2014 17 February 2014 In the interim budget speech on 17 Feb 14 the Finance Minister announced that Government accepted the 'principle' of OROP for Defense Forces. The demand note was however never raised by the Ministry Of Defence.
26 February 14 Government issue Order to Implementation OROP.
10 July 2014 Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister and Defence Minister, in his maiden Budget Speech in the parliament, said "We reaffirm our commitment to our brave soldiers. A policy of 'One Rank One Pension' has been adopted by the Government to address the pension disparities. We propose to set aside a further sum of 1,000
crore to meet this year's requirement"
14 August 2014 Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM, Chairman IESM, wrote to Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, in response to his statement in
Leh on 12 Aug 2014 stating that budget caters for the demand of OROP. The letter says the statement is "erroneous", and not in sync with Draft Govt Letter (DGL) prepared by Service HQs in the meetings in Feb and March, 2014, in which the forecast for OROP was 5000
crore, and not 1500 crore earmarked in the budget. The letter recalls that in a meeting chaired by Mr. AK Antony, former Defence Minister on 26 Feb 2014, OROP definition was approved and OROP was to be implemented with effect from 1 Apr 2014. The letter reminds the PM that "It has been six months since the OROP was approved".
20 August 2014 Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha,
Admiral Robin Dhowan and General Dalbir Singh Suhag, briefed A K Mathur, Justice (retd), the chairman 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC), on the pay and pension "anomalies" caused by the 6 CPC.
23 October 2014 Narendra Modi, on
Diwali Day, during a well publicized visit to army formation in
Siachen Glacier, told soldiers "It was in my destiny that One rank One pension has been fulfilled".
24 December 2014 Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister, on the advice of R.K. Mathur, Defence Secretary (25.05.2013 -24.05.2015), informed Chairman of the 7CPC, that he did not favor NFU for the Armed Forces. The justification for not recommending NFU for the armed forces is that the Cabinet Secretary, in 2011, had not made "any recommendations on the issue".
2015 17 February 2015 Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister, approved proposal for implementation of OROP, estimated to cost 8600 crores. The proposal was forwarded by the MOD to Ministry of Finance on 17 Mar 2015, where it is still lying.
5 May 2015 Lt Gen SK Bahri, Chairman, Alliance of Ex-Servicemen Organizations, who had attended Modi's Rally at Riwari in 2013, wrote to Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, to say that "ESM community is a very disillusioned lot". He reminded the PM of his promise at Riwari, and the repeated promises to implement OROP by the Defence Minister, including the COAS, since then. The letter blamed the "intransigent bureaucracy" and
Arun Jaitley the Finance Minister (FM) for the delay.
12 May 2015 Bidyadhar Nayak, Petty Officer Radio(Special), Indian Navy, general secretary of the Odisha unit, issued a press release on behalf of Indian Ex-Services League (IESL), Odisha unit. The press release blamed the bureaucracy for non-implementation of the grant of One Rank One Pension (OROP).
16 May 2015 Manohar Parrikar, in Goa, said "OROP proposal is in final stage. The defence ministry has approved it and the finance ministry will clear it in a few days, adding, "it is the first time that a clear proposal has been sent to finance ministry on OROP."
28 May 2015 Wing Commander Suresh Damodar Karnik, 80, winner of the
Vir Chakra for combat action in the eastern and western theatres, in
1971 War, and former flight commander No 16 Bomber Squadron (Black Cobras),
Indian Air Force (IAF), refused to meet with Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister, and
Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister,
Maharashtra, to protest BJP's failure to honour its commitment to implement OROP. The wing commander, on 28 May 2015, in Pune, said that he and his colleagues are unable to 'accept the invite' from the present Government because of its policy of NATO or ‘NO ACTION TALK ONLY’.
4 June 2015 Lt General Vijay Oberoi, former Vice Chief of Army Staff, and widely respected war hero of the 1965 war in which he lost his right leg while serving with
Maratha Light Infantry, dismissed Narendra Modi's comments on OROP as disingenuous, especially his comment that there were multiple definitions of OROP.
