Saturday, September 29, 2012

Ex-servicemen protests, demand one rank-one pension

Saturday, September 29, 2012
Ex-servicemen protests, demand one rank-one pension
Ex-servicemen from Palampur, Baijnath and Jaisinghpur subdivisions of the Palampur region protested in front of the SDM’s office for lackluster and non- cooperative attitude of the Union government towards their demands. Later, they marched through all the main streets of the town and raised anti-government slogans. They also held a rally and passed two resolutions highlighting their demands.
Their main demand was the immediate implementation of the one-rank one-pension policy with effect from January 1, 1996, so that disparity in the payment of pension to ex-servicemen was settled. They also sought the restoration of recruitment quota for Himachal in the Army as it was before 1995, opening of recruitment offices for the Navy and Air Force at Palampur and also demanded to upgrade the Palampur ECHS centre to category one. They later submitted charter of demands to the government.
Ex-servicemen protests, demand one rank-one pension

ESM protest central pension package

Ex servicemen protest central pension package
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Sangrur, Patiala September 27, 2012
Dissatisfied with the central government's pension package and decision to take steps in a phased manner towards one rank, one pension (OROP), ex-servicemen and their families from across the state held a protest rally at War Heroes stadium here on Thursday.
Addressing the gathering, Col Bhag Singh (retd) said that the announcement of Rs. 2,300-crore pension package showed that the government was not serious about considering the demands of ex-servicemen.
He said OROP was needed as these men have contributed their life for the security of the nation and were not getting the rightful pension in exchange of their services.
He added that there were many anomalies in the pension schemes of ex-servicemen that required immediate rectification for the betterment of their families.
The protestors also demanded an increase in widow pension.
Meanwhile, deputy commissioner Kumar Rahul and chief parliamentary secretary Parkash Chand Garg assured protestors that their demands would be forwarded to higher authorities.
Ex servicemen protest central pension package

Rank Pay: CDA (O) Pune Claim Application

Ref: Further to CDA (O) Pune Letter: Click here
Application to calculate Rank Pay and Pay Arrears with respect to Supreme Court Ruling

Moderator Comments
These details contained in the format be forwarded to CDA(O)Pune by concerned Officers. Along with the above details even copies of Statement of Accounts for period 1986 to 1996 in question would help in retrieving Officer Information. Till date no payment authority or instructions have been received from MOD by CDA (O) Pune. These are only advance notification for speedy tracing/ locating of information from the Archives.

Mystery: BEML, Tatra Sipox and Venus Projects payments routed to tax haven

BEML payments to UK Tatra Sipox for deal routed to Rishi's Hong Kong firm
Josy Joseph, TNN Aug 11, 2012, 02.48AM IST
NEW DELHI: Investigators are bewildered by the strange financial relations between Tatra Sipox UK, the British company that had been supplying Tatra trucks to BEML, and another company in Hong Kong controlled by the controversial NRI businessman Ravi Rishi.
The CBI is investigating irregularities in the purchase of all-terrain Tatra trucks by defence public sector unit BEML for the Indian military. Allegations of irregularities in the deal were sent to CBI for investigation by defence minister A K Antony earlier this year, but it hit headlines after former Army chief General V K Singh claimed that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore to approve purchase of a new batch of Tatra trucks.
Rishi, who controls Tatra Sipox UK and is the prime accused in the CBI FIR into the Tatra scandal, recently moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to travel abroad. CBI has opposed the demand.
What brings a mysterious twist to the Tatra scandal is the relation between Tatra Sipox UK and Venus Projects Ltd of Hong Kong. Venus is controlled from the secretive tax haven of Liechtenstein.
Investigators have been given details by banks and others concerned to establish that every time Tatra Sipox received a payment from BEML, the entire amount was immediately transferred to the account of Venus. In return, Venus gave Tatra Sipox just a 1% commission. "Tatra Sipox was just a transaction handling agency with no powers at all," a source said.
To make the entire transaction easy, both Tatra Sipox and Venus had their bank accounts with Canara Bank in London, and operated them in euro currency. In fact, on February 6, 2007, BEML agreed, for strange reasons, to change the procurement currency from dollar to euro, which led to significant loses to BEML over the next few years. Once BEML issued payments in euro, there was no currency conversion costs on either Tatra Sipox UK or Venus Projects.
With the fresh revelations that Tatra Sipox did not even have the right to decide on the payments received from BEML, the attention should shift to Hong Kong-based Venus Projects. According to documents of Venus Projects until 2011, all the shares of the company were held by Deswa Holding Establishment based in Liechtenstein.
By January 2012, Tatra Sipox was fully owned by Vectra Ltd, which in turn was also run by a trust in Liechtenstein.
BEML had signed a contract with Tatra Sipox in 1997 for a 10-year period for the supply of the all-terrain trucks and its parts. In 2003, four years before the contract expired, the PSU renewed its contract with Tatra Sipox to extend the "scope of working relationship", according to the CBI FIR into the case.
BEML is believed to have told the defence ministry that it was entering into a contract with a fully-owned subsidiary of Tatra AS, the Czech manufacturer of the all-terrain trucks. However, CBI is now convinced that Tatra Sipox UK had nothing to do with the original equipment manufacturers.
And with the latest revelations of Venus Projects being the real 'controlling authority', the Tatra contract has assumed more complex hues. Tatra Sipox emerged on the scene after the collapse of Czechoslovakia into Czech Republic and Slovakia. The company was incorporated in UK in 1994.
BEML payments to UK Tatra Sipox for deal routed to Rishi's Hong Kong firm
Related Reading
  • Black money case: Centre declines to make names public
  • Tracking Tatra: How are Chidambaram and Vayalar connected?
  • OROP: SCPC anomalies partly addressed

    What is One Rank One Pension?
    One Rank One Pension would be clear if we look at one Army family that had two generations serving the nation at two different periods for the same length of time in the same capacity as Havaldar, and yet earning two different pensions. Rajesh Kumar, an Army man, lives just about 200 kilometre from the capital in the village of Beri. A small family of three, his father too served in the Indian Army. Havaldar Zile Singh is the veteran of two wars. He spent 16 years 27 days in the Army, retiring in 1977. Meanwhile, Havaldar Rajesh Kumar saw no wars but served in several conflict zones. He spent nearly the same time – 16 years 10 months – in the force and retired in 2009.
    Roughly the same time in service, roughly the same hardships, but the father earns Rs 7,304 as pension, while Rajesh earns Rs 10,736. It’s this difference, between a pre-96 retiree and a post-2006 retiree that is at the heart of the conflict and the demand for One Rank One Pension.
    The SCPC Anomalies has been partly rectified which has been announced as meeting "One Rank One Pension" goal...read the Government's twisted announcement...
    One pension one rank announcement by Center
    Tuesday, September, 25 2012 - 10:29
    NEW DELHI: The government approved a Rs.2,300 crore per year (about $430 million) proposal to fix the anomalies in the pay and pension of 1.3-million strong defence personnel, 2 million ex-servicemen and another 400,000 military widows, in a bid to assuage their hurt over the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations implemented in 2008.
    "The union cabinet has approved the recommendations of the committee headed by cabinet secretary (Ajit Seth) for benefits to ex-servicemen on four issues. The financial implications of the improvements made as per the cabinet decision on the four items are broadly estimated at Rs.2,300 crore per annum," a government official said here soon after the cabinet meeting.
    "These are expected to largely meet the demands of the defence pensioners on 'one rank - one pension' (OROP)," the official said.
    The approved proposals would be implemented "from a prospective date and payment made accordingly," the official added.
    The committee, set up on July 13 this year on orders of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, submitted its report on Aug 8 this year.
    The government had tasked the committee to look into issues of defence personnel such as common pay-scale for in-service junior commissioned officers and other ranks and initial pay-fixation of lieutenant colonels, colonels, and brigadiers of the army and their equivalents in the other two armed forces among others.
    Its remit also included ex-servicemen's issues such as OROP (that all retired officers of the same rank and service tenure should get the same pension), enhancement of family pension, dual family pension, and family pension for mentally and physically challenged children of armed forces personnel on marriage.
    On OROP, the demand of the defence forces and ex-servicemen associations is that uniform pension be paid to the personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement and any future enhancement in the rates of pension be automatically passed on to the pre-hike pensioners.
    The difference in the pension in the same rank occurs on account of the number of increments earned by the defence personnel in that rank. There is also a difference between the pensioners who retired before and after Jan 1, 2006 when the sixth pay commission recommendations were made applicable retrospectively belonging to a particular rank.
    The UPA government, since 2004, has on two previous occasions taken decisions to narrow the gap in pensions of personnel who retired at different points of time, particularly those belonging to the ranks of junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and soldiers (other ranks or ORs).
    On the issue of OROP, the cabinet approved bridging the gap in the pension of pre- and post-Jan, 1, 2006 JCO/OR retirees by determining the pension of pre-Jan 1, 2006 retirees on the basis of notional maximum for ranks and groups across the three services as in the case of post-Jan. 1, 2006 retirees.
    With regard to family pension, the pre-Jan 1, 2006 commissioned officers, honorary commissioned officers, JCOs/ORs would be hiked based on "the minimum of the fitment table" instead of the minimum of the Pay Band. It was also approved to provide 60 per cent of pension to families of retired JCOs/ORs after their death post-retirement. To retired JCO/OR families getting enhanced family pension or special family pension would be entitled for 100 per cent of the personnel's pension.
    Dual family pension too would be allowed to those personnel, who had civilian service too post military service retirement.
    Family pension will be continued to mentally/physically challenged children of defence personnel even after their marriage.
    One pension one rank announcement by Center

