The announcement comes a day after Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had assured ex-servicemen on OROP implementation before Diwali. The defence Ministry issued the official notification for One Rank One Pension (OROP) for ex-servicemen late on Saturday evening. The government has reversed its contentious proposal to exclude ex-servicemen who had sought premature retirement from the ambit of OROP, but has not conceded the demands for an annual equalisation of revised pension, for pegging the pension to the maximum of the current pensioners, and for appointing an expert commission with serving military personnel and ex-servicemen representatives.
According to the notification, the government will pay the arrears of OROP in four equal half-yearly installments. However, all family pensioners, including those receiving special or liberalised family pension and gallantry award winners, will get their arrears in a single installment. The pension of past pensioners would be fixed on the basis of the pension of retirees of 2013, and the benefit will be granted from July 1, 2014.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had announced on Friday that the notification would be issued before Diwali.
The notification, which was to follow Parrikar’s formal announcement of the acceptance of OROP on September 5, was delayed after the Model Code of Conduct for the Bihar assembly elections came into effect.
