On Sunday night, a group of war veterans and widows assembled outside Arun Jaitley’s Krishna Menon Marg residence. It was 8 degrees and a dense fog was settling in, but a big fire and pent up anger from a 217-day-long protest kept them protest going.

After much push and shove, the government notified One Rank One Pension on 5 November 2015. But a section of protesters have continued their fight against the government’s very definition of One Rank One Pension.

2. Year of Implementation

As for settling the backlog, the government notification states that new pensions will be fixed on the basis of the pension of the veterans who retired in the calendar year 2013. The protesters want dues to be paid on the basis of the financial year 2014.

3. The Formula

The government has proposed to calculate the pension by calculating the average of the highest and the lowest pension paid in one particular rank. Those above the average will continue to be protected, but this, according to the protesting veterans, undermines the very definition of ‘One Rank One Pension’. They want the highest scale of pension (as of 2013) to be the base for calculating pensions.

 

 

4. Redressal System

The government has retained the authority to appoint a one-man Judicial Committee that will look into any differences of opinion. The protesting veterans want a five-member committee, with at least three representatives from its side

Speaking to The Quint, Major General Satbir Singh, who’s among those leading the protest, said that veterans were forced to march from Jantar Mantar to Krishna Menon Marg when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley failed to honour his commitment to respond to their memorandum within a week.

We are not a labour union. We are soldiers and we mean business. We won’t budge on these four points.

Major General Satbir Singh, Advisor, Indian Ex-servicemen Movement

A midnight meeting with the Minister of State, Finance Jayant Sinha calmed some frayed nerves on Monday (18 January 2016) morning, and the protesting veterans have gone back to Jantar Mantar for the 218th day of their protest for an ‘asli’ or ‘undiluted’ OROP.

Watch: What’s The Fuss Around One Rank One Pension?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mathura rally was deeply disappointing for ex-servicemen. It was widely speculated that he would announce the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) to mark his government’s one year in office.

Here’s a simple explanation for why we must do right by our soldiers and implement One Rank One Pension.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mathura rally was deeply disappointing for ex-servicemen. It was widely speculated that he would announce the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) to mark his government’s one year in office.

Here’s a simple explanation for why we must do right by our soldiers and implement One Rank One Pension.

Modi Breaks His Silence

Sensing the growing disenchantment, the Prime Minister on Sunday reaffirmed his commitment to implementing what was originally an election promise.

https://youtu.be/uug611DIhPI

The Fine Print

But Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar spelt out the fine print. He refused to set a timeframe for sanctioning the policy which will initially cost the exchequer Rs 7,500-10,000 crore. He did, however, say that the promises made by the BJP during the campaign for the 2014 general election were for five years, not one year and that “OROP is a part of our promise, but, sacrifices cannot be measured in terms of rupees”.

Why the Fuss Now?

Everybody is once again talking about One Rank One Pension after two war veterans — Wing Commander Suresh Damodar Karnik and Wing Commader KV Bopardikar — boycotted a gallantry award function that was to be attended by Parrikar. The boycott was in protest against the inordinate delay in bringing justice to those Armymen who retired before 1996.

The Politics of OROP

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has been critical of the Modi government’s delay in sanctioning the money required for implementing One Rank One Pension. UPA’s Defence Minister AK Antony meanwhile locked horns with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today amidst reports that the OROP file was being shunted between his and Parrikar’s office.

https://youtu.be/rlqEa-iZXNs

But the fact is that UPA failed to implement OROP despite a Supreme Court directive six years ago. The NDA is under the same judicial axe and has even been threatened with contempt proceedings if it fails to implement the long standing demand.

Ex-servicemen are growing impatient with Modi and rightly so. They have planned a “Maha-Rally” on June 14.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu’s ambitious plans for the Indian railways are known to all. The man wants to improve the state of Indian railways and modernize it with top-notch amenities. Just a few days back, we heard of designer ‘Make in India’ coaches and saw some amazing pics.

Yesterday, we got the news that Railways Ministry is inviting suggestions and innovative ideas from the public to include them in its forthcoming budget. “We have sought suggestions and innovative ideas from public for the Rail Budget 2016-17, slated to be presented in the last week of February next year,” a senior Railway Ministry official told PTI.