11 June 2015 Brig (Retired) Harwant Singh, state convener of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), announced that about 5,000 ex-servicemen from Punjab, which has about 6,00,000 Ex-servicemen, were planning to go to Delhi to participate in the protest rally on the grant of OROP scheduled to begin 14 June. Brig KS Kahlon (retd), President, chapter of the All India Defence Brotherhood, said the protest would also include return of war medals to the President by some ex-servicemen.
14–15 June 2015 Veteran held "Maha Sangram Rally" at
Jantar Mantar,
New Delhi, and 50 other locations nationwide. On 15 June, they commenced a relay hunger strike.–
15 Jun 2015 On 15 Jun 2015 several hundred of ex-servicemen, widows and Veer Narees of All Assam Ex-servicemen Welfare Association (South Zone) Patharkandi, Assam held a rally under Ex Sub Maj Nirmal Sinha, President of the Association with 12 hours hunger strike. The rally was started from AMAR JAWAN & WAR MEMORIAL point (Constructed by ExSub Maj Nirmal Sinha (Sigs)), marched through the town along the NH 8. A memorandum to His Excellency The President of India was sent through JR Lal Seim the Circular Officer of Patharkandi requesting immediate implementation of OROP. On 15 June, several hundred ex-servicemen, staged a dharna, at Lower PMG Square,
Bhubaneshwar,
Odisa. Bidyadhar Nayak, general secretary, Indian Ex-Services League(IESL), Odisa unit, referring to the PM's statement that OROP was complex issue said, "Does this imply that OROP has got entangled in bureaucratic malaise for another four years? We have every reason to believe that the Prime Minister is being fed with falsities by sections who are against OROP and lobbies are working hard against the armed forces personnel." IESL officials Group Captain Jagadananda Brahma, President IESL, Arun Mohanty, and Bidyadhar Nayak submitted a memorandum on implementation of OROP to Governor
SC Jamir Ex-Servicemen also announced their intent to boycott all government functions including at-home by president on
Independence day (August 15), and the Ex-Servicemen contingent at the
Republic Day Parade on 26 January 2016. Brigadier Harwant Singh,
Regiment of Artillery, veteran of the battle of Chhamb-Akhnoor, 1965 war, said "We don't wish to be treated as showpieces, to be rolled out for ceremonies and discarded thereafter."
25 June 2015 Mizoram Ex-Service League, which has membership of 6,200 ex-servicemen [and about 25000 dependents], held a protest rally in
Aizawl, demanding implementation of OROP.
27 June 2015 On the 13th Day of the Relay Hunger Strike Maj Gen Satbir Singh, SM (Retd), Chairman IESM, issued a circular claiming that hunger strike protest had spread to 50 locations, all over the country.
1 July 2015 United Front of Ex-servicemen, an ex-service organisation, revealed that ex-service men are reconsidering their protest tactics: new tactics would include continuation of relay hunger strike; protests outside homes of parliamentarians; mobilising electoral support against BJP in state election; and submitting letters and petitions to the President signed by war widows in their blood. In the meanwhile eight farmers organisations have joined the ex-servicemen protest under the banner '
Jai Jawan Jai Kisan'. A 1965 war veteran from Rajasthan, Krishan Kumar, in Delhi said, "We will stop fighting only when implementation of OROP takes place."
2 July 2015 On 19th day of nationwide hunger protest by ex-servicemen on 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP), Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister and General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Army Chief of Staff, met a six-member delegation of United Front of Ex-Servicemen (UFESM).
7 July 2015 Brig Inder Mohan Singh (Retd), President, Indian Ex-Services League (IESL), Punjab, announced a plan to hold a protest rally by ex-servicemen on 8 July on a 3-km stretch on the
Barnala-
Bathinda Highway, from Sub-Area HQ gate to the headquarters
X Corps gate. Protest placards read "Soldiers become veterans, veterans become beggars. This is Make in India"; "Once a soldier, now a humiliated veteran"; "In no other country veterans protest as in India"; and "Indian soldiers' enemies- some across borders some in Delhi". Bhatinda type protest on OROP, according to Brig (Retired) Inder Mohan Singh, will be also conducted in front of other military stations. There are 14 Army stations and 5 Air Force stations in
Punjab. Justice T S Thakur, Supreme Court Judge, in a hearing on a contempt petition by retired Major General S P S Vains, gave Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, six more weeks to implement OROP. The next hearing is on 24 August. The Supreme Court Judgment on 9 September 2008 in the case of Union of India and Maj Gen Vains and Others had ruled: (a) No Defence Personnel Senior in rank can get lesser pension than his junior irrespective of the date of retirement (b) Similarly placed Officers of the same rank are to be given the same pension irrespective of the date of retirement.
