No, not everyone is convinced and satisfied with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi after 'One Rank, One Pension' (OROP), a much awaited demand of the ex employees of the Indian army has been approved. The veterans are relieved with the explanation of the tricky 'pre-mature retirement' clause in the OROP issue, but not the ones who retired early. Finally a few officers intervened and helped people get a clear picture of what the confusing clause of OROP debate is all about.
On the confusion created after defence minister Manohar Parrikar said OROP would not apply to those taking early retirement; the veterans welcomed PM Modi's clarification that those retiring early due to medical reasons and service-related issues would be included in the scheme.
Officials have confirmed that OROP would apply to all current pensioners, including those who retired early. However, the ‘confusing’ clause was aimed at retaining serving personnel. The fear was that with good pensions assured, many relatively young officers would opt for early retirement.
"The OROP scheme would be used as an incentive for officers to serve their full tenure. In the past, several officers would opt for retirement after 20 years of service as they were assured of a pension. Now, they may serve longer to avail the OROP benefit," an official said.
However, the veterans have decided to continue a scaled-down relay hunger strike on minor pending issues, including the annual revision of salaries.