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Revision of OROP and related aspects
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Issue Net Edition | Date : 10 Aug , 2022

The honourable Supreme Court has awarded the petitioners a revision of One Rank One Pension (OROP) with effect from July 2019. This is in consonance with the Cabinet decision of 2015 submitted to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for approval under Rule 12 of the Transaction of the Business Rules vide this Department’s OM No. 12 (1)/2014/D (Pen/Pol) (Part II) dated 5.9.2015 to the Cabinet Sectt with the following proposals:

•  The benefit will be given from 1.7.2014.

•  Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners retiring in the same rank and with the same length of service as the average of minimum and maximum pension drawn by the retirees in the year 2013. Those drawing above the average will be protected.

•  The benefit would also be extended to family pensioners including war widows and disabled pensioners.

•  Personnel who voluntarily retired/retired will not be covered under the OROP scheme.

•  Arrears will be paid in four half-yearly instalments. Widows will be paid arrears in one instalment.

•  In future the pension would be re-fixed every 5 years.

•  OROP is a complex issue. A thorough examination of interest to retirees of different periods and different ranks is needed. The inter-service matters of 3 Forces also require consideration. This is not an administrative matter alone. Therefore, it is proposed that a One Member Judicial Committee may be constituted, which will give its report in 6 months.

The Cabinet Sectt vide its ID No. 144/1/1/2015-Cab dated 7.11.2015 also communicated the approval of the Hon’ble PM to the said proposals as contained in Para 7 with the following modifications:

Personnel who opt to get discharged henceforth on their own request under Rule 13 (3) (1) (i) (b), 13 (3) 1 (iv) or Rule 16B of the Army Rules 1954 or equivalent Navy or Air Force Rules will not be entitled to the benefits of OROP. It will be effective prospectively.

The proposal is for constituting One Member Judicial Committee; instead the approval is for Judicial Committee.

This article focuses attention on three aspects

Has the formula for calculating Pension of Personnel Below Officers Rank been changed?

•   Has the approval of 1997 that pension for Personnel Below Officers rank (PBOR) to be determined as 50% of the highest across the three Services for a given rank, group and years of qualifying service been reversed?

The answer is “Yes” on the basis of Serial No. 2 of the Cabinet’s approval. That effectively nullifies the submission of the Petitioner in its Review Petition which was dismissed after a hearing in chambers.

Will the Revision of OROP be beneficial?

•  Will the revision of OROP w.e.f 2019 be financially beneficial?

The answer is a mixed and is the apprehension expressed in the following words, from Ref No. C/7026/VII CPC/84/OROP dated 11 Mar 2019 from Tri Services Pay Staff (TRIPAS), Room No. 116, Kashmir House, on OROP REVISION 2019

•  “Reference is made to MoD Dept of DESW letter No. 12(1)/2014/D(Pen/Pol)-Part II dated 07 Nov 2015 (Copy enclosed).

•  The salient features of OROP were given in the above mentioned Govt letter. As per para 3(v) of the MoD letter under mention, the first revision of OROP is due on 01 Jul 2019.

•  It is pertinent to mention that basis of calculation of pension as per OROP differs from the basis of calculation for pension in 7th CPC. This may have resulted in lower fixation of pension for post 2016 retirees than the one who retired prior to 1.1.2016. It is requested that during the revision of OROP in Jul 2019, pension protection for post 2016 retirees be taken care of.

•  In view of the above and to avoid similar situation in future, it is requested that a timeline may be promulgated to review the OROP. The data considered for formulating the revised OROP 2019 for pensioners be shared with Service HQs before finalising the pension tables.

•  It is also submitted that recommendations of One Man Judicial Committee be declassified at the earliest as it may have an effect on the revision of OROP.”

This apprehension is more glaring in the case of PBOR than in the cases of Commissioned Officers as per the sample tables furnished by PCDA (P) to the MoD. Some of these tables are re-produced below: –

Ministry may please refer to their above mentioned letter, calling for a comparative table indicating amounts of pension drawn under various Pay Commissions with reference to OROP.