8 July 2015 Ex-Servicemen protesting against Government failure to implement OROP blocked traffic on
Bathinda-
Chandigarh highway from 10 am to 1 pm, and sat in
dharna in front of the police post in Bhatinda cantonment. Brigadier Inder Mohan Singh (retired), IESL, submitted a petition to a representative of headquarter X Corps (Chetak Corps)
South Western Command. The police arrested six ex-servicemen and charged them under
Indian Penal Code sections 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant). The arrested include: Bhinder Singh, Ramji Das and Sukhdev Singh, from
Sangrur; Baldev Singh from
Tarn Taran; and Kartar Singh, and Baldev Raj Joshi, from Bathinda. The police also registered cases against over 150 others who have not been named.
11 July 2015 Five retired
Lieutenant Generals, four
Major Generals and one
Air Marshall of the
Indian Air Force, joined the protest at jantar mantar, in New Delhi. Many of these general officers belong to the famous June 1971
Indian Military Academy (IMA) course, the "Born to battle" course, that was sent into the
1971 war as
Second Lieutenants (2/Lt). One of the 2/Lt from 'born to battle course' who went to war in 1971 was
Arun Khetrapal, troop leader,
Poona Horse, who was awarded posthoumously the
Param Vir Chakra, the nations highest award for valour in the famous
tank battle of Basantar. Another 2/Lt who joined the protest was Lieutenant General (Retired) Rajinder Singh Sujlana
AVSM,
VSM, former
Colonel Commandant of the
Sikh Regiment, and X Corps Commander.
17 July 2015 Defence Minister set up a five-member committee consisting Lt Gen Richard Khare, (Retd), former
Military Secretary; Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal,(Retd), former
Adjutant General; Major Navdeep Singh,
Territorial Army, Chandigarh-based High Court lawyer, and commentator of service conditions; and Major DP Singh,
Kargil war wounded. The committee is expected submit its findings and recommendations within 60 days. No official announcement on the committee has been made by MOD, or the Defence Minister's office, but media reports suggests that the
term of reference of the committee include making recommendations on measures to reduce litigation by Armed Forces members and Ex-servicemen, including the MOD which is a frequent litigator. There are over 10,000 cases by military personnel before the
Armed Forces Tribunal, the
High Courts and the
Supreme Court, most of them against the Ministry of Defence, or prompted by its decisions, on service matters relating to pay fixation, promotions, policy interpretation, pensions and military justice.
26 July 2015 To coincide with Vijay Diwas (Victory Day) events to mark the
Kargil War, UK based
Non Resident Indians (NRIs) held a one-day hunger strike to protest BJP Government failure to implement One rank One pension (OROP), outside the
High Commission of India,
London. A spokesperson for the protesters said similar protest are planned in other international cities, including in the US and Middle East.
31 July 2015 Admiral Ram Das Former
Chief of Naval Staff visited Jantar Mantar to meet with and show solidarity with the Ex-servicemen and widows of veterans on hunger strike protesting the BJP Government failure to implement OROP and honour its election pledge. Admiral Ram Das made a donation to the ex-servicemen movement and said that he would write to all former Chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Airforce to overcome their inhibitions and visit Jantar mantar to show solidarity with the protesting ex-servicemen.
11 August Gen V P Malik met Nripendra Misra in the Prime Minister Office (PMO) where he was briefed by Mishra, and a joint secretary (JS) dealing with OROP in PMO, on the governments stand. In the evening the JS in the PMO briefs Malik, Gen Satbir Singh of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) and General Balbir Singh of the Indian Ex-Servicemen League (IESL).