    Friday, September 28, 2012

    Arms dealer Abhishek Verma links Lt Gen in the Racket

    Rajesh Ahuja of Indian Military news
    27 Sep 2012
    Controversial arms dealer Abhishek Verma has told the CBI that a retired Lt-Gen, who has been under investigation in another bribery case, was on his payroll, sources disclosed.
    The CBI had questioned Verma in connection with a case registered under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).
    The agency has alleged that more than half a dozen documents classified as secrets were found in Ganton Ltd employees’ possession. Ganton is allegedly a front company of Verma.
    “Verma claimed that a senior retired army officer of the Lt-Gen rank became his consultant of sorts. The arms dealer was allegedly paying Rs. 2 lakh a month in cash to the officer. The officer was once posted in an intelligence agency of the defence ministry. We are checking whether he was on Verma’s payroll before he retired. He may have supplied classified documents to Verma or employees of his front company,” an official said.
    According to sources, after Verma’s statement, the Lt-Gen in question was also grilled. The officer accepted that he got monthly cash payments from Verma for his ‘consultancy’ services.
    Besides the OSA case, Verma is facing CBI probes in three new cases – for getting money from arms firm, for influencing public servants and for forging letters of sports minister Ajay Maken and a CBI official.
    All these cases were filed against Verma in the last few months based on documents supplied by his US-based attorney C Edmond Allen. A CBI team will visit the US next month to record Allen’s statement in this regard.
    Comments:
  • Prince (18:52:18) : Atleast in this case,Verma is probably telling the whole truth. Logical conclusion of this case would result in a generating fear in potential offenders of this category !
  • COL LAMBA (08:13:26) : MAKE NAME OF LT GEN[TRAITOR] PUBLIC & FIX HIM.RS 2 LAC PM IN CASH ,DISGRACEFUL GEN
  • chwanken (18:53:40) : Obviously Lt Gen is same who offered 14 crores!!!
    Abhishek Verma claims retd Lt-Gen was on payroll
    Connect with earlier post
    Tejinder Singh suffers from Amnesia- Forgets all his Dealers
  • Tatra Trucks haunts MOD

    Problem in upkeep of Tatra trucks: Defence ministry
    PTI | Sep 27, 2012, 05.42PM IST
    NEW DELHI: With procurement of Tatra trucks put on hold, the defence ministry is facing problems in maintenance of over 7,000 of these vehicles in the armed forces and is likely to seek advice from the law ministry in this regard.
    The ministry is likely to seek the opinion of the law ministry on how it should go about the maintenance of Tatra trucks as supply of all-terrain vehicles from the UK-based company has been put on hold because of a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in their purchase, sources told .
    After getting the view of the law ministry, a final decision on the issue may be taken by the ministry's Defence Acquisition Council, they said here.
    The issue of maintenance of these trucks is a key area for the armed forces as high-value assets such as strategic missiles and other heavy weapon systems are based on these vehicles.
    After then Army Chief Gen V K Singh levelled bribery allegations in connection with procurement of Tatra trucks, defence minister A K Antony had ordered a CBI probe in the case.
    Procurement of trucks from Tatra were put on hold after that and CBI has questioned several officials including the head of Tatra Vectra in this regard.
    The defence ministry is also in the process of cancelling an order, placed after CBI began its probe, for one Tatra truck worth over Rs 50 lakh for meeting a DRDO requirement in May.
    The chairman of BEML, which was supplying these trucks in India in partnership with Tatra, has been suspended by the ministry for ensuring a free and fair probe into the charges.
    Problem in upkeep of Tatra trucks: Defence ministry
    Defence Ministry to cancel DRDO's Tatra truck order
    Comment: Tatra scam is akin to Bofors... the real culprits will remain free and scapegoats will be investigated by CBI... conviction rate a poor zero!

    OROP: जंतर मंतर पर विरोध रैली

    "अन्याय के खिलाफ रक्षा दिग्गजों"
    01 DEC 2012 प्रिय दिग्गजों पर जंतर मंतर नई दिल्ली में विशाल रैली
    दिनांक: 28 सितम्बर +२०१२
    1. सरकार न केवल और रक्षा अनसुलझे कार्मिक के वेतन और पेंशन में 39 गंभीर विसंगतियों को छोड़ दिया है, यह भी नहीं लागू किया गया है और सशस्त्र बलों ट्रिब्यूनल और सुप्रीम कोर्ट को रक्षा कार्मिकों के पक्ष में दिए गए फैसले हैं. राज्यसभा OROP दृढ़ता से की सिफारिश रक्षा कार्मिक OROP पर याचिका समिति की सिफारिशों को लागू नहीं किया गया है.
    OROP मुद्दा है जो विधिवत संसद के सदस्यों द्वारा किया गया है पर 7 महीने के लिए विश्लेषण, जो पहले राज्यसभा समिति था OROP के अनुदान के खिलाफ सबूत दिया सचिवों की एक समिति को सौंपा गया था. उन से क्या उम्मीद की जा सकती है? PM, RM, और तीन प्रमुखों से अवगत कराया गया.
    24 सितम्बर 2012 को (इवनिंग) सरकार सैनिकों और राष्ट्र को गुमराह किया जब वे घोषणा कि OROP अनुमोदित किया गया है. वास्तव में अनुमोदन कहीं नहीं OROP के करीब है.
    सरकार ने न केवल 6 सीपीसी जहां नौकरशाही 6 सीपीसी यानी की सिफारिश चालाकी था "वेतन बैंड में रैंक के वेतन का न्यूनतम पे बैंड के न्यूनतम वेतन के लिए बदल गया था" एक गंभीर विसंगति हटा दिया गया है. हवलदार सिपाही के लिए इसके अलावा, वे दो साल के अतिरिक्त वेटेज दिया है जो केवल 400 रुपये प्रति माह की वृद्धि का मतलब है. तीन प्रमुखों द्वारा मांग करने के लिए समिति में सेवारत और सेवानिवृत्त रक्षा कर्मियों के सदस्यों से शामिल नहीं स्वीकार कर लिया गया.
    2. हमारी न्याय इसलिए पाने के लिए संघर्ष, वृद्धि की तीव्रता के साथ जारी किया जाएगा. 1530hrs - मन में इसके बाद के संस्करण के साथ एक रैली जंतर मंतर नई दिल्ली में 01 दिसम्बर 2012 को 1030 से आयोजित किया गया है की योजना बनाई है. सभी ईएसएम जो अपने पदक नहीं जमा करने के लिए बड़ी संख्या में ऐसा करने का अनुरोध कर रहे हैं. पदक बुद्धिमान और रैली या व्यक्तिगत ईएसएम के लिए लाया क्षेत्र रैली स्थल पर उनके पदक जमा कर सकते हैं एकत्र किया जा सकता है.
    3. कार्रवाई के भविष्य के पाठ्यक्रम और संकल्प सामूहिक रूप से रैली में पारित हो जाएगा करने के लिए सुनिश्चित करें कि हम अपने कारण न्याय मिलता है. दिल्ली में इस रैली के लिए सेना के लिए निरंतर उदासीनता और दुराचार meted प्रदर्शन और सरकार पर प्रभावित करने के लिए दीवार पर लेखन देख और शीघ्रता से रक्षा कर्मियों के सभी शिकायतों का समाधान करने के लिए तेजी से कार्य करने के लिए आयोजित किया जा रहा है.
    4. पिछले दस वर्षों में रक्षा बलों सरकार के उदासीन रवैये के कारण ignominies और अपमान की एक बहुत कुछ सहा है. और नौकरशाही. सरकार अगर यह सोचता है कि छठे वेतन आयोग की सिफारिशों के साथ सशस्त्र बलों के असंतोष के मुद्दे पर अपने पैर खींच द्वारा यह कर सकते हैं कि इस मुद्दे को दूर जाना गलत है.
    5. एक देश है कि अपने सशस्त्र बलों का सम्मान करने के लिए मना कर दिया है अंत में अंत बलों है कि 'देशों आकांक्षाओं का सम्मान नहीं होगा हो रही होगी. एक देश अपने सैनिकों के साथ एक पवित्र अनुबंध है कि जबकि वह / वह उसकी / उसके जीवन नीचे रखना जब आह्वान ऐसा करने के लिए, राष्ट्र हद तक अपने संसाधनों के लिए उसका / उसकी अच्छी तरह से देखभाल और उसकी / उसके परिवार की जरूरतों के ले जाएगा की अनुमति.
    6. एक निर्दिष्ट मार्ग पर चार किलोमीटर रैली अनुसूची के अलावा, यह 3 के एक मार्च के लिए बाहर ले करने का प्रस्ताव है. यह भी एक वाहन मंच पर जो वीरता और विशिष्ट सेवा पदक संख्या लगभग दस हज़ार है जो पहले से ही स्वयंसेवक ईएसएम और एक बड़ी संख्या है जो रैली के दिन पर जमा हो जाएगा द्वारा किया गया है हमारे साथ जमा सम्मान में रखा जाएगा तैयार करने की योजना बनाई है "दिखाने के मामले अलग - अलग उद्देश्य के लिए बनाया है. इस रैली स्थल पर रखा जाएगा और अनुसूचित मार्च के साथ रैली के दौरान चला. 7 दिनों - बाद में, यह 5 की एक अवधि के लिए राष्ट्रीय राजधानी क्षेत्र में विभिन्न स्थानों पर "पदक मामलों दिखाएँ" के साथ वाहन ले जाने की योजना बनाई है. चार स्वयंसेवक ईएसएम हमेशा वाहन पर पदक ले जाएगा.
    7. यानी हरियाणा, राजस्थान, पंजाब, हिमाचल, उत्तराखंड, उत्तर प्रदेश, जो अपने - अपने राज्यों में पदक के साथ परेड के लिए वाहन की इच्छा के पास राज्यों में IESM Conveners IESM मुख्यालय को लिखने के लिए, 543 सेक्टर 23, मेल आईडी पर गुड़गांव (हरियाणा) में हो सकता है: satbirsm ( ) जीमेल (डॉट) com पर वाहन को 3-4 दिनों की अवधि के लिए स्वयंसेवक राज्यों को भेजा जा नियोजित किया जाएगा.
    8. अब योजना के लिए रखने के लिए 01 दिसम्बर 2012 अपने और परिवार के सदस्यों और यकीन है कि आप सभी को बड़ी संख्या में ऊपर रैली में भाग लेने के लिए मुक्त हैं. आपकी भागीदारी प्रकरण रक्षा दिग्गजों के सामूहिक शक्ति दिखाएँ हमारे कारण न्याय पाने के लिए आवश्यक है.
    9. रैली में शामिल होने के लिए अन्याय के खिलाफ "यकीन है कि जीत" यह सुनिश्चित करना चाहिए.
    सादर,
    जय हिन्द
    निष्ठा से तुम्हारा है,
    मेजर जनरल (सेवानिवृत्त) सतबीर सिंह, एसएम
    वाइस चेयरमैन भारतीय ईएसएम आंदोलन

