Cabinet approves OROP revision, 25L defence personnel to benefit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 23

The Union Cabinet on Friday announced revision of pension for defence personnel under the provisions of One Rank, One Pension (OROP).

The decision, which was taken at the meeting of the Union Cabinet held earlier on Friday, will entail an annual burden of Rs 8,450 crore on the government and will benefit 25,13,002 defence pensioners.

An amount of Rs 23,638 crore would be paid as arrears from July 2019 to June 2022, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur told mediapersons at a press conference.

Pension of the past pensioners would be re-fixed on the basis of average of minimum and maximum pension of defence forces retirees of calendar year 2018 in the same rank with the same length of service.

Rs 8,450 cr addl annual expenditure

Rs 23,638 cr arrears (July ’19 -June ’22)

Armed forces personnel who retired up to June 30, 2019 (excluding pre-mature retirees with effect from July 1, 2014), will be covered under this revision.

Pension for those drawing above the average shall be protected.

The benefit would also be extended to family pensioners, including war widows and disabled pensioners, an official statement said.

Arrears will be paid in four half-yearly instalments. However, all family pensioners, including those receiving special or liberalised family pension and gallantry award winners, would be paid arrears in one instalment.

The Narendra Modi government had taken the decision to implement the OROP for the Defence Forces Personnel/family pensioners and issued policy letter on November 07, 2015 and the One Rank, One Pension was given from the cut-off date of July 1, 2014. In the policy letter, it was mentioned that in future, the pension would be re-fixed every five years, which ended in 2019.

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