One Rank One Pension (OROP) Scheme explained.

We heard lot of hot debates and news about One Rank One Pension (OROP) recently .First and foremost  this article explains One Rank One Pension Scheme (OROP) and its features,committees etc.

What is the concept behind One Rank One Pension (OROP) Scheme ?

The one rank one pension is a long term demand of Indian armed forces. In this scheme, army veterans argue for same pension for same rank for same length of service irrespective of the date of retirement. Even though Prime minister Narendra Modi has announced One Rank One Pension (OROP) on September 6 while  2016 army men argues that it failed address their concerns .

Main features of OROP

1. The scheme is effective from July 1, 2014 with 2013 as base year. The army men wanted 2015 as base year with the scheme effective from April 1, 2014.
2. The beneficiaries of the scheme will be around three million military personnel. The balance deficits will be paid in four half yearly installments . Furthermore, widows including war widows will get dues in one go.
3. The estimated cost is around Rs 8,000 to 10,000 crore with anticipated increase in future .
4. The government proposed for a five year review, where as military personnel needs an annual review.
5. Initially, those who took voluntary retirement cannot enjoy One Rank One Pension (OROP) .Moreover order created a huge wave of protest across the nation thereby government changed the order. Currently, those who retired before the plan would be entitled with One Rank One Pension (OROP).
6. According to current scenario, all pensioners before 2006 are getting lesser pension than not only their counterparts, but also their juniors .

Koshyari Committee

A committee was set up by the government to hear petitions regarding on the grant of One Rank One Pension(OROP) . The committee was chaired by Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Apart from Koshyari, all members of the major political parties were included .

The committee pointed out that armed forces has two components, rank and length of service. These ranks has been granted by the president of India and these are retained by the individual after retirement. Hence, two armed personnel with same rank with equal length of service should get same pension, irrespective of length of service. For example, if an officer retries as a major rank his salary level will be linked to that of a major who retires after 10 years of service.

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Hurdles in OROP

OROP existed till 1973 .. In 1973 the implementation of CPC, there had a significant decrease in pay and pensions of the militants. The unstable relationship between the armed forces and bureaucrats making the issue more complicated.

Pending issues

Premature retirement : Last but the least, One Rank One Pension (OROP)  would not cover those who took premature retirement. But the government made it clear that those who injured during the service and took voluntary retirement will be entitled with OROP .

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