    OROP: Protest Rally at Jantar Mantar

    “DEFENCE VETERANS AGAINST INJUSTICE”
    VISHAL RALLY AT JANTAR MANTAR NEW DELHI ON 01 DEC 2012 Dear Veterans,
    Dated : 28 Sep 2012
    1. The Govt has not only left 39 serious anomalies in Pay & Pension of Defence Personnel unresolved, it has also not implemented the judgements of Armed Forces Tribunal & Supreme Court given in favour of Defence Personnel. Recommendations of Rajya Sabha Petition Committee on OROP strongly recommending OROP to Defence Personnel have not been implemented.
    OROP issue which has been duly analysed for over 7 months by members of parliament, was assigned to a Committee of Secretaries who had earlier given evidence to Rajya Sabha Committee against the grant of OROP. What could be expected from them? PM, RM and the three Chiefs were apprised of it.
    On 24th Sep 2012 (Evening) the Govt misled the soldiers and the Nation when they announced that OROP has been approved. In fact the approval is nowhere close to the OROP.>
    The Government has only removed one serious anomaly of 6th CPC where the bureaucracy had manipulated the recommendation of 6 CPC i.e “minimum of pay of the Rank in the Pay band was changed to Minimum pay of the Pay Band”. In addition for Sepoy to Hav, they have given two years additional weightage which means an increase of only Rs 400 per month.
    The demand by three Chiefs to include members from the serving and retired Defence personnel in the Committee was not accepted.
    2. Our struggle to get Justice therefore, will be continued with increased intensity. With the above in mind, a Rally has been planned to be held at Jantar Mantar New Delhi on 01 Dec 2012 from 1030 – 1530hrs. All ESM who have not deposited their medals are requested to do so in large numbers. Medals can be collected area wise and brought to the Rally or individual ESM may deposit their medals at the rally site.
    3. Future course of action and resolutions will be collectively passed at the Rally to ensure that we get our due Justice. This Rally in Delhi is being held to showcase the continued apathy and mistreatment meted to the military and to impress upon the Government to see the writings on the wall and act fast to address all grievances of Defence personnel expeditiously.
    4. In last ten years, the Defence Forces have suffered a lot of ignominies and humiliations due to apathetic attitude of the Government. and the bureaucracy. The government is mistaken if it thinks that by dragging its feet on the issue of the Armed Forces dissatisfaction with the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, it can make the issue go away.
    5. A country that refuses to respect its armed forces will eventually end up getting forces that will not respect the nations' aspirations. A country makes a sacred contract with its soldiers that while he/she will lay down his/her life when called upon to do so, the nation will take good care of his/her and his/her family's needs to the extent its resources would permit.
    6. Besides the Rally schedule, it is proposed to take out a March of 3 – 4 Km on a designated route. It is also planned to prepare a vehicle platform on which gallantry and Distinguished Service Medals number approx 10 thousand which have already been deposited with us by volunteer ESM and a large number which will be deposited on the day of the Rally will be respectfully placed in a “Show Case” separately made for the purpose. This will be placed at the Rally Site and moved along with scheduled March during the Rally. Subsequently, it is planned to move the vehicle along with the “Show Cased Medals” at various locations in the NCR for a period of 5 – 7 days. Four volunteer ESM will always escort the medals on the vehicle.
    7. IESM Conveners in nearby states i.e. Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal, Uttrakhand, UP who desire to parade the vehicle with Medals in their respective States may write to IESM HQ, at 543 Sector 23, Gurgaon (Haryana) on mail ID: satbirsm(at)gmail(dot)com The vehicle would be planned to be dispatched to the volunteer states for a period of 3-4 days.
    8. Plan now to keep 01 Dec 2012 free for yourself and the family members and make sure that you all attend the above Rally in large numbers. Your participation is essential to Show Case the collective strength of Defence Veterans to get our due Justice.
    9. MUST join the rally to ensure “sure win” against the Injustice.
    “Manjle Bahut Hongi, Karvan Bahut Honge,
    Bhirh Wahan Hogi, Jhan Sikandar Honge”
    With Regards,
    Jai Hind
    Yours Sincerely,
    Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM
    Vice Chairman Indian ESM Movement
    Defence Ministry Counter Attack
    Pension hike step towards one rank-one pension: Def Ministry- Press Trust of India / New Delhi September 26, 2012, 19:25- click here

    OROP: Connect with Congress

    Date: Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 11:20 AM
    Subject: Feedback to Congress Party
    This is what I sent to the Congress media, Ms Sonia Gandhi and Mr Rahul Gandhi.
    Regards,
    Brigadier V Mahalingam
    The Government has played a cruel joke on the Veterans community by correcting a 6th Pay Commission anomaly and calling it a One Rank One Pension (OROP). Individuals and businessmen speak falsehood and mislead people but I have been brought up in a family where everyone believed that what the Government says and does will be nothing but the truth and correct. The present Government has betrayed this family belief and faith.
    OROP is a method of compensating a solder for his early retirement due to which a Jawan losses over sixty lakhs and an officer over a crore of Rupees. If soldiers were not retired early at a time when their salary and their commitments were at its peak and allowed to serve as long as his civilian counterparts, this would have been unnecessary. Since the children of a soldier are very young at the time of his retirement he spends all is post retirement financial benefits on the education and marriage of his children with very little left for him and his wife for the later years. OROP only ensures that a soldier gets his pension revised after every pay commission to the level of his brethren serving officers and thus lives an honorable life at his old age and at a time when he has practically no means to earn a livelihood.
    It is sad the Government running under your stewardship doesn’t think it necessary to provide an honorable living to a soldier after his retirement and consider him a spent force.
    Veteran V Mahalingam
    Connect With Congress: Tell them what you feel- click here

    OROP demand diluted: Sugar Coated Ruse?

    Edits: The Statesman
    26 September 2012
    SUGAR-COATED RUSE
    To dilute OROP demand
    NOT for the first time has the central government, and this criticism is not UPA-specific, hypocritically and sinisterly come up with a seemingly attractive package of pension benefits for ex-servicemen ~ that is actually intended to dilute the demand for a one-rank one-pension regime (OROP). Terms like “close to”, “approximating with” or “bridging the gap” have been used by the establishment to camouflage the reality that the promise of reworking the principle on which defence pensions are calculated has been broken. While initially on Monday evening TV channels flashed misleading reports that OROP had been cleared by the Cabinet they subsequently modified their line: without admitting to have erred when raising the hopes of an anxious pensioners’ community. Once the gift-wrapping of the Rs 2,300-crore package was discarded, distinct dismay and frustration spread through the community that concluded that AK Antony, Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram had emulated their predecessors in a bid to “sweeten them” via a one-time handout. The reaction from veterans’ association has been scathing: a retired lieutenant-general accused the government of “deceit”, another said “it is a joke, they have cheated.” Some of their calculations point to anomalies persisting, and insisted the “disillusionment continued”. So should we expect a return to the disheartening scenes of veterans protesting in the streets, returning medals they had once cherished, even more drastic measures that could influence elections? Or that the sustained unhappiness impacts recruitment in regions where “serving the colours” has been a matter of family honour? And that the complications created by different scales render the pension disbursing agency hamstrung. The courts and tribunals are replete with horror stories about people spending years (and their limited funds) seeking “justice”.
    Arguments against OROP (some do have validity) ought to have ceased after all major political parties promised it in their election manifestos, and a parliamentary committee averred that non-implementation was “not tenable”. So the allegation of political double-speak “sticks” ~ across party lines. The implied alibi (bureaucratically-inspired?) that other sections of government workers will make similar demands is cowardly: most soldiers retire in their early 40s, their pension-dependence is unique. The short-point is that if the government does not accept the OROP principle it should have the guts to say so. Perhaps the only “political” reason for the latest rejection of OROP is that granting it would appear to be buckling under pressure mounted by the previous army chief when taking a reckless exit route to build himself a “constituency”.
    SUGAR-COATED RUSE To dilute OROP demand

    OROP a minuscule compared to Rs 42,000 crores of Power Loss

    MoD slams criticism of pension hike
    Ajay Banerjee/TNS
    New Delhi, September 27, 2012
    A day after groups of ex-servicemen termed the government hike in pension for armed forces personnel as ‘misleading’, authorities in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) yesterday retorted by saying this was the third hike in pension in the past four years.
    A detailed chart of the financial benefits given to ex-servicemen since October 2008 is being calculated and will be released soon, said sources.
    “Our aim is to cover the gap in pensions in a phased manner. This is the third increase in pension of ex-servicemen after the Sixth Central Pay Commission award was announced in October 2008,” authoritative sources said.
    MoD slams criticism of pension hike

    Ex-servicemen’s just demand
    Government gets close to the goal by Inder Malhotra
    OF late the media, especially newspapers and social networks, have been full of articles on the armed forces and their “discontents”. Since the authors of most of these are retired generals, air marshals and, occasionally, admirals, they refer more to the complaints and disgruntlements of highest military officers rather than of Other Ranks. Yet rare is any writing on the subject that hasn’t lamented the government’s heartless and over long failure to attend to the just demand of ex-servicemen for equal rank, equal pension, or OROP, for short.
    Over this period one has had to witness not just virulent agitation on the issue but also such heart rending scenes as the nation’s defenders marching to Rashtrapati Bhavan to return their gallantry medals to the Supreme Commander, the President.
    Thank God, this ordeal is now over. The government has at long last done justice to two and a half million ex-servicemen whose number increases by 70,000 every year. The key point is that these men retire an early age and have to exist on meagre pensions while other retirees of the same rank get higher or lower pensions depending on their dates of retirement.
    A good proportion of the retirees could have been absorbed in the paramilitary forces, to great advantage both to them and the country. But this has not been possible, despite the best attempts of several defence ministers and others, because the monster of corruption has taken over the recruitment to not only the police forces in various states but also the Centre’s paramilitary organisations. Even the sleaziest of recruiters find it hard to ask retiring Army men for bribes, and so they are ineligible.
    Lest the Army should start assuming superior airs on this score, let me hasten to add that on the admission of the best and the brightest within its own higher ranks, corruption in recruitment has contaminated the Army, too. As for other form of graft and malfeasance in the uniformed world, the evidence is littered across the country’s law courts or is stacked on the desks of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
    On the merits of the government’s decision on OROP, there are two views. Some say that having gone thus far, the government could have gone a little farther and met the demand for one-rank-one-pension in full. They argue that this would not have added very much to the present package of Rs 2,300 crore which is a pittance compared with Rs 42,000 crore the government has generously offered the State Electricity Boards than which it is difficult to think of institutions more inefficient and corrupt. Having bankrupted themselves, they have run into debts amounting to the staggering figure of nearly Rs 2 lakh crore.
    The debt recasting, even if it is achieved — the states have yet to agree to bear half the burden — would not solve the problem. For, no chief minister would stop the overuse and misuse of free power guaranteed to the farmers. Moreover, nobody would dare say boo to the crooks with clout that are stealing a huge quantity of power with impunity. It is, of course, written off as part of “distribution and transmission losses”.
    Even so, there is a perfectly valid counter-argument to justify what the government has done. It has, it seems, gone as far as it could have or should have. After all, the amount of pension depends not only on the rank but also the last pay drawn. The salaries of the two men of the same rank and superannuating on the same day often differ because of the length of service in the last rank reached.
    The Cabinet on Monday could have decided also on several issues concerning the pay, perks and pensions of lt-colonels, colonels, brigadiers and even lt-generals that have also been pending. But evidently, the committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary that examined the entire issue has not been able to complete its recommendations on these points.
    What the government has got out of the way is very important, no doubt, but it was essentially a sideshow. The real problem, on which the armed forces’ resentment is perfectly legitimate, is the composition of the successive Pay Commissions appointed to fix the salaries and concomitant allowances of both the civilians and the military.
    Click here to read the full article

