Government accepts recommendations on ex-servicemen’s pension
By IANSTuesday, March 9, 2010
NEW DELHI - The government Wednesday said it has accepted the remaining recommendations of a committee headed by the cabinet secretary to bridge the gap between pensioners who retired at different points in time and also to improve the pension of disabled ex-servicemen.
“The effort of the government has always been to improve the pension of ex-servicemen, who had been demanding grant of One Rank One Pension (OROP). The government accepted the remaining recommendations March 8,” said a senior defence ministry official.
The government had already accepted four of the seven recommendations made by the committee. While the OROP demand has been rejected, the government has significantly improved the pensions of personnel below officer rank (PBOR).
“Implementation of these orders will not only significantly reduce the gap between the past and the current pensioners, but will also considerably improve the pension of ex-servicemen, including disabled ex-servicemen. It will benefit 12 lakh ex-servicemen at a cost of Rs.2,200 crore approximately per annum,” the official added.
The recommendations accepted March 8 were: bringing parity of pre and post Oct 10, 1997 PBOR pensioners, inclusion of classification allowance for PBORs from Jan 1, 2006 and further improving PBOR pensions as recommended by a group of ministers 2006.