•  In this regard it is submitted that calculation has been made, as a representative sample, for two ranks of JCOs/ORs (Havildar and Naib Subedar) and two ranks of Commissioned Officers (Lt Col & Brigadier). The calculation sheet is attached as Annexure A & B for JCOs & Ors and Commissioned Officers respectively.

•  It is submitted that since 6th CPC, two revisions have been made for pre-2006 PBOR pensioners i.e. w.e.f. 01.09.2009 (CSC-2009) and 24.09.2012 (CSC-2012) with the intention to bring them at par with current pensioners. In addition, OROP benefits were given w.e.f. 01.07.2014. On analysing the data of post OROP pensioners, it is seen that: –

(a) Out of 668 retirees in the period 01.07.2014 to 31.12.2015 in the rank of Havildar, more than 20% of post OROP retirees are drawing pension less than OROP rate i.e. OROP pension is higher than pension of future retirees.

(b) The difference is more prominent in the rank of Nb. Sub where more than 95% of post-OROP retired Nb. Subedars are drawing less pension than OROP rates.

(c) More than 95% of post 01.01.2016 retirees in the rank of Nb. Sub draw less pension than the revised pension amount of OROP beneficiaries.

•  This indicated that a significant proportion of post OROP retirees are getting less pension than past pensioners whose pension has been ameliorated as per OROP.

Sd/————

Accounts Officer (AT-Pen)

Ref: UO No. 5699/AT-P/OROP/Vol-XiX dated 23.08.2018

Annexure A

REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE CALCULATION FOR JCOs/ORs

Sl No. Rank Date Havildar Nb. Subedar
  Group   Y Y
  QS (Term of engagement)   24 26
  1 2 3 4
1 Pension in 4th CPC (w.e.f 1.1.1986) 1.1.86 689 1057
2 Revision in 5th CPC 1.1.96 2104 3201
3 Revision 6th CPC 1.1.2006 5085 7486
4 Modified Pay Parity 1.1.2006 5820 8330
5 Revision as per CSC – 2009 1.07.2009 6465 10029
6 Revision as per CSC – 2012 24.09.2012 7375 10029
7 Revision as per OROP 1.07.2014 7808 10405
8 Revision in 7th CPC (Col 7 x 2.57) 01.01.2016 20067 28741
9 Pension as on 1.1.2016 if OROP not given (Col 6 x 2.57) 01.01.2016 18954 25775

ANALYSIS OF POST 01.07.2014 RETIREES

Time period

Havildar

Naib Subedar*

  Total No. of pensioners with QS 24 Yrs in Gp Y Pensioners drawing less than OROP rate % of pensioners drawing less than OROP Total No. of pensioners with QS 26 Yrs in Gp Y Pensioners drawing less than OROP rate % of pensioners drawing less than OROP
1.07.2014 to 31.12.2015 668 134 20.06 463 450 97.19
01.01.2016 onwards 4091 Nil   432 418 96.75
* Majority of Nb Sub who have retired after 2014 are currently drawing less pension than OROP

Annexure B

REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE CALCULATION FOR COMMISSIONED OFFICERS

1

    Lt Colonel

Brigadier

2 Standard Qualifying Service   24 28
3 Pay (4th CPC)   Min Pay Max Pay Min Pay Max Pay
4   Pay 3900 5100 4950 5100
5 Pension 4th CPC 2208 2772 3075 3150
6 Pension under 5th CPC under consolidation w.e.f. 1.1.1996 5953 to 7286 7993 to 8105
7 Pension under modified parity 5th CPC w.e.f. 1.1.1996 7093 9550
  Range 01.01.96 7093 to 7286 9550 to 9550 (?)
8 Pension under 6th CPC by multiplication method w.e.f. 1.1.2006 16032 to 16487 21583
9 Pension under Modified Parity w.e.f. 1.1.2006 26265 29145
10 Revision under OROP w.e.f.1.7.2014 32428 36420
11 Revision in 7th CPC (Col 10 x 2.57 w.e.f 1.1.2016 83340 93600
12 Revision if he had not been granted OROP (Col 9 x 2.57) w.e.f.