    OROP: ESM Duped

    Ref: Govt enhances pensions of retired soldiers, 'one-rank, one-pension' still distant by Rajat Pandit, TNN Sep 24, 2012, 11.05PM IST
    Readers' opinions
  • Armored Fish (NAuru) 27 Sep, 2012 08:58 AM
    It is not understood why the entire English print and TV media are projecting the "One Rank One Pension" having been implemented. This is pure misinformation by the corrupt media who are always hand-inglove with the power brokers of Dilli. Further, despite the world having moved far enough with the rise of Facebook, Twitter and domain expertise , IT IS NOT YET UNDERSTOOD WHY ALL MATTERS PERTAINING TO THE ARMED FORCES OF INDIA HAVE TO BE UNDERTAKEN BY BUREAUCRATS WHOOSE ONLY CLAIM TO BEING INTELLIGENT IS HAVING PASSED A BORING ENTRANCE TEST. THE BUREAUCRATS ARE TOTALLY OUT OF SYNC WITH TODAY'S WORLD AND THEIR SKULLDUGGERY AND TOM FOOLERY WILL NOT LONGER WORK!" All over the world, experts are appointed to do a piece of work, electrical engineers do their bit of work and economics like the Chief Economic Advisor to India, Mr. Raghuraman are hired by the people of India (through the their representative "The Government of India" to handle our ecenomy better. In the HR (Human Resources) world and the Indian Armed Forces theri are domain specialists who rpecisely know the issues of "One Rank One Pension" and yet they are systematically sidetracked. All these years. Compare that with our masters who get themselves employed by the People of India (through a foggy elections of course!) and grant themesleves life-time pensions with a few days of work. Compare that to that of a soldier ( who is not less than a sandhu or a faqir who dedicates his life for a the quisling fools to get a few bread crumbs at the end of his service tenure - which is a long one - compounded by the fact that he has to leave early at a relatively young age and becomes a useless commodity to a heartless society that is India. But in this Hindoostan the Indian Armed Forces have been a gift by the Britishers and to preserve this last bastion the current crop of Chandra Gupta Mauryas and Chankyas (Kautilyas ) of Dilli have to take a stock - whether to go the road the Nandas of Magadh took or something similar to the era of of the Mauryas in Patliputra many eons back. They should read Arthashashtra ( the ancient book by Chanakya and followed as the standard read for many countries around the world and India's adversaries as well) first before attempting anything else like modern day economic juggling as a means to fool the people.
  • Premangsu Chowdry (Abroad part of the year) 27 Sep, 2012 08:53 AM
    The response from the government on the " joke " of the recent measly sop for the old pensioners from the Services needs immediate comprehensive final decision. Sixty years ago, the Nehru government arbitrarily and drastically cut down the pay and allowances of the British days of those commisioned after the Sandhurst days in the early thirties ; the option for them to get out of the Services by anyone disssatisfied with the firman (decision) were made clear to people like this commentatotor in writing in a printed letter signed by the PM .brususquely Some chucked the Services immediaately and became well-known top executives in some of the business and industrial houses or just went back to their lands or abroad. Others hopefully felt that the next elected government would not cheat them and things would be restored. The original despicable moans of the various governments of the paucity of funds had the first beginning for the Services. The latter were in no doubt about how they would be continued to be treated in future; and " kept in their places" till kingdom come. The fiercest national spirit which burned in the Servicemen for the honour and safety of the Country and its people ,and kept them going inspite of the doubts cast on them from the examples across the Country's borders of the Military taking over the Country. Six long decades have proved to a series of governments of different hues how abysmally wrong they had been in their misplaced judgement of the only loyal element in the Country. A 92 year old retired general officer who served in many parts of the world in sensitive assignments, may leave a message in the late evening of his life for India's future rulers,. Do not continue to cheat the Services in their dues by manipulations within the politico-bureaucracy, and crying paucity of funds in the face of scams of their predecessors and worth amounts of money enough to run the Country for years. The great virtue of patience has its limits. Only the blind and those bereft of wisdom fail to understand that.
  • Amar Prasad (Pune) 26 Sep, 2012 12:33 PM
    There is no doubt that all the politicians of all hues are rascals and particularly congressmen. They form an unanimity whenever they want to increase their own salary, perks and pelf but soldier who sacrifice prime of their life for the sake of the nation has to beg for his rightful every now and then. WHY? because by giving them their dues these rascals can not have their cut from the allocation as they get in other relief works like flood and drought. Even SPHINX, who becomes furious when names are called can not explain her aloofness from this issue which is related to not only dignity of soldiers but their home and hearth too. She is doing everything to foist YUVRAJ as the PM of country at public expenses. How else she will explain her communal publicity through media. Who has stopped them to uplift the social and health standard of people who need them the most. The answer is simple our own JAICHANDS (The congressmen). Had soldiering been so inconsequential not many youth of the country would have joined Armed Forces to protect the nation. Getting protection and full belly at public expenses is not he birth right of politicians and soldiers are left in lurch. This government of SPHINX has ample money to spend for NREGA and ill conceived Food Security Bill and such many more stupid schemes which does not benefit the intended lot but politicians and their henchmen. Either this government should meet the genuine demands of veterans or should deny them with conclusive reasoning. If expenses are same for the person whether he retires now or fifteen years back then why there should be any disparity in pension. Have the people, who retired early have committed any sin and new retirees are some thing special species. In fact, this is not at all the case of new versus old, but equality which our venerable constitution guarantees to us. Then this is totally incomprehensible solution (Govt version of OROP) and reprehensible the decision of this bold again MMS. MMS is 80 and he himself gets hefty pension from world agencies and understands its need, but he is not bold enough to accede the rightful OROP. STILL HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU PMji!!
  • Ramesh Kumar (Panchkula (Haryana)) 25 Sep, 2012 09:58 PM
    Ex-Servicemen are Men who have devoted their prime part of life for serving the country without looking after their families specially Other Ranks because they don't have sufficient family accommodations even at peace stations, and they also not allowed outliving due to nature of duties. While there are field postings where family accommodation is not available or families not allowed and they also don't have enough salary for shifting them at cities. Interesting thing is that proposal for Other Ranks Salaries given in 1996 so low that government wanted to give more benefits to other ranks (Honorable Defense Minister Sh. Mulayam Singh Yadav disclosed it at Interview with BBC). Other Ranks remain under so much stress because they know what is future of their families. When they retire at 30-40 years of age they are counted as unskilled person and their prime part of life also had gone. Now they have study of their children, Shelter and Marriages (Main Expenses of their life). After considering all above why these soldiers who have wasted prime time of their lives and counted as unskilled and used as a watchmen by the security agencies at very low salaries and 12 * 7 days duty. Why any one of our officers who took our duties and led us during the period which worst our families has not proposed for confirmed job at Home Ministry at the same district or State. Why ? Soldiers who retire during early age (30-40 yrs) should be enrolled direct into the armed police/ other such type of duties where they can earn their livelihood till the completion of 58 or 60 years of age so that they can cast their social responsibility at the later end. Their families, who always felt social insecurity due to residing far from their Husbands and Fathers. They can feel economically at the level of others. But unfortunately, decision making and proposal placing authorities are given to officers only, they never raised these points. Can you tell me why ? Why we have to go to security agencies and have to do as a watchman with less than minimum salaries at 7 * 12 hours duty why no one thinking who are beneficiaries of these innocent ex-servicemen (ORs). Govt enhances pensions of retired soldiers, 'one-rank, one-pension' still distant.
  • War Disabled Marathon Run

    Vijay Oberoi
    WAR DISABLED PERSONNEL WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE DELHI HALF-MARATHON ON SUNDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2012
    Twenty war disabled personnel of the War Wounded Foundation would be participating in the Half Marathon being organised at New Delhi on Sunday 30 September 2012. The War Wounded Foundation is a registered charitable organisation, set up in 2002, with the intention of creating long - term avenues for the financial independence of all war disabled personnel of the army, navy and air force.
    Participation in the Half-Marathon is not for winning medals, but to display the resolve of the war disabled personnel to be part of the mainstream of our society and to emphasise that the fervour of the soldiers does not get diminished because of their disabilities. The war-disabled veterans want to project the reality that their disabilities do not come in the way of continuing to be useful members of the society and creating an honourable niche for themselves.
    The war disabled personnel hope that their example would be emulated by the citizens of our great nation, particularly the youth, who need to be motivated to assist in the growth and well-being of the nation.
    The team of the Foundation would be lead by its President - Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, former Vice Chief of Army Staff and would comprise two other officers, two JCO’S and 15 Other Ranks, all of whom are associated with the War Wounded Foundation.
    War disabled personnel of the War Wounded Foundation have participated in the Mumbai Marathon twice in the past. Photographs are given below.
    Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi, PVSM, AVSM, VSM , President; Maj Gen Ian Cardozo, AVSM, SM,Vice President; Lt Col Gulshan Kumar, Executive Officer; and seven war disabled members of the War Wounded Foundation, ran in the Mumbai Marathon on 16 January 2011, despite their disabilities.
    Maj Gen Ian Cardozo, AVSM, SM, Vice President; Brig Veer Pratap Executive Director; Lt Col. Gulshan Kumar, Executive Officer; and seven war disabled members of the War Wounded Foundation, ran in the Mumbai Marathon on 15 January 2012.