And today, Ministry of Railways revealed its plans of building the world’s Highest Rail Bridge over the Chenab River. This bridge would be built on a height of 359 metres, which will be 35 metres higher than Eiffel Tower in Paris.

New Delhi: Ex-servicemen seeking changes in the government’s One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme on Sunday staged a protest outside the official residence of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the national capital, alleging that he failed to respond to concerns raised by them during an earlier meeting.

This is the second time in two weeks the veterans have staged demonstrations outside the minister’s official residence.

“We had staged protest outside the Minister’s residence on January 3. At that time, he had assured us he will speak to Defence Minister (Manohar Parrikar) over our demands.

“He had said he would get back to us within a week. But it’s two weeks now that he has not responded. What kind of Finance Minister he is if he can not keep his word?” said Group Captain (retired) VK Gandhi.

Gandhi, general secretary of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, said the veterans will continue with their protest until Jaitley or Parrikar holds parleys with them.

“Either of the Ministers will have to come and speak to us. We will not move an inch from here until then. If they don’t want to give us actual OROP, they should clarify so to us. Why lie?” he said, reiterating that the government notification has “flaws” and was “unacceptable”.

Around 200 ex-servicemen including Major General Satbir Singh, who has been spearheading the protest, have been demonstrating outside Jaitley’s residence, Gandhi added.

Kabul, January 13

At least six policemen were killed on Wednesday in a terror attack apparently targeted at the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad city in Afghanistan, media reports said.Afghan security forces battled gunmen barricaded in a house near the consulate, which the attackers had apparently tried to enter, a Pakistani news report said.Xinhua news agency reported earlier that a blast took place near the Pakistani consulate, located in an area, which is also home to the Indian and Iranian consulates as well as a private school.”The bomb attack targeted a police vehicle near the Pakistani consulate,” a security source told Xinhua.But a report in Dawn online newspaper said the fighting erupted near the Pakistani consulate after a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing as many as six people.It quoted a security source as telling Afghanistan’s Tolo News that the suicide bomber, who pretended to be a visa seeker, detonated himself after being prevented from entering the consulate.”Officials said three attackers are inside the consulate and a gun battle between security forces and attackers is ongoing.” The blast comes 10 days after a terror attack near the Indian consulate in Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif city.

Tribune Reporters

Jind, December 16

The DC along with senior officers of the administration today paid tributes to martyrs on the eve of Vijay Divas at the Shaheed Smarak on Gohana road today.“We should motivate youngsters to join the forces to serve the nation and help the families of all martyrs” said DC Vinay Singh. SP Abhishek Jorwal and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.

Kaithal

It becomes the duty of every citizen and society as a whole to grant respect to the martyr’s who made the supreme sacrifice to safeguard the honour and dignity of our nation. To pay our homage to the martyrs and revive memories of their sacrifice we celebrate December 16 as Vijay Divas.This was stated by ADC Jitender Kumar during a function held here today. He called upon the youth to devote their energy to make the country strong. The ADC honoured 16 war widows, 2 parents of martyrs, there war disabled, three orphans of martyrs.Major Tilak Raj (retd), vice president, Zila Sainik Board, said that we had won many wars but our brave soldiers had to make sacrifices to save the honour of country.He said that ex-servicemen and their families could avail services of the board for re-employment after retirement and rehabilitation of family members.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 9