17 August 2015 Ten former Chiefs of the
Armed Forces of India (7 former chief of Indian Army staff, 2 Chiefs of Air Staff, and 1 Chief of Naval Staff), in a joint open letter urged Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister, to order an inquiry into the brutal police action by
Delhi Police against the peaceful gathering of veterans in Jantar Mantar, on Independence Day eve and to resolve the OROP issue expeditious. The Signatories to the letter include retired Generals
Vishwa Nath Sharma,
Shankar Roy Choudhary,
Sundararajan Padmanabhan,
Joginder Jaswant Singh,
Deepak Kapoor and
Bikram Singh; retired Air Chief Marshals
Nirmal Chandra Suri and
Shashindra Pal Tyagi, and retired
Admiral Madhvendera Singh.
22 August 2015 Rallies by Ex servicemen in support of the OROP movement were held in
Udham Singhn Nagar,
Mohali, and
Mysore.
23 August 2015 On 70 day of the Relay Hunger Strike (RHS), called
Satyagraha by some ex-servicemen, 25 Ex-servicemen, from 14 Indian States, were on RHS at Jantar Mantar. The fast unto death by Col Pushpender Singh(Grenadiers), and Havaldar Major Singh (Sikh Light Infantry) entered the eighth day, and by Hav Ashok Kumar Chauhan (Signals) the sixth day. A joint Kisan rally- ex-servicemen was held at Satara. the rally was attended amongst others by
Anna Hazare. An estimated 10,000 people attended the rally.
25 August 2015 On 72 day of the Relay Hunger Strike (RHS), 37 Ex-servicemen were on RHS at Jantar Mantar. Col Pushpender Singh(Grenadiers), was in the
Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Army Research and Referral Hospital ( R&R),
Havaldar ( Hav) Major Singh (Sikh Light Infantry), on 10th day of his fast unto death refused to be evacuated; and Hav Ashok Kumar Chauhan (Signals) on the 8th day, was vacuated to R&R due to
muscle atrophy. The other hunger strikers, who were all fit, were: Major Piar Chand, 2 Grenadiers; Hav Sahib Singh, 2
Rajputana Rifles; and
Naik Uday Singh Rawat of 12
Garhwal Rifles. According to Media reports Doval is expected to take an "overall view of the situation" and be involved in the "final negotiations". Pranab Mukherjee, President of India, laid a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti, at India Gate.
Ram Jethmalani, former BJP member, visited Jantar Mantar, declared support for OROP, and blamed the finance minister for delay in implementing OROP.
3 September 2015 Ex servicemen Representative Maj General Satbir Singh while acknowledging that he had met with Nripendra Misra, Principal Secretary to PM, made clear there were no ongoing negotiations with the government. Referring to questions raised on the financial implications of OROP he said that when the government sanctioned Non Functional Upgrades to the
All India Services after the
6th Pay Commission 17 October 2015 Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, former colonel, MP from
Rajasthan, and Minister of State for
Information and Broadcasting in the BJP Government, in an interview to a TV news-channel, denounced the Ex servicemen for continuing with their protest.
7 November 2015 The department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence, as a follow up to the 5 September announcement,
9 November 2015 The ex servicemen announced that they would start returning their medals on 10–11 November, across the country, to District Magistrates, who have been informed to collect the medals, Group Captain VK Gandhi (retd), the general secretary of
Indian Ex-servicemen Movement (IESM), said. The protesting ex-servicemen also met Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal to brief him about the government notification on OROP. Kejriwal informed Group Captain VK Gandhi (retd).
10 November 2015 Manohar Parrikar, denounces Ex-servicemen decision to return medals; and calls protesting ex-servicemen emotional and disgruntled.
11 November 2015 On
Diwali military veterans called for a ‘Black Diwali’ and marched to Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet with the President. The marchers were intercepted by Delhi Police near Rail Bhavan.
13 November 2015 Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister, visited ex-servicemen protesting at Jantar Mantar. He urged the government "to immediately accept the demands of the veterans".