    Thursday, September 27, 2012

    OROP: Ministers blow Rs 680 crore hole in the austerity plan

    No money for "One Rank One Pension" for the Military- Critical Finances: Click here
    Twelve-fold blow to UPA government's austerity plan as globe trotting ministers blow Rs 678 crore of taxpayers' money
    By MAIL TODAY REPORTER
    PUBLISHED: 21:19 GMT, 26 September 2012 | UPDATED: 22:23 GMT, 26 September 2012
    The testing economic situation may be the time for austerity but try telling that to the UPA government's globe trotting ministers.
    Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his ministers have blown Rs 678 crore of taxpayers' money on their travel in 2011-12 - which is more than 12 times spent during 2010-11, when it was Rs 56.1 crore, an RTI application filed by Delhi-based activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal has revealed.
    The PM himself has been criss-crossing the globe in the past two years. Multi-lateral and bilateral visits have taken him from Moscow, the Maldives, and Afghanistan to New York, Bali and Cannes.
    His South Block cabinet colleague - external affairs minister S.M. Krishna - also clocked up the air miles with 28 foreign trips - From New York, Islamabad, Beijing, Bali, Singapore and Australia to Israel and Palestine.
    'The tours are for official purposes. At the age of 80, it should be appreciated that senior ministers can travel so much. These are not pleasure trips,' a South Block official said.
    The reason for the quantum jump in expenditure is also because the ministers flew in chartered aircraft many times - for instance the Indian Air Force Embraer or the Air India airbus hired by the external affairs ministry for Krishna's visit to Pakistan.
    Commerce minister Anand Sharma has logged eight visits to Switzerland, South Africa, Pakistan and France.
    His senior colleague, defence minister A.K. Antony, logged six foreign tours during the last two years.
    While former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee also travelled to six overseas destinations (including the US, Nepal, Vietnam and France), tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahai travelled to five destinations. The UPA allies are breathing fire. 'The ministers take family members and hangers-on at the taxpayers' expene. The government must give an account of this in Parliament,' Rajendra Chaudhary, SP spokesperson, said.
    The Opposition, too, has rapped the government. While some of these trips can be justified because of official reasons, the government must introspect on the rising cost of these official tours.
    Read more:
    Twelve-fold blow to UPA government's austerity plan as globe trotting ministers blow Rs 678 crore of taxpayers' money

    Tejinder Singh suffers from Amnesia- Forgets all his Dealers

    EW DELHI, September 26, 2012
    Tejinder Singh denies allegations of links with Abhishek Verma
    DEVESH K. PANDEY The Hindu
    CBI sources say suspected links emerged in a statement received from Kim
    Lieutenant General (retired) Tejinder Singh, the retired officer at the heart of a military corruption controversy that sparked off an explosive confrontation between the Union government and the former Chief of Army Staff General V.K. Singh, has denied allegations that he had connections with high-profile arms dealer Abhishek Verma.
    “I have met him [Mr. Verma] once or twice, but I had no working relationship with him,” Lt. General Tejinder Singh told The Hindu. Mr. Verma is currently in prison, awaiting trial on multiple charges of engaging in corruption linked to multimillion dollar arms deals, the theft of official secrets, and conducting illegal foreign-currency operations.
    Highly-placed Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sources said that the suspected links between Lt. General Tejinder Singh and Mr. Verma emerged in a statement received from Kim Min Su, the New Delhi representative of South Korean arms firm LIG Nex1. LIG Nex1 was among several competitors vying for an Indian Army contract for a Very Short Range Air Defence System, VSHORAD that supports surface-to-air missile weapon systems.
    Mr. Kim, a CBI source said, told the agency Mr. Verma approached his firm in the second half of 2011, claiming that a complaint had been filed against the company jeopardising its prospects. Mr. Verma allegedly offered his services to set things right for the South Korean company.
    In one of three meetings held in luxury hotels and at Mr. Verma's suburban farmhouse, the CBI claims to have been told by Mr. Kim that he was introduced to one Tejinder Singh, who was identified as a senior functionary in the Indian missile programme.
    Mr. Kim told the CBI that his firm finally did not engage in any deal with Mr. Verma. The South Korean company, nevertheless, got invited to exhibit its product for inspection.
    Mr. Kim declined to comment on these claims. “I have nothing to say,” he told The Hindu.
    Earlier, CBI sources said Mr. Verma alleged during questioning that he had made payments to Lt. General Tejinder Singh. However, they said, the retired army officer had denied these claims, for which no supporting evidence emerged.
    Speaking to The Hindu, Lt. General Tejinder Singh also said he had never met Mr. Kim, or any representatives of LIG Nex1.
    The CBI sources said they had no hard evidence that these meetings had taken place. However, they said, the agency had found a list of contacts on a laptop computer seized from Mr. Varma's wife, Anca Neacsu, that included a reference to a “Lt. General Singh.” Ms. Neacsu, who is also currently in prison awaiting trial along with her husband, is alleged to have conducted illegal lobbying activities on behalf of automatic weapons giant Sig Sauer's Indian subsidiary.
    Lt. General Tejinder Singh has also denied connections to Sig Sauer.
    The retired officer has filed defamation proceedings against General V.K. Singh for claiming that he had offered the former army chief a bribe.
    Tejinder Singh denies allegations of links with Abhishek Verma
    Comment: It is normal for scum bags to deny scams unless the law catches up with them. Difficult to prove remember ACR rating is 9- which confirms impeccable honesty. Only the Swiss Banks will reveal the truth until than denials will help CBI square up the case.

    OROP: Critical Finances cause of dumping ESM

    NEW DELHI, September 27, 2012
    ‘One Rank, One Pension’ a continuing process: Ministry SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT The Hindu
    “Despite critical finances, government is sympathetic towards armed forces”
    Even as ex-servicemen have voiced dissatisfaction over the UPA government’s Rs. 2,300-crore package for pensioners, saying it has fallen short of their expectations, sources in the Defence Ministry maintain that “One Rank, One Pension” is a continuing process.
    In a bid to blunt criticism, a senior official on Wednesday said the government’s package, despite the critical finances of the country, “is indicative of its sympathetic attitude towards personnel of the armed forces.”
    Aim to cover gap in phased manner
    The sources said the overall aim of the package was to cover the gap in a phased manner. It was the third time the government increased pensions of ex-servicemen after the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations had been implemented in 2008. “Every ex-serviceman has benefitted from this latest exercise, which has several measures aimed at enhancing the pension of pre-2006 persons below other ranks (PBORs) pensioners and family pensioners.” This would benefit about 13 lakh pensioners, the total cost entailed being Rs. 1,400 crore.
    9.7% to 13% rise
    On implementation, the sources said, the PBORs would get a raise ranging from 9.7 to 13 per cent over the existing pension, and Commissioned Officers would get an increase ranging from 10 to 28 per cent.
    As a result, the basic pension of a sepoy in group ‘Y’ with 17 years of service would increase by about Rs. 500 a month, of a Naik with 22 years of service by about Rs. 550 and of a Havaldar in Group ‘Y’ with 24 years of service by about Rs. 800, the sources explained. Dearness relief would be payable in addition.
    Raise for Commissioned Officers
    For Commissioned Officers, the increase would range from Rs. 565 to Rs. 3,741 a month depending on the rank. It would range from Rs. 1,500 for Captains to Rs. 3,650 for Major-Generals. These benefits, the sources said, would be in addition to what already accrued to them after implementation of the 2005 order and increase in pension on account of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations with reference to a change in the pay band of a Lieutenant Colonel to pay band 4.
    Family pensioners would also benefit by an increase of Rs. 242-2,500 depending on their existing pension.
    ‘One Rank, One Pension’ a continuing process: Ministry

    OROP Joke: Government attempts to Mollify the ESM

    Taking steps for one-rank, one-pension demand: Govt
    TNN | Sep 27, 2012, 02.02AM IST
    NEW DELHI: Stung by trenchant criticism of ex-servicemen who have called the Rs 2,300 crore pension package announced for them "a joke and mere eyewash", the government on Wednesday said it was taking "steps in phases" towards meeting the eventual aim of one-rank, one-pension (OROP).
    "The journey towards the OROP goal is a continuous process. Despite the country's critical financial position, the government came out on Monday with the Rs 2,300 crore package for ex-servicemen," a senior official said.
    "This is the third time that the government has increased the pensions of ex-servicemen after the 6th Pay Commission. On implementation of the latest package, the pensions of officers will go up from 10% to 28% (Rs 565 to Rs 3,741 per month), while that of other ranks will increase by 9.7% to 13% (Rs 500 to Rs 800 per month). Dearness relief would be payable in addition," he added.
    Ex-servicemen, however, are furious with the government for trying to project the Rs 2,300 crore pension package as the fulfillment of their long-pending OROP demand, which basically means payment of uniform pension to personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement.
    "The OROP story has turned out to be a government joke. The government has just rectified anomalies created by bureaucrats in earlier pay commissions. They in any case would have been enforced through court orders," said a retired major-general.
    The government, on its part, said family pensioners have also been given the benefit of enhanced pensions, ranging from an increase of Rs 242 to Rs 2,500 depending upon their existing pensions.
    "Moreover, defence and family pensioners will also benefit from dual family pension and family pension to mentally/physically challenged children even after marriage," the official said.
    Taking steps for one-rank, one-pension demand: Govt
    Related Reading
    Ex-Armymen cry foul over ‘misleading’ pension plan

    OROP hype Sepoys pension hiked by Rs 550 (peanuts or gratis?)