Forty-four years after he spearheaded the Indian Army’s charge to Dacca (now Dhaka) during the 1971 Bangladesh campaign, one of the country’s most highly decorated soldiers marched into oblivion.Brig Sant Singh, twice decorated with the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), the second highest award for gallantry, passed away here last night. He was 94 years old and had been ailing for some time.Brig Sant Singh is survived by his daughter Satinder Kaur, who is married to a Brigadier.Hailing from Panjgrain village near Kotkapura, he had settled down in Chandigarh after retirement. The cremation will take place tomorrow.Belonging to the Sikh Light Infantry, he was among the only six individuals to have been awarded the MVC twice. With his demise, only one such recipient now remains alive.During the 1971 Indo-Pak war, he was commanding the FJ Sector in the eastern theatre and his formation achieved spectacular results, advancing 38 miles almost on foot, to secure Mymensingh and Madhopur in eight days. During the advance, in spite of stiff opposition from the enemy, he cleared heavily defended positions at several places, personally leading the troops. His advance paved the way for Indian troops to enter Dacca and he was among the first officers to enter the headquarters of the East Pakistan Commander, Lt Gen AAK Niazi. For his actions, he was awarded the MVC.A framed picture of Niazi and a desktop timepiece, which he seized from Niazi’s office, was his war trophies displayed in his home.Six years earlier, in November 1965, while commanding a Sikh Light Infantry battalion, Sant Singh, then a Lt Col, had evicted Pakistani troops from the OP Hill in Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistani troops had encroached on the Indian Territory after the ceasefire. Despite difficult terrain and mine fields, the feature was wrestled back after a bitter hand-to-hand fight. For displaying conspicuous gallantry and leadership in the face of heavy fire, he had received his first MVC.Colonel of the Sikh Light Infantry, Lt Gen NPS Hira has condoled Brig Sant Singh’s death. The entire Sikh Light Infantry fraternity treasures his courage, significant contribution and pays heartfelt tribute to the worthy officer, he said.In his message, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh said Brig Sant Singh was an exceptional soldier, of whom the Army and the nation was proud of and in his death, the country had lost a great soldier, whose services would always be remembered.

Brig Sant Singh

• Brig Sant Singh, twice decorated with the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), the second highest award for gallantry, was 94 years old and had been ailing for some time.
• Belonging to the Sikh Light Infantry, he was among the only six individuals to have been awarded the MVC twice.
• With his demise, only one such recipient now remains alive

Noted scientist and honorary professor at ISRO Bengaluru Sivathanu Pillai on Saturday called ‘BrahMos’- the Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile, a “brahmastra for Indian Armed forces” and “a war winner” on Saturday. Known as the ‘Father of BrahMos’, Pillai was speaking at the 12th convocation of the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DAIICT) at Gandhinagar that saw 379 students, including 8 Ph. D scholars receive their degrees at the convocation ceremony.

On being quizzed on the need for more missiles like ‘BrahMos’ in light of India-Pakistan’s current political situation, Pillai said, “Today if you look at BrahMos, it is the only supersonic cruise missile operational in the whole world. No other country has ventured to have supersonic system in the armed forces. We have ‘BrahMos’ operational in the navy in the naval fleet, we have the army on the land force and very soon it will be with the airforce. So when we have the tri-service operation of the Brahmos, it is going to be a war winner. As you have seen in the Gulf War, the major victory of the Gulf War was the deployment of Tomahawk missiles by the Allied forces to destroy the enemy’s assets first so that way we have got a very good weapon available to give victory to India.”

Calling India self-sufficient in space technology, the noted scientist averred that going by the demand from the world over, the next move for India should be to market its space technology. “So we are going for more number of launches in a year using the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and the trend is to go for “smaller satellites”. The navigation and the remote sensing satellites are becoming very small and they want to have interconnectivity and more revisit time. Whereas the communication satellites are going bigger and bigger, so to suit the trend the space research program will adapt itself so that we will be able to serve the nation and also we get sizable market from the world,” he added.

Speaking to students, Pillai spoke about the need for a rehaul in India’s education system and creation of innovation in ICT education and start-ups and knowledge system powerhouse to unleash India’s knowledge potential.

He said, “Startup and entrepreneurship has become a very important components of the education. I have seen in the IITs and institutions like the IICT the major component of the education is turning towards how we can mould the youngsters to entrepreneurs. That’s a big turning point in our education system which is going to make things different…In India if you see…unlike American and other countries where research has been given more important component of education, in India that has not picked up well. But our country needs that change, research should become more present-age of the education system than the teaching part.”

– See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/brahmos-is-a-brahmastra-for-indian-armed-forces-says-noted-scientist/#sthash.XXEb26HG.dpuf

