A year ago 'Should Implement One Rank One Pension Soon'

A year ago 'Govt Should Implement One Rank One Pension Soon'
PTI | New Delhi | May 07, 2010
A Parliamentary committee has asked the Defence Ministry to soon implement 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP) for armed forces veterans, noting that a demand for this has not been accepted by it.

"The committee concludes that 'OROP' has not been accepted by the government. However, the pensionary benefits of ex-servicemen including disabled ex-servicemen have considerably been improved by implementation of the seven recommendations of a committee (headed by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar)," the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence said in its report tabled in Lok Sabha today.

The panel, headed by Satpal Maharaj (Congress) had considered the government replies to its earlier report submitted to Parliament in December last year.

"The committee still recommend that the government should implement OROP in a holistic manner so that large number of ex-servicemen can be benefited. The government should also ensure that the various benefits provided to the ex-servicemen due to implementation of the recommendation of the Cabinet Secretary-headed committee, along with arrears if any, are paid expeditiously," it said.

OROP implied that uniform pension should be paid to armed forces personnel retiring in the same rank with same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement and any future enhancement in the rates of pension should be automatically passed on to the past pensioners.

After the veterans had organised events to return their service and gallantry medals to the President in protest, the government had, on the directions of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, set up the committee to consider the demand made in the wake of implementation of the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations in September 2008.

The committee recommended a plan under which the pensions would be as close to OROP, but this was being accepted by the ex-servicemen. However, the government decided to implement it.

On the issue of lateral entry for ex-servicemen into central paramilitary forces, which the government was yet to implement, the Parliamentary panel said though it had highlighted the advantage of recruiting them in CPMF, it had not been implemented despite a CPC recommendation in this regard.

"The committee desires that the Ministry expedite the matter to resolve the lateral induction of ex-servicemen in CPMF, PSUs and state police," which was the highlight of the Group of Ministers' recommendation for 'Reforming National Security System' made in 2001, it said.
Outlook: 'Govt Should Implement One Rank One Pension Soon'
Comment: How serious is the Governement in Reforming the National Security System? Goof up on Terrorists Lists speaks volumes about National Security Status?

John Hislop's reminiscences of the Jat Regiment- 1933 to 1947

Review for the Sandhurst Foundation
ln the summer of 1956, Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck opened the R.M.A Sandhurst's Indian Army Memorial Room with its fine stained glass commemorative windows. Before a large gathering of forrner lndian Army officers, with one of whom I was staying as a guest, "the Auk" gave a message which few present will ever have forgotten, a message telling us to look back on the lndian Army with pride for its splendid achievements, but that its era was now over, history, and nostalgia would serve no purpose.

John Hislop's reminiscences, edited by his daughter Penny Kocher, follow "the Auk's" counsel excellently. After passing out from Sandhurst in 1933 Hislop served in lndia with the 9th Jat Regiment and in staff appointments until the end of British rule in 1947. His various chapters cover service in the golden years before 1939, operations on the North-West Frontier and in Burma in the Second World War, and the turmoil of the final two years before independence.

Readers will leam much interesting detail about operations in Waziristan and Baluchistan before the outbreak of war, tactics needed for protection on long marches - an officer in charge of a flanking picquet might find himself moving over thirty miles per day over mountainous ground for several consecutive days, and all the problems of food supply and water. ln 1942-43, as protection as much because of anxiety over a possible German invasion via a defeated Soviet Union as of local insurgents, the equivalent of five divisions were engaged in operations in the North-West Frontier provinces. Hislop was then moved to the even more dfficult conditions of Burma, fighting the Japanese in the unfamiliar conditions of sticky heat, only a few roads and these very poor, rain, lush jungle and leeches.

Perhaps most interesting of all, though, is the author's description of how the lndian Army actually worked; the Jat Regiment battalions, for example, were structured around two companies of Hindu Jats, one company of Punjabi Moslems and one company of Musulman Rajputs, a mix requiring not only good purely military leadership to ensure the respect of all but sensitivity for different cultures and beliefs. Hislop's long service revealed many examples of good leadership. Sadly there were also examples of bad command by others; lessons for officers in any army at any time.

A valuable addition to the history of the lndian Army, written with pride and no nostalgia.
Dr Anthony Clayton, Academic Staff RMA Sandhurst 1965-1993
More Reviews- Order your copy
A Soldier's Story- John Hislop, Indian Army officer of The Jat Regiment
More about the life of John Hislop click here

Britain converts Military covenant into Law

Dear Brig Kamboj:
As I had anticipated, not it's official. The British PM has made a statement seeking to convert a military covenant into law, so affected members of the armed forces can take legal action, if government fails to abide by the law, that is, look after them and their families adequately. If you have time, please visit the following link.
click here
I would have gladly written a critique, but have inadequate knowledge of the functioning of the AFT. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Bhimaya
Maj Gen K Bhimaya, 10th JSW Course

STATUTORY MILITARY COVENANT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM..
Dear Brig Kamboj,
The news of the United Kingdom officially recognising her duties and obligations towards the Armed Forces personnel has implications for all of us, not only the servicemen and the ex-servicemen in the United Kingdom.
Following on from the statement, “If you fight for your country, your country will look after you,” new homes will be built for ex servicemen, there will be free use of gym and leisure centres and priority in getting medical treatment. Please see the full news published in the "Sunday Telegraph", London, today. (Sunday, May 15, 2011): click here
Regards
RS Rajput
Veteran (UK)

Defence Correspondent 15 May 2011 The Sunday Telegraph by SEAN RAYMENT
BRITISH troops and their families will receive priority access to school places, NHS treatment and housing under new Military Covenant laws.
Details of the package to help services personnel will be unveiled to Parliament tomorrow in a statement by Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, after government lawyers and officials spent the weekend finalising them.
It is understood the measures will include an offer of free cycles of IVF treatment to military families where a soldier has suffered injuries which make it difficult to conceive – a common occurrence in Afghanistan, where many have been hurt by improvised explosive devices.
Troops serving overseas will no longer be required to pay full council tax, while a new chief coroner will be put in charge of conducting the inquests of war dead.
Service personnel posted to different parts of Britain will be promoted to the top of health service waiting lists if they fall ill. It is also understood that Ministry of Defence working committees are looking at ways of striking a deal with banks to offer troops low interest “military mortgages”.
The Military Covenant has, until now, been an unwritten agreement under which the state pledges a duty of care toward military personnel who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country. It has never been enshrined in law and there has been increasing concern that Britain’s soldiers aren’t getting the health care, housing or pay they deserve.
Following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it has been argued by both David Cameron and Dr Fox that the Covenant was broken by the then Labour government when it failed properly to equip troops for combat. Earlier this month, Mr Cameron was accused of backtracking on plans to “write the Covenant into law” when the third reading of the Armed Forces Bill was delayed.
The shelving of the Bill was understood to have been ordered afterTreasury lawyers warned that enshrining the Covenant in law could cost millions and would be beset by legal problems.
Under the latest proposals, while the Covenant measures will be written into law based on broad principles rather than specific statements of entitlement, there will be room for service personnel and veterans to ensure they have not been disadvantaged through military service.
Andrew Robathan, the defence minister overseeing the Armed Forces Bill, said the Coalition would “ensure the best possible treatment for all our service personnel, serving and retired”. He added: “We are putting the Military Covenant on a statutory basis for the first time.”
Last night Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary, said: “The Prime Minister appears to have finally done the right thing. I hope this marks the beginnings of a real reassessment of how the Government is treating our Armed Forces.
“We will now wait to hear the detail and will want to ensure that the principles of the Covenant are being properly set out in law,” he added. See page 23