1.1.2016

67502 74903

ANALYSIS OF NON-OROP BENEFICIARIES

Time period

Lt Col *

Brigadier

  Total No. of pensioners with QS 24 years Pensioners drawing less than OROP rate % of pensioners drawing less than OROP Total No. of pensioners with QS 28 years Pensioners drawing less than OROP rate % of pensioners drawing less than OROP
1.07.2014 to 31.12.2015 246 232 94.3 97 8 8.25
01.01.2016 onwards 514 401 78.02 239 1 0.42
* Majority of Lt Col who have retired after 2014 are currently drawing less pension than OROP

Fate of Report of One Man Judicial Committee

The Third Aspect that remains unfulfilled is the Report of the One Man Judicial Commission. Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, as Raksha Mantri constituted a 3 member Internal Committee (Shri Ravi Kant, then Joint Secretary Ex-Servicemen Welfare (later Secretary ESW and now superannuated ; Shri R K Karna Addl FADS and Joint Secretary, Def/Fin and Shri Kanwaldeep Singh, Jt CGDA). The Internal Committee was constituted in July 2017 and mandated to submit its report within 2 months. Not so surprisingly, a reply to a RTI application elicited a reply that no record exists of any dates of meetings of this Committee, even when the Central Information Commission intervened on 29 Apr 2021 in Second Appeal No. CIC/DEXSW/A/2019/127359-DODEF. It has now been intimated by Deptt of Ex-Servicemen Welfare that the Internal Committee has reportedly been re-constituted on 10.12.2021.  Ironically, the new OM states that all other conditions remain unchanged, which means the IC should have submitted its report to Shri Rajnath Singh latest by March 2022!      

 [Please note: All information quoted above is based on replies provided by Chief Public Information Officers of Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare of the Ministry of Defence, Govt of India).

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4 thoughts on “Revision of OROP and related aspects

  1. Dear Marshal,
    Namaskaar !
    1. This paper is excellently worded and it has nicely been brought out that the Havs and Nb/Subs and their equivalents from the Navy and Air Force are the greatest lossers.
    2. You have even high-lighted, through a chart, that the OROP is NOT BENEFICIAL for the Lt Cols and Brigs and their equivalents from the Navy and
    Air Force.
    3. You will agree that factually it is the Majs and their equivalents from the Navy and Air Force who are the greatest losers. You will agree with me that Majs during yester years were known as the cutting edge of the Army but are an insignificant lot after Dec 2004. Perhaps that might be the reason why you have NOT felt it necessary to highlight that their pension is NOT fixed as per the formula of same rank and same length of service. You must be under the impression that they are lucky to be promoted as Lt Cols and equivalents in the Navy and Air Force after 13 years of commissioned service.
    4. No point flogging a dead horse. I will like to suggest that during the 6th CPC as well as OROP notional pay and service were taken to provide maximum pension for 33 years pensionable service in the case of Cols, Brigs, Maj Gens, Lt Gens and Lt Gens (HAG+). As NO Majs are retiring after Dec 2004 due to which comparison is NOT possible for grant of maximum pension for 33 years pensionable service under OROP scheme, this method can be adopted to provide maximum pension for 33 years of pensionable service to them.
    5. May I request you, in case agreed to, to suggest this method to the Ministry of Defence for consideration as this system is time tested and is worth adopting. The financial affect will also NOT be much on the exchequer as approximately 600 retired Majs and their equivalents from the Navy and Air Force as well as widow pensioners are affected.

  2. Sir, I got discharged at my own request from iaf on 28 May 2015 after completing 15 yrs 05 months. Since orop1 letter dated 07 Nov 2015, states that orop1 is not applicable who got discharge at own request, and is effective prospectively. The base year was July 2014. Will I get orop1 benefit.pl suggest

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