16 November 2015 Brig Harwant Singh (retd), representative of United Front of Ex-servicemen, said the OROP movement is not about money, but about self-respect and izzat.
19 November 2015 7th Pay Commission , headed by Justice A K Mathur, in its 900-page report, recommended OROP, without calling it one-rank-one-pension (OROP), for all central government employees, including para-military personnel as well as defence civilians who have retired before 1 January 2016. Seventh Central Pay Commission (7CPC), in its consideration of one rank one pay, noted that France, China, and Germany have pension schemes for the armed forces, much like India. The US and UK have a similar scheme, called a "defined benefit scheme". Deepender Hooda, Congress MP, criticizing BJP Government failure to implement full OROP, said that Congress supports the demands of the veterans, including annual review of OROP instead of 5 year review as notified by the BJP Government; and OROP for those who take premature retirement. The Congress Party, he said, will take the OROP issue forward in parliament by seeking funds for the implementation of OROP.
16 December 2015 UFESM, to mark victory on the Indian Armed Forces in the
1971 war, and pay Homage to 'Martyrs of Independent India', held a flag raising ceremony at
India Gate. The event was attended by large number of veterans. Wreaths were laid by several veterans, at
Amar Jawan Jyoti, including Lt Col Inderjit Singh, Chairman All India Ex-Services Welfare Association, Maj Gen Satbir Singh, SM, Vice Chairman IESM, and Col Anil Kaul VrC. After the event UFESM issued a press release in which it deplored the delay in establishing a war memorial, the failure of the government to commemorate the victory in the 1971 War, and that of all the civilians gathered at India gate none new of the historic significance of 16 December or the 1971 war. To commemorate the historic victory, and the martyrs who scarified their lives, UFESM urged the government to declare 16 December a
national holiday.
23 December 2015 General Dalbir Suhag,
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS);
Admiral Robin Dhowan,
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS); and
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), in a joint memorandum to the Manohar Parrikar, defence minister, have urged the defence Minister to appoint an expert committee, with members from the armed forces, to examine and reconcile the pay, pension, allowances, and status anomalies exacerbated by 7CPC report, which had no representation from the armed Forces.
17 January 2016 About 200 veterans including Major General Satbir Singh, protested outside 2, Krishna Menon, Marg, New Delhi, the official residence of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The protesters highlight Jaitley's failure to take heed of their concerns, and breaking his promise given to them on 3 January that he would speak with Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister, and 'get back' within a week on status of OROP issues that need to be resolved. Group Captain (retd) VK Gandhi. The protest ended late in the evening, after a meeting with Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance. Disappointed veterans returned to Jantar Mantar, where they have been protesting since 14 June 2015.
21 January 2016 As a follow up on the meeting with
Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance, on 16 January, and on his prompting, Lt Gen Balbir Singh, President IESL, Lt Col Inderjit Singh, Chairman AIEWA and Maj Gen Satbir Singh, Chairman
IESM & Adviser UFESM (JM), sent a joint letter to 'people who matter' urging them to address the anomalies in 7 November 15 notification on implementation of OROP. The letter titled 'Urgent Need to Rectify Anomalies in OROP in Govt notification dated 7 Nov 15", which has the 'approval of 200 veteran organization', is addressed to Manohar Parrikar, Raksha Mantri, Mr
Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister,
Jayant Sinha, Minister of State, Finance,
General Dalbir Singh, Chief of Army Staff,
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chief of the Air Staff & Chairman Chiefs of Staffs Committee (CoSC), and
Admiral RK Dhowan, Chief of Naval Staff.
3 February 2016 A Ministry of Defence press release claimed that it had fulfilled OROP, a 'demand of the Defence Forces personnel' that had been pending for '42 years'. The detailed letter on the implementation of OROP, including table for calculation of pension was issued by Department of Ex Servicemen.
4 February 2016 Colonel Anil Kaul (Retd), spokesperson for the Indian Ex servicemen, denounced the BJP Governments claims on OROP implementation, saying "OROP tables short-change widows, reservists, battle casualties,
havildars,
subedars and
subedar majors. The Jantar Mantar protest will continue and legal options will be exercised".
