Mumbai : Defense minister Manohar Parrikar reiterated government’s commitment towards the ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) but said that the specific time frame for the roll out of the scheme cannot be revealed as there are two or three administrative steps yet to be taken.
“There cannot be a date specified to implement OROP. This scheme was not understood by the previous government properly. There are many fine prints and aspects that need to be considered. After taking a lot of time, I have crystallised the department….There are two-three administrative steps that are still pending,” Parrikar said.
He was speaking during an interactive seminar here at the Indian Merchants’ Chamber on ‘Make in India for Defence Production’.
“My ministry has completed all formalities and OROP will be implemented,” Parrikar had said yesterday, adding that the executive process takes some time.
The Minister said the sacrifices made by defence personnel cannot be measured in terms of money given to them after their retirement.
“The promises we made (during election time) were for five years and not one year. I am sure we will do excellent work in five years. The sacrifices made by our defence personnel cannot be counted in terms of money given to them. I have been to all borders and I know that staying in isolated places for six months at a stretch is virtually impossible for a common man,” he said.
The “one-rank, one-pension” (OROP) scheme for retired armed forces personnel is expected to be implemented after the finance ministry’s approval.
Listing the areas of concern, Parrikar said there were issues like budgetary allocations for OROP. The previous UPA government had allotted Rs 500 crore while the NDA government has allotted Rs 1000 crore.
On the other hand, the petition committee recommended Rs 1300 crore and the financial advisor (defence services) recommended Rs 1200 crore. There were also independent studies that recommended figures varying between Rs 14000 crore and Rs 22000 crore, said Parrikar.
“So the entire debate varied from Rs 500 crore to Rs 22000 crore, and extensive meetings were held to iron out this kind of issues,” he said.
The NDA government has been facing sharp criticism from associations of retired military personnel and the main opposition Congress for not implementing the OROP scheme.
With the implementation of OROP, which will benefit about 2,500,000 people, personnel who retired over the years will draw the same pension as officers and soldiers of the same rank who retire now. They will also be entitled to a year’s back pay in pensions at the new rate.
Stressing the need for OROP to be implemented, Parrikar reasoned that a soldier retires at the age of 35 or 36 after serving for nearly 17 years.
“At 35, the jawan has his entire family to take care. He has his child to be educated or possibly has old parents to take care. It is at this age when he actually needs a job,” said Parrikar. “The sacrifices defence personnel make cannot be equated in money.”
“The promises we made (during election time) were for five years and not one year. I am sure we will do excellent work in five years. The sacrifices made by our defence personnel cannot be counted in terms of money given to them,” he said.
Parrikar also said that the defence preparedness of the country is in much better condition now than in the past citing CAG reports. He also said that the government has purposefully not looking for the technology transfer under the Make In India initiative, but did not divulge the reasons behind that.
