Govt ready with draft on OROP, revision period still remains the sticking point

In a bid to end the One Rank One Pension (OROP) logjam, the government has reportedly prepared a draft on the modalities of implementing the scheme. However, the bone of contention remains the period of revision of pension. According to reports, the government has proposed a revision every five years and an announcement is likely in the next two-three days. However, ex-servicemen want pensions to be revised every two years.Speaking at Jantar Mantar, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Satbir Singh, Chairman of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement said they are willing to accept a revision every two years but not beyond that. The veterans have been demanding an annual revision as per the definition of OROP, which says uniform pension based on rank and length of service, irrespective of when they retire.However, most of the other issues have been ironed out. Veterans have agreed to the proposal of implementing the policy from July 1, 2014 as opposed to their demand of bringing it to effect from April 1, 2014.In terms of implementation, arrears will be cleared immediately for widows while the rest will receive it in four installments.A judicial commission will be set up to identify other points of conflict and submit a report within six months, reported the Hindu. This pension bill will cost the exchequer around Rs. 8,000 crore annually which would compound given the frequency of revision. The current pension bill of the armed forces stands at Rs. 54,000 crore.There are about 2.45 million veterans and six lakh war widows who stand to benefit from the scheme.