10 March On 10 March, late in the evening, a squad of five plain-clothes men from the
Haryana Police forced their way into the house of Wing Commander Sharma, 75, former IAF officer and
fighter pilot and veteran of the
1965 war and the
1971 War, and arrested him. The raid and the arrest was made following an old complaint alleging financial wrongdoing by IESM leadership by Lt Gen Raj Kadyan, formerly
Rajputana Rifles, former Chairman of the IESM, considered close to the present government. The complaint also named Maj General Satbir Singh, the present head of the IESM, and
Group Captain VK Gandhi, both of whom secured anticipatory bail from the Chandigarh high court.
25 March Maj Gen Satbir Singh,(Retd), Chairman Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), wrote to
L.Narasimha Reddy, Retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court and head of the commission on OROP scheme, and the Defence Minister, on "Urgent Need to Rectify Anomalies in OROP". The letter drew attention to the Government's executive order dated 26 Feb 14 for the implementation of OROP, and the notification issued on 7 November 2015. The letter examined five salient anomalies in the OROP scheme 2015 as follows:
(1) Fixation of pension as per calendar year 2013 would result in past retirees getting less pension of one increment than the soldier retiring today. This will completely destroy definition of OROP approved by two Parliaments and will also result in loss of one increment across the board for past pensioners in perpetuity. (2) Fixing pension as mean of Min and Max pension of 2013 would result in more anomalies wherein same ranks with same length of service will draw two or more different pensions thus violating the very principle of OROP. (3) OROP has been approved in budget of 2014-15 by two parliaments. As per norms of Government, all proposals approved in budget are applicable from 1st April of that FY. In the case of OROP, the Govt had issued specific orders to its applicability wef 1st April 14. Hence implementation date for OROP from 1st July will be against the Parliament approval. Changing the date would result in loss of 3 months emoluments for OROP across the board. However, if OROP implementation date is to be kept as 1st July, then the base pension should also be accepted as per the PPOs of July 2014. (4) Pension equalisation every five year will result in a senior rank soldier drawing lesser pension than a junior rank soldier for five years thus OROP definition will be violated for five years. This will also result in permanent violation of definition as fresh cases will come up every year. (5) There are numerous errors in the constitution of Tables. How this Table have been made is not known. The fact is that no senior rank defence personnel should ever draw less pension their junior persons. There are numerous instances in the Tables where in the senior rank and senior in service have been shown to draw less pension then his junior. The tables need to be worked out afresh after all anomalies have been removed. The most appropriate method to construct Tables would be to base these tables on live data. The PPOs of defence personnel who retired in 2013 would removal that a Sepoy with 15 years of service should get pension of approx Rs 7200 per month where as in the Tables, pension has been mentioned as Rs 6665/-. This does not satisfy the approved OROP definition. There are minimum such examples. Nb Subedar of ‘Y’ group has been shown to get less than X Gp Havildar this making a senior rank defence, personal gets less than junior rank. Nb Sub TA is shown getting more pension then Regular Nb Sub. The three Service HQs pay cells must be involved in making this Table afresh. These anomalies will result in lesser pensions to widows, soldiers, NCOs and JCOs than what will be due to them on approval of OROP. This will result in veterans not getting OROP as per approved definition and will create much discontent across all ranks. There is a need to have a relook at the pensions of Hon Nb Subedars, Majors and Lt Cols. a) Some Havildars are granted rank of Hon Naib Subedar in view of their exemplary service. These soldiers are not granted pension of Naib Subedar thus making the Hon rank just ceremonial. Hon Naib Subedars should get pension of a Naib Subedar rather than that of a Havildar. Similarly, this must be accepted as a principle and it should be applicable to all Hon ranks in case of NCOs and JCOs. b) Moreover no officer is retiring in Major rank now. In the past, officers were promoted to Major rank after completing 13 yrs of service whereas present officers are getting promotion of Lt Col in 13 yrs. It will be justified to grant all pensioners of the rank of Major, minimum pension of Lt Col as they cannot be compared to present retirees as officers are not retiring as Majors any more. Number of such affected officers is not more than 800 and will not cause heavy burden