All about OROP in five points

The Bharatiya Janata Party, in 2014 Lok Sabha polls made a number of promises to woo voters across India and the party registered a historic win. The party, however, overlooked a few commitments it made to the public and among those is OROP, a long-pending demand by the retired officers of Indian Armed Forces.

What is OROP?
OROP is a demand of same pension for the same length of service, irrespective of the date of retirement. Ex-servicemen have been demanding OROP for several decades now. The demand of equal pension primarily says that no matter when an officer or jawan has retired from service, they should get equal pension.

As per the current practice, a Major General got his pension based on his last drawn salary which was, for instance, in 1990, while a Colonel, who retired in 2010, got a pension which was much more than what the Maj Gen in concern drew.

What are the figures saying?
As explained by the finance ministry, implication of complete OROP would become a huge burden on the Indian economy. Veterans of armed forces, however, argued that by the government’s own calculation, the ORP bill would be Rs. 8,600 crore a year, which is not that major an addition to the Rs. 54,500-crore defence pensions’ expenditure estimated for this financial year.

What aggravated the matter now?
The matter, after being highly politicized, came into notice in 2014 as the UPA accepted the demand after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi personally intervened in the matter.

In 2014 Lok sabha elections, the demand became an election plank for the BJP and Narendra Modi too announced its implication. Even after decades, the issue, it seems like has no chances of getting resolved in the near future as the finance ministry is taking a contrary stand in the issue.

How old in the matter?
The Indian national Congress in 1973, headed by the-then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, terminated OROP followed by the Third Central Pay Commission (3 CPC). The decision, which was an ‘ex-parte’ call, caused unrest in the Indian Armed Forces and since then, it has become a cause of public protest by Armed Forces Veterans.

In 2008, the matter came out in the open after the Sixth Pay Commission formally dismissed the OROP demand.

The veterans demand special treatment citing their exceptional nature of job and the fact that most soldiers are forced to retire before the age of 42, leaving them unemployable and in a state of penury.

Government’s stand
With OROP being ‘accepted’ by the government, the approval is something that is yet to come. The finance ministry, as per its calculation, says that it is not possible for the government to match pensions every time there is a hike in pay.

Image: indiatimes