Tribune News Service,Amritsar January 11

Evincing keen interest in the upcoming ‘Punjab State War Heroes Memorial-cum-Museum’, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the executive committee of the project to regularly hold its meeting in Amritsar to monitor its day-to-day progress.Presiding over the governing body meeting of the project here at the Bachat Bhawan this morning, the Chief Minister took stock of the ongoing work of the project at the India Gate, near the Chheharta bypass. He said there was no dearth of funds for the project that aimed at showcasing the fortitude, valour and supreme sacrifices of the armed forces in defending national borders.Badal also laid thrust on accurate presentation of facts pertaining to various battles/wars to be showcased in the under-construction galleries.He said services of renowned historians must be taken to assure that storyline to be exhibited in galleries was authentic and historically correct. He also suggested that separate committees of historians and experts should be constituted for under-construction galleries.Spread over seven acres, near India Gate, Attari Road, the memorial is coming up at a cost of Rs 86 crore. The memorial will have a 45-metre high stainless steel sword at the centre of it, representing strength and courage in people of Punjab while defending the nation in the hour of need. This iconic structure will stand atop a platform surrounded by a water body. Names of martyrs will also be inscribed on the memorial that will have a circular path around it. The memorial will be built at an elevation of 12 feet.Meanwhile, the governing council today took a slew of important decisions like setting up of a Punjab State War Heroes and Museum foundation to manage the affairs of the project in a far better manner. The council also approved the creation of a corpus fund of Rs 10 crore for making the project self- sufficient. The state government would provide financial assistance for creating this fund, which would help in generation of income to cover salaries of staff and routine expenditure of the project.The council also gave nod for appointing about 60 persons as staff, including 36 security persons to be hired from PESCO, for the project.It was decided that the work of maintaining the complete civil works, including the sword, must be outsourced to a single agency.Likewise, it was approved that the landscaping of the project would be outsourced to another agency. It was also decided that nine committees of historians and experts would be constituted for assuring correct presentation of history in the under-construction galleries.Chief Parliamentary Secretary Prof Virsa Singh Valtoha, Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal, Adviser to the CM Major General BS Dhaliwal (retd), Special Principal Secretary to the CM KJS Cheema, GNDU Vice- Chancellor Dr AS Brar, Sainik Welfare Director Brig JS Arora, DC Ravi Bhagat, Commissioner of Police Jatinder Singh Aulakh, Chief Architect (Punjab) Swapna, Director (Cultural Affairs) NS Randhawa, Deputy Director (Sainik Welfare) Col GJS Gill, General Officer Commanding (15 Division) Major General S Thapa, Brig Pawan Pal Singh, project consultant Maj Gen Raj Mehta (retd), Lt Gen Kuldeep Singh (retd) and Lt Gen HRS Mann (retd) were among those others present in the meeting.

Rs 86-crore project

• Spread over seven acres, near India Gate, Attari Road, the memorial is coming up at a cost of Rs 86 crore. The memorial will have a 45-metre high stainless steel sword at the centre of it, representing strength and courage in people of Punjab while defending the nation in the hour of need. The iconic structure will stand atop a platform surrounded by a water body.

KULLU: Despite the arduous challenge of clearing the heavy snow, going up to five feet, on the Manali-Rohtang Road, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is once again geared up to reopen the road to traffic.

The heavy snowfall over the past two days had blocked the 13,050 feet high Rohtang Pass, the only gateway to Lahaul-Spiti district from Manali, stalling traffic movement completely and cutting off the district from the rest of the world.Talking to HT, BRO commander KP Rajendra said, “The BRO workforce and machinery has been deployed to clear snow from Manali towards Marhi, while the road clearing work on the Lahaul, between Satingri and Koksar, will begin on Saturday.”

THERE WAS NO REPRESENTATION IN THE SEVENTH CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION FROM THE DEFENCE SERVICES THOUGH THEY FORM THE LARGEST GROUP OF GOVERNMENT SERVICE, OTHER THAN THE RAILWAYS