to Govt. c) Similarly, all pre-2004 retiree Lt Cols should get the minimum pension of full Col. Presently all officers retire in the rank of Colonel hence all Lt Col equivalents should be granted min pension of Colonels. The above anomalies/discrepancies are being brought before you for resolution please. The Finance Minister in the interim budget speech on 17 Feb 14 announced that Government had accepted the 'principle' of OROP for Defence forces. This was followed by the issue of an Implementation order on 26 Feb 14. The demand note was however never raised by the Ministry Of Defence. The memorandum noted that the "main cause of resentment among the non-IAS Civil Service Officers was that all the senior level posts covering majority of Departments, be it technical or administrative, are today manned by IAS Officers. The Civil service Association which includes Defence Civilian services, demanded : [a] "equitable treatment ...so that the gap between the IAS and other Services does not widen and lead to.. chaotic situation; [b] Pay- disparity be removed altogether; and [c] the "Committee of Secretaries" to examine the report of the 7th CPC, be reconstituted to "represent all different sections of stakeholders" so that it may function with "neutrality"
6 April The
Cabinet gave its
ex-post facto approval for implementation order dated OROP order of 7 November 2015 on One Rank One Pension (OROP). The cabinet decision reiterates that "
Personnel who opt to get discharged henceforth on their
own request under Rule 13(3) 1(i)(b), 13(3) 1(iv) or Rule 16B of the Army Rule. 1954 or equivalent Navy or Air Force Rules will
not be entitled to the benefits of OROP. ", and that "In future, the pension would be re-fixed every 5 year". "Financial implications on account of grant of OROP including Pre-Matured Retirees (PMR) cases" according to press Information note " would be Rs. 10925.11
crore for payment of arrears and the recurring annual financial implication would be Rs. 7488.7
crore. Till 31st March, 2015. 91
lakh pensioners have been given the first instalment of OROP, which amounts to Rs. 2,861 crore. Information is being gathered for processing on priority basis, the cases of 1.15 lakh pensioners after filling in the gaps of information such as the length of service being assessed, etc." Blaming the
Pay Commission and Government for being "blind" to the "enduring sacrifice" of the Armed Forces, he concludes that "We have short-changed the remuneration of our armed servicemen". He found it hard to understand the reason for the Government and pay commission to equate police officers[ and defence civilians] with 12 years of service, designated as deputy inspector general (DIG) of the police, with Brigadiers, for pay and protocol. He wonders, in disbelief, "What could possibly justify such a disparity?" Commenting on disability pensions recommended by the 7 Pay Commission, he notes that whereas a JCO and their equivalents in the air-force and the navy, will be given Rs 12,000 as pension, while his civilian counterpart, for the same level of disability, will receive a pension twice that amount (Rs 27,690).
15 June 2016 The six-month tenure of the one man judicial commission on One Rank One Pension (OROP) which ended on 15 June, was given an extension of six months, by the Government. In the wake of the extension to the commission headed Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, former Chief Justice of Patna High Court, veterans Maj Gen Satbir Singh, Chairman of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, Hon Lt K Pande Member and Wing Commander CK Sharma, met Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister, to urge him to ensure that the 'four deviations in the implementation order' on OROP are addressed. Mr Parrikar, according to media reports, assured the veteran delegation that their concerns will be addressed; and that the recommendations of seventh pay commission would be applicable to all ex-servicemen
3 August 2016 Maj. Gen. Satbir Singh (retd), Chairman of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement wrote to Mr. Parrikar and Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, former Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, and head of the one-man judicial commission of constituted in December last year, conveying the "anguish and concern" of ex-servicemen on the "neglect of defence personnel" and "betrayal" by the government. He told the Hindu newspaper that the Defence Ministry did not forward representation by exservicemen to the one-man Committee despite "assurances given by Mr. Parrikar on March 14, 2016 during a meeting of representatives of ex-servicemen". Maj. Gen. Satbir Singh in the letter to the Defence Minister noted that "The mandate given to One-Man Committee is to consider those questions/issues which have been referred to it by the Defence Ministry. This is a serious breach of trust reposed in the system".