    Wednesday, September 26, 2012
    Army Pension Hike: Jawans to get Rs 550-800, Officers 570-3750
    Against the backdrop of criticism by retired military personnel, Defence Ministry today said the recent pension package of Rs 2,300 crore for the ex-servicemen was a step towards achieving the goal of one rank-one pension (OROP) in future. The exact calculation of the amount of money by which the retired personnel would benefit is expected to be done within next two days, they said.
    The sources said after the recent announcements, the pension of jawans will increase by Rs 550 to 800 whereas the pension of officers would register a hike between Rs 570 to Rs 3750.
    The hike in pension of personnel below office rank (PBOR) will be between 9.7 to 13 per cent whereas for officers it would be between 10 to 28 per cent.
    Ex-servicemen had expressed their unhappiness with the pension hike announced by the government on Monday, saying it amounted to "wrong and deceitful" treatment of their long- pending 'one rank-one pension' demand and vowed to continue struggle for their rights.
    The sources said this was the third time that the government has hiked the pension of the retired defence forces since the award of Sixth Central Pay Commission in 2008. They said a total of 13 lakh jawans would benefit from the government's announcements at a cost of Rs 1,400 crore per annum. The government announced the decision to address the pensionary issues of ex-servicemen on Monday.
    "The gap in pension of pre-and post-January 2006 retiree jawans will be bridged by determining the pension of pre- January 2006 pensioners on basis of notional maximum for ranks and groups across three Services as in case of post-January 2006 retirees," it had said.
    (With inputs from Business Standard)
    Army Pension Hike : Jawans to get Rs 550-800, Officers 570-3750

    Is One Rank One Pension announcement short of demand?

    The Last Word: Is One Rank One Pension announcement short of demand?

    Video Link; Click Here
    Karan Thapar: Why has the government's decision on One Rank One Pay left retired soldiers and officers dissatisfied? at 8 PM on #CNNIBN
    The alienation between the Army and the bureaucrats is an issue that is making difficult for policies like ‘one rank one pension’ to be implemented, former Chief of Army Staff Gen VP Malik said.
    “I am very worried about the alienation that is taking place between the people in uniform and those in the government,” Malik said to Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN.
    “There is a very strong feeling that the political leadership is not consulting the heads of services adequately on strategic issues, and not at all when it comes to financial compensation, terms and condition of service, welfare and morale,” he added.
    General Malik also said that the relationship between the government and the Army “in the last few years it has gone bad to worse.”
    When asked if the political management of the defense services have deteriorated under the UPA 2, Malik said, “Yes, I can say that because UPA 2 has been ruling for last few years.”

    Wednesday, September 26, 2012

    Rank Pay: CDA Pune letter to all concerned Officers

    Arrears of 4th CPC wef 1/1/1986: Rank Pay Supreme Court Ruling

    click on image for clarity
    CDA Original Letter- Click here
    1.This is for information and action by all Serving and Pensioners (of any kind) Armed Forces officers who were in service on 1/1/1986.
    2. The time bound SC judgement for payment of dues to affected officers is required to be implemented by MoD, GoI and as usual, there is utter confusion in the implementing agencies as to the modelities and methodologies to be adopted. As anticipated, the basic action first will lie with CDA(o) and equivalent paymasters in Navy and AF for calculating and preparing fresh LPCs. They will have to credit dues of the retired offrs pertaining to "while in service period" into pension accounts after DEDUCTING LEVY BY Chidambaram and party (30% ?) and intimate PCDA (P) Allahabad for post retirement calculations?
    3. I am placing the pdf file as above which is a scanned copy of a CDA(o) Pune letter. 4. The veterans at Pune who have visited Pune office have confirmed the chaos prevailing in AOs. The communication is a confirmation of the same. 5. It is adviseable that all affected veterans must dig into their regulation pattern BLACK STEEL TRUNKS and retrieve as many PERSONAL ACCOUNTS files as they can especially those labelled by their earstwhile accounts and PRI clerks as " Statement of Account" and "Pay and Allownces" files. 6. The Navy and Air Force collegues will be better placed then Army veterans since their PAY MASTERS are better organised. As you can see, the CDA Pune has already shifted the onus on the officers to proove and provide evidence for their dues. Anyhow wish you all a happy hunting into your archived files. please do keep an Avil tablet and bronch dialaters near by if you are allergic to dust and mouldy decaying files lying in your boxes. I tried to retrieve and had to abandon due to a severe bout of sneezing.
    Brig (Dr) C P Joshi

    Rank Pay: Mark of Honour- Maj AK Dhanapalan

    ARMY PENSION: (Rank Pay)
    A mark of honour By Rekha Dixit
    Story Dated: Tuesday, September 18, 2012 11:43 hrs IST
    Defence officers win an epic battle over rank pay

    Major A.K. Dhana-palan (retd) at his home in Alappuzha - Photo by Jackson Arattukulam
    It was 1987. General K. Sundarji was in Pune, briefing senior Southern Command officers on the Fourth Pay Commission, when a lowly captain asked an uncomfortable question. He wanted to know why his basic had actually gone down, after the rank pay was introduced. There was a buzz in the room. The chief told the captain to meet him separately, he would explain the issue.
    “I didn't seek private audience later. I was too junior,” chuckles Major A.K. Dhanapalan (retd). “I actually had no business rubbing shoulders with senior officers that day, except that I was operating the computer for the conference. But I hadn't got it wrong. I was right, bang on.” The Engineers officer chanced upon the anomaly when he was asked to work on preparing the pay fixation of defence civilian setups, like Military Engineering Service, on the Fourth Pay Commission template.
    “That year, the commission introduced a rank pay for defence officers between the ranks of captain to brigadier, which was Rs 200 at captain rank. But what it actually did was deduct the same amount from the basic pay and give it as rank pay. Since all emoluments are linked to basic, not only was there no net gain, we were actually losing out,” Dhanapalan explains. He redid his calculations several times till he was convinced the government had tricked the defence officers.
    “I wanted to take the matter to court, but I was in Pune and the High Court in Mumbai. Then, I got posted to Udhampur, and the High Court was in Jammu. Next, I was transferred to Port Blair....” Dhanapalan finally got his opportunity on being posted to Kochi in 1995. His office was close to the Kerala High Court; it was time to make that move.
    His colleagues were shocked at his daring. His advocate, too, was not convinced. The court, however, understood and ruled that the Union of India should pay the rank pay arrears and an interest of 6 per cent. The matter went on appeal and a division bench of the court upheld the judgment. The government took the matter to the Supreme Court but had to eat humble pie when, in 2006, the court rejected its plea.
    He did not stop there. The arrears, while welcome, were not his goal. His aim was to alert defence personnel not to be lulled into complacency by the “you are being looked after” attitude of the establishment. So he photocopied the verdict and posted them to officers and clubs he had addresses of. “That itself cost me a bomb,” he recalls. One such letter reached Colonel B.K. Sharma.
    Sharma was the first officer to do motorcycle daredevilry in the Republic Day parade in 1978. Post-retirement, he realised it was daredevilry time again, this time to take on the government for which he had once fought. He circulated copies of the judgment in canteens and clubs. Knowing there was strength in numbers, some retired officers got together and registered Retired Defence Officers' Association (RDOA) and filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court in 2007. Meanwhile, across India, officers were litigating for the same demand, and all the cases were finally clubbed together before a division bench of Justices Markandey Katju and R.M. Lodha.
    “We had not bargained for the level of resistance from the government. Instead of conceding gracefully, they tried repeatedly to stonewall us,” says Sharma. When in 2010, the bench ruled that it agreed with the reasoning of the Kerala High Court that rank pay be paid retrospectively, with 6 per cent interest, the government filed a transfer petition before a bench of three judges. The three service chiefs recommended to the solicitor general to withdraw the litigation and honour the judgment. The defence ministry, however, pressured the chiefs to withdraw their written communique. In a rare show of defiance, the chiefs stood their ground. The RDOA had to file an RTI to confirm the service chiefs' stance on the matter.
    “They used every tactic, from pleading inability to meet the financial burden to the solicitor general not appearing in court, due to which proceedings would get postponed,” recalls Sharma. “This summer, when the court fixed the last hearing day on September 4, we actually wrote to the law ministry that so many officers had already died in the last 26 years. Delaying justice was not fair, so either they withdraw the special leave petition or ensure the solicitor general be present in court on September 4, 2012.”
    The final hearing was a marathon session. The government made a last ditch plea that interest be paid only to litigants. The court refused. However, it reduced the date of calculation of interest from 1986 to 2006 at 6 per cent, ordering that it be paid within 12 weeks. “This is a big victory,” says RDOA advocate Aishwarya Bhati. “It gives a shot in the arm to all other cases that the defence personnel have been fighting.”
    According to RDOA, over 45,000 officers, retired and serving, will benefit, and it will also impact pensions and widow pensions. The amounts, Sharma calculates, will range from around 06 to 01 lakh, depending on length of service and rank held. The government claims it is a burden of 01,600 crore.
    “It isn't about money. We fought on principle and we have won our prestige,” says Sharma, but admits being flooded with congratulatory calls, all of them with the suffix, “Mujhe kitna milega? (How much will I get?)”
    How did only Dhanapalan get wise to the anomaly? “Faujis are great at protocol, discipline and a hundred other virtues. Studying payslips isn't among those, unfortunately. They usually don't question what goes to the bank, or do the sums themselves,” says Dhanapalan.
    There are many other issues with defence pay and entitlements, but defence personnel say the government is changing tactics. Instead of risking its decisions being challenged in court, it now procrastinates. The Sixth Pay Commission anomalies are an example. Last heard, a four-member committee headed by the cabinet secretary was appointed to look into the issue. Then Navy chief Nirmal Verma had expressed anguish at no defence representative being on the committee.
    Meanwhile, the man who ignited the spark sits back with a smile. “The government paid arrears only till 1996. I decided not to contest it, as by then, RDOA took up the fight.” There are fears the government might give arrears only till 1996 to others, too. “My mission is accomplished. No longer will faujis take at face value what is given to them. They have learnt to read between lines, ask, and fight for their dues,” says Dhanapalan, getting ready to go to the temple.
    Defence officers win an epic battle over rank pay
    PVSM?
    Doesn’t the defence fraternity of both the retired and the serving strongly feel that Major Dhanapalan and Col BK Sharma should be honoured with PVSM? What Major Dhanapalan has done for the rights of the defence personnel, no one else even of the rank of General has done. Both of them really performed Param Vashisht Seva i.e. the service of the highest order that too after his retirement.