The military has been persistently disadvantaged by successive central pay commissions (CPC). In the case of the first and second CPCs, its case was fielded by the ministry of defence (MoD). The third CPC wanted to hear the case from the military directly but the MoD ruled against this on grounds of discipline, and the top brass accepted the absurd stand.
This pay commission brought down pensions of military personnel from 70% of last pay drawn to 50% but elevated pensions from 30% to 50% in the case of civil servants. Nearly 80% of military personnel did not even get 50% of the last pay drawn as pension. Only 37% got it because of the shorter span of service. The 50% pension was available only after 20 years of military service. Thereafter, subsequent CPCs persistently disadvantaged the military vis-à-vis civil services. However, the third CPC dangled the one rank one pension (OROP) scheme as an alternative to the decrease in pensions from 70% to 50%.
MOD, CDA PLAY NEGATIVE ROLE
Where subsequent pay commissions tried to improve matters for the military, the MoD and the controller of defence accounts (CDA) stepped in to negate them. The fourth CPC, as a consolation for OROP, gave rank pay up to the rank of brigadier. The CDA conveniently deducted this amount from the basic pay, which in turn impacted allowances as well. Three decades later, this is yet to be resolved. The Supreme Court orders on the payment of rank pay have not been implemented fully. Those behind this lapse were neither exposed nor held accountable.
The sixth CPC ruled that pension should be fixed at 50% of “the minimum of the rank in the pay band corresponding”. The civil bureaucracy rephrased this sentence to read, “minimum of the pay band corresponding”. Those who played this trick were never pointed out and no action was initiated against them. This put four ranks: Lieutenant colonel, colonel, brigadier and major general in the same band 4 and the ministry placed all of them at the bottom of the pay band for the purpose of fixing pension. Thus, a brigadier (with rank pay as admissible to him) got more pension than a major general. This has also not been fully resolved a decade later, the Supreme Court ruling notwithstanding. In addition, more than two score anomalies created by the sixth CPC are yet to be resolved.
DISABILITY PENSION
Disabled civil employees of the government are retained till they reach the age of superannuation and given normal pension. Whereas for military personnel, for whom the chances of suffering disability is higher due to professional hazards, the disabled are sent out of service and often denied adequate disability pension. Disabled personnel have been fighting their cases with the government for years. The seventh CPC has further complicated the issue of disability and broadbanding.
Early retirement, mounting family commitments and resultant financial worries has brought down a soldier’s life expectancy to 61-63 years, while the life expectancy of his counterpart in the civil services is 71-72 and those from the railways is 73. Early death of a soldier creates a wider gap in the sum total of pay and pension between him and his counterpart in the civil and police (state and central services). This sad state of soldiers seems to be of no one’s concern: least of all the military’s top brass.
CIVIL SERVICES ARE ONE UP ON OROP
The bureaucracy, via the sixth CPC, gifted itself and all-India Group A services (over four dozen of them) “non-functional upgrade (NFU)” but made it a point to exclude military officers from this largesse. This grant of NFU gave these civil services one up on OROP. Under NFU, everyone from those over four dozen civil services retired in the minimum appointment equivalent to an additional secretary to the government of India (equal to a threestar general), while less than 0.01% vacancies of three star general exist in the military. Even if the seventh CPC recommends NFU to the military, others would have gained 10 years advantage over them.
The seventh CPC could do no better. As in the past, there was no representation in the CPC from the defence services though they form the largest group of government service (other than the railways). Even among the 150-odd officers drawn from various services to assist the CPC in working out the details of the report, there is none from the military. So the perennial bias and prejudice of bureaucrats against the military play out to the full and even those from the top judiciary, the chairmen of the CPCs, fail to notice this glaring shortfall. It would be too much to expect our service chiefs to take a stand even on this basic issue.
MISLEADING FACTS
In working out the defence revenue expenditure and percentage share of revenue expenditure, the seventh CPC took into account only .01% of the defence forces that reaches the rank of lieutenant general and paired it with that of 95% of civil servants who reach the level of additional secretary. This has been done to present a facade of satisfactory remuneration to defence personnel.
This CPC’s terms of reference were to take into account the economic conditions of the country and the need for fiscal prudence, yet it has recommended grant of OROP to all government employees, while ex-servicemen have been agitating for OROP for more than 160 days and the government has been haggling with them to reduce their demand, citing the fiscal burden. The military’s demand for OROP rested on the grounds of early retirement and limited promotions. No such basis exists in the case of civil servants. The pay commission has gone horribly wrong on the retirement age of military personnel. For it, a sepoy retires at 42-48 years and a naik at 49. The CPC is unaware that 80% of army personnel retire at 37 years and less.

Putting the military at the disadvantage has made the service unattractive. This would impact national security in the long run because the man behind the gun continues to be more important than the gun. It’s time to rectify the anomalies of successive pay commissions and end the bias against the military.

LT GEN HARWANT SINGH (RETD) gen_harwant@hotmail.com The writer, a former deputy chief of army staff, is a commentator on defence and security issues. Views expressed are personal