12 August 2016 A committee of Jammu and Kashmir Ex Services League (JKESL) presided over by Maj Gen Goverdhan Singh Jamwal, ex-MLC, decided, in Jammu, on submitting a memorandum to Justice Reddy Commission on 19 Aug 2016 stating that OROP should be implemented without dilution, i.e., "All retirees in the same rank and with same length of service should get the same pension irrespective of the date of retirement; and the benefits of future increases should automatically pass on to all such retirees". Other who participated in the committee's deliberations were: Brig Harcharan Singh, Director Rajya Sainik Board; Brig RL Sharma former Station Commander Jammu; Brig Anil Gupta Former Director J&K NCC; Col K S Jamwal, Jt Chairman JKESL; Col Virendra K Sahi, VrC Director War Decorated India for J&K, Col Rajinder Singh, Gen Secy; Lt Col DS Salaria Treasurer JKESL, Lt Col KS Samyal OIC Pension Cell, Lt Col MS Jamwal and Maj JS Baloria Finance Secretary JKESL.
26 October 2016 Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court, submits his report on the anomalies in the implementation of OROP to the MOD.
11 November 2016 Subhash Bhamre, Minister of State for Defence, in a written reply to question by
Alok Sanjar informed Lokha Sabha that Financial year 2016–17, a sum of Rs. 12456 crore has been provided for expected expenditure on account of One Rank One Pension (OROP) and that out 20,63,529 pensioner beneficiaries, 1,27,561 Defence Pensioners/Family Pensioners are yet to get the benefits of OROP.
19 November 2016 Maj Gen (retd) Satbir Singh, while attending a workshop organised by the Uttarakhand Ex-Servicemen League in Dehradun said that the BJP Government had dishonored ex-servicemen by denying them OROP. He called the OROP implemented by the BJP Government "disabled OROP". Maj Gen Satbir called on ex-servicemen to participate in the elections in Uttarkhand and Punjab and " tilt the scale". Group Captain PK Gandhi (retd), another OROP leader, said "ex-servicemen were instrumental in the BJP coming to power at the Centre and they also have the power to dislodge it". Ex-servicemen rallies are planned in
Uttar Pradesh,
Uttarakhand and
Punjab to appeal to ex servicemen to "vote for candidates who work in their favour". The workshop was attended among others by Lt Gen GS Negi (retd) and Lt Col SC Sharma (retd).
22 November 2016 Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha stated that Rs. 82,332.66 crore was provided in BE 2016-17 towards payment of Defence Pensions. This included an amount of Rs. 12,456 crore towards implementation of One Rank One Pension Scheme, which takes effect from 1 July 2014.
Subhash Bhamre, Minister of State for Defence, in response to question by
PL Punia and
Pramod Tiwari informed the
Rajya Sabha that Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court, who was to look into anomalies in the implementation of OROP submitted his report on 26 October 2016. This report is under examination. There are 20,63,529 pensioner beneficiaries of OROP. 1429 Ex-Servicemen have submitted complaints with regard to OROP benefits.
29 November 2016 Subhash Bhamre, Minister of State for Defence, in a written reply to
D Raja informed the
Rajya Sabha that the "United Front Movement of Ex-Servicemen is continuing their 'protest action' since 14th June 2015 for their demands on OROP." The reply says that Government has accepted the demands of Ex-Servicemen associations to implement OROP, and pay arrears starting from 1 July 2014, and provide coverage to Premature Retirees (PMR) cases up to 7 November 2015. The reply acknowledges that "Some Ex-Servicemen Associations have been demanding changes in methodology for fixation of pension, periodicity of its revision, coverage of future PMR cases". Subhash Bhamre Minister of State for Defence, informed in the Rajya Sabha that the MOD will not alter the rank equivalence tabulations between armed forces officers and
Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service (AFHQ CS) circulated by MOD on 18 October 2016. When asked in the Rajya sabha, whether the MOD was considering "correcting the discrepancies that have arisen as a result of this disturbance of rank equations", he replied the question "does not arise". ==See also==