One Rank One Pension Scheme

“OROP” stands for One Rank One Pension PIB. This means retired officers of the same rank are all entitled to the same One Rank One Pension PIB, regardless of when they began receiving it or when they finally retired for the uniform pension.

For example, Officer “A” will serve as a good illustration. From 1980 to 1995, he or she was in office. Officer B of the same level should be added to the team. He served as president from 1995 to 2010. The OROP says that if two officers are of the same rank and have served for the same number of years, they should be entitled to the same pension.

Proposals and Counter Proposals

Officers in the military are required to serve for shorter periods of time than their civilian counterparts in order to maintain the military’s youth, strength, and vitality. Civilian officers, on the other hand, must work until the age of 60 before they are eligible for retirement based on the date of retirement. It is your duty as a government to ensure the well-being of the nation’s veterans.

Morale suffers when military personnel are paid less than civilians, despite the fact that they serve for a shorter period of time and do fewer duties. Justice, equality, honour, and national security are all important to veterans.

The Hold-ups

There is a financial hurdle due to the expected time and cost of Rs. 8,000 to 10,000 crores to implement the strategy. Every time the wage is changed, this will increase. Around Rs. 10,000 crores is estimated to be the cost of arrears. This includes paramilitary units like the CRPF, CRISF, etc.

When was the first time this happened?

One Rank, One Pension (PIB) was abolished in 1973 by the Congress party, led by Indira Gandhi. For the first time in 26 years, PIB was employed to calculate the Indian Armed Forces’ pensions. Similarly, the third pay committee raised civilian pensions while reducing military perks.

What is the salary for each rank?

In 1986, Rajiv Gandhi’s Indian National Congress (INC) implemented the Rank Pay plan at the beginning of the 4th Central Pay Commission. According to this plan, the base salaries of seven levels of armed officers in the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy will be reduced by a fixed sum known as rank pay. These positions include 2nd Lieutenants, Lt. Colonels, Colonels, and Brigadiers.

Aside from the rank equivalency productivity discrepancies, the January 1986 cut in grade pay harmed the basic pay and benefits of tens of thousands of officers for decades to come.

Despite the fact that the 4th and 5th pay commissioners raised the issue of OROP, no action was taken. As a way to express their displeasure, veterans staged a demonstration and demanded that their medals be returned. As a result, the government formed the Koshiyari panel.

Bhagat Singh Koshiyari founded the Koshiyari committee, an all-party parliamentary body. It consists of ten members representing a variety of political viewpoints. In December of last year, the document was sent out for evaluation.

When veterans and retired officers spoke up in front of the committee, the committee did what they requested. No matter when they leave the military, soldiers with the same rank and service duration will receive the same pension. Older pensioners will receive any future increases in pension rates immediately.

The government and the veterans had no qualms about this, and this is why the veterans are pushing for OROP. Members of Congress and other groups tried to persuade the UPA to implement the OROP and reach out to veterans. They didn’t, which is a compliment to them. The UPA government gave the interim budget its final go-ahead on February 26th, 2014. It wasn’t enough for the veterans, though. They were expecting more.

Conclusion

It was decided by the Supreme Court of India after the 6th Pay Commission that the armed forces should have a voice in the central pay commission or have their own pay commission. A gap is opening up between the executive and legislative branches of government over military commanders who fight or don’t fight. This was a critical step to treat the soldiers with respect and offer them fair pay.