-servicemen in the state at present. Most of them are settled in the Pune region, which has five districts including Pune, Solapur, Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara.

"We are happy that our pensions have been increased," Maruti Lawate, a retired solider told TOI. He also said that he and his other colleagues are now waiting to go through the details of this decision.

Another ex-serviceman, Dattatraya Jadhav, said, "An increase or making the pensions equal was much-needed. Especially in these times of increasing inflation," he said. "In some cases, junior officers or people who have served for a less number of years are getting more pension. This kind of discrepancies would go after this decision."
Ex-servicemen await benefits of one-rank-one-pay