    OROP: Bridging Pension Gap- Quantified

    Ex-servicemen unhappy with decision
    September 26, 2012 Correspondent New Delhi
    Expressing severe disappointment, a section of ex-servicemen on Tuesday said the government’s announcement of a pension hike was well short of conceding the One Rank One Pension (OROP) demand and added that the hike in monthly pension for personnel below officer rank (PBORs), who retired before 2006, would be a meagre `377 to `461 while the increase for officers who retired before 2006 would be in the range of `565 to `4,105. Meanwhile, serving armed forces personnel are also disappointed that pay anomalies in the pay packages of serving personnel have not yet been rectified by the government.
    “We are disappointed by the announcement. This is not OROP. We will continue our struggle till OROP is granted,” former Army deputy chief Lt. Gen.(retd.) Raj Kadyan told this newspaper. The demand of OROP, which has not been fully granted by the government, essentially is that ex-servicemen need to get the same pension as per rank irrespective of when they retired. In fact, the vice-chairman of the Indian Ex-servicemen Movement Maj. Gen.(retd.) Satbir Singh has severely criticised the government’s announcement, terming it as “misleading” and has, in a letter written to the Prime Minister demanded immediate implementation of OROP for ex-servicemen.
    But sources in the MoD have defended the government’s announcement, saying it has gone a long way in “bridging the gap” so far as disparities in pensions are concerned.
    Ex-servicemen said that the likely hike in monthly pensions for Retired Jawans will be as under:
  • Sepoys Rs 377
  • Naik Rs 412
  • Havildar Rs 461
    Officers who retired before 2006, the likely hike in monthly pensions for equivalent ranks will be as follows:
  • Captain Rs 1500
  • Major Rs 4,105
  • Lt. Colonel Rs 565
  • Colonel Rs 1,745
  • Brigadier Rs 2,995
  • Major-general Rs 3,650
    Ex-servicemen unhappy with decision
    Comment: Sepoys, Naiks and Havildars who are the backbone of the Military have been short circuited by this shoddy economics and recommendations by the Cabinet Committee under the influence of FM Chidambaram known for his parsimonious heart. (His Charity till date is zero and he has not come across the word "charity" neither in the Oxford Dictionary nor in Oxford he studied). What the babus really want of the Military and Police is to Guard their backs while the Nation is being looted by the scum bags Check out IAS Officer- Ashok Kapur's diatribe against the Military and Police- the voice of babus in unison!
  • Indian military called in to help flood-hit north-east

    Air force helicopters and soldiers in rubber dinghies helped deliver fresh water and food to flood victims in northeast India on Tuesday as the number of displaced rose to 1.8 million.
    6:36PM BST 25 Sep 2012
    Nineteen of 27 districts in the state of Assam have been hit by floods and 13 people have been killed over the past week, according to the latest figures from the local disaster management authority.
    The remote and impoverished state, which was rocked by ethnic violence last month, has been flooded three times this year by the mighty Brahmaputra River, which often breaks its banks during the monsoon season.
    "We have called in the army to assist civil authorities in rescue operations in several parts of the state where people are trapped with floodwaters entering their homes," Assam's Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Prithibi Majhi told AFP. Thousands of people in Majuli, a densely populated river island about 220 miles from Assam's main city of Guwahati, have fled to higher ground or are crowded onto embankments.
    An air force helicopter, flying missions in between rain storms, was seen dropping packets of rice, water, biscuits and baby food on one embankment, sparking a scramble among young and old.
    We just had enough time to pick up some clothes and drinking water bottles before we got onto a boat to reach a highland some distance away," elderly local Bhabani Pegu told the News Live channel.
    "There was a breach in the dyke and soon water swept through the village before anybody could react."
    Rain is continuing to pound Assam and adjoining Arunachal Pradesh state, where the Brahmaputra flows into India from its starting point in bordering Tibet. The number of displaced people stood at 1.5 million on Monday.
    According to the Central Water Commission, the river was flowing above the danger level in at least 10 places in Assam and still rising.
    A government relief effort is gathering pace to help the stranded and displaced, but is being hampered by the bad weather.
    "We have opened more than 3,000 makeshift camps so far across the state," Assam Agriculture Minister Nilamoni Sen Deka told AFP.
    "The actual damage caused to standing crops is yet to be assessed, but going by the magnitude it appears the loss would be tremendous."
    Floodwaters have also submerged the internationally famous 166-square-mile Kaziranga National Park in eastern Assam, home to the world's largest concentration of endangered one-horned rhinos.
    "Almost the entire park is under water with animals fleeing the sanctuary to safer areas," a park ranger said, requesting not to be named.
    Authorities are asking truckers and other drivers on a nearby national highway to drive at less than 40 kilometres an hour to reduce the risks for wildlife fleeing the floods.
    The Brahmaputra has flooded twice already this year, in June and in August, an official in the local weather office told AFP.
    Indian military called in to help flood-hit north-east

    एक रैंक एक पेंशन

    मयंक सिंह | नई दिल्ली, 26 सितंबर, 2012 09:44
    पूर्व सैनिकों के पेंशन में वृद्धि करने के लिए 'एक रैंक - एक पेंशन' (OROP) की उनकी मांग की ओर खाई पाटने के लिए सरकार की ओर से एक प्रयास किया गया अनुमान है जिस तरह से नाखुश हैं.
    "सरकार एक विसंगति है जो इसके द्वारा 6 केन्द्रीय वेतन आयोग के दौरान लिए OROP की मांग के प्रति खाई पाटने के लिए एक कदम के रूप में प्रतिबद्ध किया गया था की एक परिहार की घोषणा करके निर्दोष सैनिकों को गुमराह किया गया है" मेजर (सेवानिवृत्त) जनरल सतबीर सिंह ने कहा है, जबकि करने के लिए बोल TSI. वह भारतीय पूर्व सैनिक मूवमेंट के उपाध्यक्ष (IESM).
    सोमवार को कैबिनेट की एक रुपये को मंजूरी दे दी है. 2300 करोड़ के पूर्व सैनिकों, उनकी पत्नियों और शारीरिक रूप से विकलांग बच्चों की पेंशन बढ़ाने का प्रस्ताव. के रूप में पूर्व सैनिकों से कहा, जबकि एक सैनिक की पेंशन के लिए अपने वेतन के आधार राशि रखते हुए वह सेवा में से गणना की जा रहा था, ", लेकिन गलती गणना के कारण राशि और सैनिक के वेतन बैंड के आधार पर किया गया था यह एक वित्तीय नुकसान में हुई थी, "सोमवार को उठाए गए कदम के रूप में 'नामक एक कदम OROP की दिशा में खाई पाटने के लिए कुछ भी नहीं है, लेकिन इस विसंगति को हटाने था.
    लेफ्टिनेंट जनरल राज कादयान, IESM के अध्यक्ष ने कहा, "है के रूप में OROP दिया नहीं किया गया है कि हम अपनी मांग के लिए लड़ने के लिए जारी रहेगा."
    "तीन समितियों और पेंशन समिति पहले ही मंजूरी दे दी है कि OROP सैनिकों को दिया जा" मेजर जनरल सतबीर सिंह ने कहा. मंगलवार को IESM से प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह, रक्षा मंत्री एके एंटनी और तीन सेवा समझा कैसे सरकार के फैसले को काफी समय से लंबित मांग को पूरा नहीं न्यायसंगत पेंशन सुनिश्चित करता है प्रमुखों को पत्र गोली मार दी.
    "उदाहरण देकर स्पष्ट करने के लिए, एक सिपाही, नायक और havlidar केवल 400 रुपये प्रति माह की वृद्धि हुई दिया गया है, जबकि एक सिपाही है जो जनवरी 2012 को सेवानिवृत्त लगभग 4000 रुपए है, जो 2006 से पहले सेवानिवृत्त उन से अधिक ड्रॉ" उन्होंने पत्र में बताया गया है, उनका कहना है कि इसी तरह असमानता अधिकारी में मौजूद भी शुमार है.
    प्रधानमंत्री को लिखे पत्र में लिखा है, जनरल सतबीर, "एक ही रैंक और सेवा का एक ही लंबाई के साथ रक्षा कार्मिक ही पेंशन सेवानिवृत्ति की तारीख और भविष्य में किसी भी वृद्धि के बिना आकर्षित उन्हें स्वचालित रूप से करने के लिए प्रदान किया जाएगा."
    सतबीर आगे कहा कि हमारे खिलाफ discrimnation मुख्य रूप से समिति की अध्यक्षता कैबिनेट सचिव, एक अनुरोध है जो तीन चीफ्स रक्षा मंत्री बनाया लेकिन उसे स्वीकार नहीं किया गया था में रक्षा कार्मिक से सदस्यों के शामिल किए जाने के कारण है.
    कई सालों के लिए पूर्व सैनिकों को 'एक क्रम से एक वेतन' के कार्यान्वयन की मांग की है जिसके तहत रक्षा कर्मियों को एक ही पद पर सेवानिवृत्त हो रहे हैं और सेवा की इसी अवधि में देने के लिए एक ही पेंशन दी जानी चाहिए सेवानिवृत्ति के वर्ष के बावजूद.
    वर्तमान प्रणाली के अनुसार, 6 वेतन आयोग के तहत पूर्व सैनिकों अपने समकक्षों के जो पिछले वेतन आयोगों के तहत सेवानिवृत्त से अधिक पेंशन मिलता है.
    Click here for the English Version

    MoD: Britain Vs India: Career average Vs Final salary

    Britain: Pension reforms for military outlined by MoD
    The age at which members of the Armed Forces claim pensions could rise from 55 to 60 under government plans.
    The changes, affecting all service personnel under the age of 45, are part of the government's plans to cut the cost of public sector pensions.
    The new conditions are set to be introduced from April 2015.
    The Forces Pensions Society (FPS) said the forthcoming changes were a "very good deal" and "certainly not all bad news".
    The society's general secretary, Major General John Moore-Bick, said: "We have ensured that armed forces pensions stay towards the top end of pensions in the public sector."
    "This does not mean that any people will have to carry on serving until they are 60."
    Early payment
    The current Armed Forces pension scheme has two main sections, for those who joined between 1975 and 2005 and those who joined afterwards.
    In both cases the normal pension age is 55.
    A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that only 2% of those who serve in the Armed Forces do so until that age.
    The new scheme will be a career average one, rather than the final-salary versions that operate at present.
    Pension rights accrued under the existing sections will be protected, so pensions earned up to the change-over date of April 2015 will be payable at the current retirement ages.
    A unique early retirement feature of the scheme will also remain.
    Under this, early departure payments in the form of a lower level of pension, and a lump sum, are paid to service men and women with at least 18 years service who are aged 40 or over.
    The length of service required to trigger this will rise to 20 years.
    "This will mainly affect officers who tend to join after university rather than the other ranks who join about the age of 20," said David Marsh, pensions secretary of the FPS.
    Exemption
    In the rest of the public sector the government is linking the normal pension age to the state pension age, which is going to rise in due course from 65 to at least 68, in line with increased life expectancy.
    The MoD said this meant that those in uniform would still have better pension terms than most other public sector workers.
    The Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, Andrew Robathan, said: "The government has had to make some tough decisions to ensure sustainable public service pensions which provide a fair deal for both service personnel and for the taxpayer."
    "We recognise the unique commitment made by the Armed Forces and we have done all we can to protect them and make these changes in the fairest way possible," he added.
    Service personnel who were within 10 years of their normal retirement age on 1 April 2012 will be exempt from the new changes altogether.
    All service personnel will continue to be exempted from paying cash contributions to their pension scheme, though many argue that their pay rates are set at levels lower than would otherwise be the case, to offset this apparent generosity.
    "The MoD has done a very good job - under the consultation this is a very good job," Mr Marsh said.
    Britain: Pension reforms for military outlined by MoD

    Ex-servicemen reject hike in pension, say it is ‘misleading’

    Ajay Banerjee
    Tribune News Service
    New Delhi, September 25, 2012
    As the fine print of the Cabinet’s decision on additional pension for ex-servicemen emerges, it is clear that the government stopped short of accepting the ‘one rank, one pension’ (OROP) formula but there will be an across the board increase in pension for all those who retired before January 1 2006.
    Depending on which side you stand, opinions are sharply divided on the hike and the last word on the matter is yet to be spoken with ex-servicemen groups rejecting the additional pension benefits.
    The basic pension of all officers who retired before January 1, 2006 will increase between Rs 1,800 and Rs 3,600. The existing 65 per cent of dearness allowance will also be admissible over the increased amount. However, this is not as per the OROP formula.
    Despite the increase, officers who retired after January 1, 2006 will get pensions that are way ahead of those who retired before January 1, 2006. The other measures on dual family pension and family pension for physically and mentally handicapped children after marriage have been welcomed.

    Sources said as per calculations made so far, the following will be the tentative hike in basic pension for officers who retired before January 1, 2006: Captain Rs 13,850 (existing) to Rs 15,350 (after hike); Major Rs 14,100 to Rs 18,205; Lt Col Rs 25,700 to Rs 26,262; Colonel Rs 26,050 to Rs 27,795; Brigadier Rs 26,150 to Rs 29,145 and Major General Rs 26,700 to 30,350. These figures could be more, depending upon several other factors. This DA would be paid as per prevailing rates. Other payments of military service pay and grade pay factored into the pension calculation formula remain unchanged.
    Maj General Satbir Singh (retd), vice-chairman of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, rejected the announcement terming it as “misleading”. “What has been given, albeit grudgingly, does not even meet provisions of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) judgments on the matter,” he said in letters shot-off to the Prime Minister with copies to Defence Minister AK Antony and the three Service Chiefs. Two summers ago, the General had led a march to Rashtrapati Bhawan where hundreds of retired personnel returned their medals.
    Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa and Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda have welcomed the decision. Bajwa said the remaining demands of serving officers should be met immediately, while Hooda praised Sonia Gandhi for the move.
    Explaining the intricacies of OROP, Maj General Singh said, “OROP means that defence personnel with the same rank and same length of service must draw the same pension irrespective of the date of retirement and any future enhancement would be automatically granted to them. What has been announced is not OROP.” The hike has come about after a change in calculations. Till now, the pension for ex-servicemen retiring before January 1, 2006 was calculated as per the lowest pay in the existing pay band.
    Ex-servicemen reject hike in pension, say it is ‘misleading’

    OROP: Military Veterans Remain Skeptical

    Published on 24 Sep 2012 by ibnlive India's nearly 23 lakh ex-military personnel have a reason to celebrate. The government has finally conceded their demand for One Rank One Pension. It means that the military personnel will draw the pensions depending on the rank at which they retired, and not the date of their retirement. http://ibnlive.com/livetv

    Armed forces personnel dissatisfied: OROP boxed by Babus

    Armed forces personnel dissatisfied with One Rank, One Pension scheme
    SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: The Hindu NEW DELHI, September 26, 2012
    Though the UPA government has rolled out the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme for ex-servicemen, and tried to bridge the gap between pre and post-January 2006 retirees, resentment is brewing among serving and retired armed forces personnel, who have termed it an ‘eyewash’ and a feeble attempt at “rectification” of a fault dating back to 2006.
    Several ex-servicemen, as well as serving armed forces personnel, pointed out on Tuesday that after the Government’s Rs. 2300 crore package for pensioners, a sepoy would be entitled to a total increase of Rs. 622 per month in his pension, and the raise would be Rs. 761 for a havildar.
    Among the officers, a Lieutenant Colonel, on an average, would get a raise of Rs. 565 per month.
    They pointed out that several anomalies still remain, and none of the core issues, raised by the three Service Chiefs in August with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, have been accepted.
    Among other things, the three Service Chiefs had asked for the resolution of serving personnel issues, like fixation of common payscales for all JCOs and Other Ranks, grant of non-functional upgradation status to commissioned officers, and one rank one pension to the retired personnel. The Chiefs had also pointed out disparities between officers in uniform and their civilian counterparts.
    Citing an example, some officers pointed out disparities in nine organisations of Group A services within the armed forces, where a superintendent engineer was at par with a colonel, but after non-functional upgradation (NFU), had become equivalent to a Major General, whereas the chief engineer, higher in status in that very organisation, was equivalent to a Brigadier.
    While pledging to continue their struggle for their rights, ex-servicemen said the pension hike, announced on Monday, amounted to “wrong and deceitful” treatment of their long-pending OROP demand.
    “It is deceiving. The Government has wrongly interpreted the term ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP). They haven’t given OROP; instead they have just merely made an enhancement in pension,” Chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Raj Kadyan, said here.
    IESM on Tuesday wrote to Dr. Singh, Defence Minister A.K. Antony, and the three Service chiefs, explaining how the government decision doesn’t meet their long-pending demand to provide equitable pensions.
    Armed forces personnel dissatisfied with One Rank, One Pension scheme
    Related reading
    IBN Live: Govt's One Rank One Pension scheme wrong: Ex-servicemen

    OROP: Misleading Headlines- Media and ESM taken for a Ride?

    References- Economic Times:
  • Cabinet clears Rs 2,300-crore package for one-rank-one-pension for armed forces
  • One Rank One Pension: Ex-servicemen unhappy with govt's announcement of pension hike
  • Amarinder Singh hails one-rank-one-pension for ex-servicemen
    Dear Editor of Economic Times,
    I would like to bring to your notice of a misleading Headlines in ET dated 25 Sep 2012.Click Here. The Government Press Note, of Course, has mislead thousands of Ex-servicemen on granting of OROP.
    6th Pay Commission had recommended a Pension Formula for Pre-2006 Defence Retirees. Further, the Commission had recommended that Pre 2006 retirees should at least get a minimum pension that is half of lowest end of the revised Pay scale/fitment scale granted to serving personnel of equivalent rank. But the Bureaucrats in implementing this recommendation wrongly interpreted that the Retirees would get half of the minimum of PAY Band where their rank along with other ranks figured. This simple anomaly was pointed out by pre-2006 retirees to the Government but the Bureaucrats did not take any corrective action. This forced the Ex-servicemen of rank Major to approach Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) for directions to Govt. AFT accepted their plea as genuine and asked Government to take immediate remedial action.
    Meanwhile a group of Civilian officers also approached Civilian Administrative Tribunal (CAT) for corrective action in lines of AFT Judgement. This was upheld by CAT and necessary directions were issued.
    The Secretaries Committee ordered by PM used this opportunity to show that they were making efforts to "bridge" the gap between pensions of Post 2006 pensioners and Pre-2006 pensioners holding same rank and years of service. If the first step in a 100 meters sprint is considered as a major step to bridge the distance between start to the final destination, then Govt can take credit. But Govt cannot surely take any credit for the bogus claim "One Rank One Pension Okayed" as prominently published by your Political Bureau in the second page of ET. I am afraid that your correspondent has been taken for a "ride" just like thousands of Ex-servicemen taken for a "ride" yesterday based on the announcement of PM on Aug 15 on OROP.
    A Major lesson from this episode is obvious. Why Bureaucrats oppose inclusion of Serving Defence Personnel or even Ex-servicemen in high power study teams on their demands is because the members from the Services would have prevented the Bureaucrats taking them as well general public (including Media) on "ride" like they did every time a Study team submitted its recommendations that were then approved by Political Bosses without even consulting the affected personnel. S.Murugan.
    Air Cmde (Retd)

    More Comments...
    Ashok Ganguly (New Delhi)
    25 Sep, 2012 11:50 PM
    If what is stated is correct, I wonder why this Government can’t keep a simple issue simple and display Honest intent. To a normal layman (not an intelligent crook) an OROP is like a Havildar with say 24 years of service, who retired in 1947 or 1997 or 2007, should get the same pension drawn by a Havildar with 24 years of service retired on 31 Aug 2012. This is what is called “Removing the Disparity”. Anything else amounts to simple cheating and an attempt to fool ex servicemen. Why can’t the Government make an honest attempt and erase the mistrust? Do they think that fooling people is the only way to win votes? How can they forget the services and sacrifices rendered by the servicemen? Why must they get entangled in a beaurocratic mess every time and in every thing?
    VK Khurana (New Delhi)
    25 Sep, 2012 10:13 PM
    The very least expected of this Government, governed by the unfair bureaucrats, is that it should not misinform the nation that what they have given is OROP, which is clearly not the case.A small increase in the crumbs -yes, but nothing more. But then , we may be living in a fool's paradise if we still think this Government has any graceful side to it. The fight for true OROP should be continued with all our might. Jai Hind An ex-service man.
    Tailpiece- Military and Police made Dummies
  • Concert of Chiefs~I- Making A Public Issue Of Demands
  • Pay Commission Award DESERVING BEFORE DESIRING By Ashok Kapur, IAS (Retd)
    Comment: Any student of psychology will tell you that a very thin line divides a genius from a lunatic and many geniuses cross this line sometimes but certainly at later age.
    Veteran Ram Gulrajani
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