Railwaymen demand OROP

Railwaymen demand OROP

New Delhi: With the government giving in-principle approval to the one rank one pension scheme for defence personnel, Railway employees are now asking for similar pension benefit, arguing that their duties too are “hazardous, risky and complex”.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Federation of Indian Railwaymen has demanded uniform pension policy for railway employees.

“On an average, 800 railway employees get killed per year in the course of duty and nearly 3,000 sustain injuries at work,” M Raghavaiah, general secretary of NFIR, said.

Railways, one of the largest employer in the country, has about 13 lakh employees.

He said over 85 per cent of railway employees work in remote locations and extremist-affected areas.

Raghavaiah appealed to scrap the New Pension Scheme in railways and grant OROP to employees “as has been agreed to in the case of retired defence personnel”.

PTI

7th pay commission report will be ‘Badly Affected’ following recent OROP announcement

Seventh pay commission report will be ‘Badly affected’ following recent OROP announcement 

New Delhi: The recent One Rank One Pension (OROP) announcement has to take it toll on Seventh pay commission report for central government employees.


The Government has announced the One Rank One Pension scheme for the Ex-Servicemen. The estimated cost of One Rank One Pension (OROP) on arrears alone to the exchequer would be Rs 8000 to 10000 crore at present, and will increase further in future.

Seventh pay commission will definitely bring also toll on the exchequer as government has to manage OROP’s expenditures before Seventh pay commission expenditures.

Experts say that Central government’s salary bill will rise by 9.56% to Rs 1,00,619 crore after Seventh pay commission will come into effect.

Pay commission report will be out in a few months. As the Pay Commission merges existing DA with basic salary of government employees, the annual pension costs will go up substantially; and that will rise further depending upon the actual pay hike that is considered.

Officials of the finance ministry argue that the next Budget will not be badly affected since there is a cushion provided by, for instance, low oil prices—the OROP arrears and pay commission are not to be paid out at one go, but will be paid in installments.

This OROP announcement will be affected Seventh pay commission report badly, especially in salary hike and increasing allowances,” said a pay panel official.

“We have to look financial health of government before submitting our report. We have to save financial position of government to run the nation smoothly. We are not only to work for pay hike.” he added.

TST

MPs demand hike in salary but widows of defence personnel get only Rs.3,500: Anna Hazare gives 2 months deadline for OROP

MPs demand hike in salary but widows of defence personnel get only Rs.3,500: Anna Hazare gives 2 months deadline for OROP implementation

Anti-corruption crusader joins ex-servicemen protest: The Hindu

The ex-servicemen protesting non-implementation of the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme got a shot in the arm as Gandhian activist Anna Hazare joined them at Jantar Mantar on Sunday.

Mr. Hazare, a former soldier, came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi without naming him. He accused him of ignoring the aspirations of the people and said there was an “immediate need” for the Centre and the Delhi government to “resolve their issues”.


Speaking from the dais of the United Front of Ex-Servicemen, the veteran anti-corruption crusader said “mere assurances” served little purpose and set a two-month deadline for the implementation of the scheme. “They [Mr. Modi and the BJP] told us in Rohtak that the OROP would be implemented as soon as they came to power. But nothing has happened so far. We will hold rallies in Ludhiana on August 2, in Rohtak on August 9 and in Maharashtra on August 23 to create awareness about OROP. On October 2, we will protest at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on One Rank One Pension,” Mr Hazare said.

Hits out at MPs

Criticising MPs’ demand for a hike in salary, he said they get several benefits but widows of the defence personnel get only Rs. 3,500.

“MPs want a salary hike despite the fact that they get air fare, Class AC 1 ticket in trains, a bungalow, vehicles and a salary of Rs.50,000. And we have wives and mothers of the defence personnel who get Rs.3,500-Rs.4,500. Is this justice and is this our freedom?” he wondered.

Read at: The Hindu

Central Government committed to OROP, there’s no doubt about it: PM Narendra Modi

Central Government committed to OROP, there’s no doubt about it: PM Narendra Modi

In an exclusive interview to the Tribune, PM takes on the Opposition ove land bill, ‘achhe din’ jibe, corruption and economy

Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 29

One Rank One Pension:
One rank, one pension We are in consultation with defence personnel on its definition. We are committed to it. We are looking for a way where all stakeholders agree. This should not be politicised.

Three days after completing his first year in power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a no-holds- barred interview to The Tribune today, said his government was committed to One Rank One Pension (OROP) for ex-servicemen and that no one should have any doubts about its implementation. The PM said the Congress was politicising OROP. “The previous governments don’t have the justify to speak about it because they did nothing when they were in power.”

On OROP, the PM said the government was “in constant discussions with the armed forces personnel to arrive at a please-all definition of OROP of which there are varied versions.”

“No one should have any doubts about OROP’s implementation. I want everyone to know that through The Tribune. But there are varied versions about what the definition of OROP should be. Would it be proper for me to take a decision without keeping the armed forces personnel in the loop? So we are trying to arrive at a please-all decision,” the PM said.

In an evident dig at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi who recently threatened an agitation if OROP was not implemented soon, the PM said, “OROP for me is not a political programme. For 57 years the jawans have been demanding OROP, but the previous governments did nothing. Those who were part of then governments must realize they don’t have the justify to speak on this issue.”

Asked if the government would expedite OROP, the PM said the Government was committed to it. “The government has been formed for five years.” Need Definition of One Rank One Pension, Says PM Modi

Read more at : The Tribune EPaper

After the implementation of OROP the pension related anomalies will be reduced – Manohar Parrikar

After the implementation of OROP the pension related anomalies will be reduced – Manohar Parrikar

Enhancing Military Capabilities is the Top Priority– Manohar Parrikar

The Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar has said that his top priority is to enhance military capabilities of the country with due focus on modernization of the armed forces. Inaugurating a two-day Controllers’ Conference of Defence Accounts Department, here today, he said, high serviceability levels of equipment and weapon systems and high morale of soldiers is also necessary which is possible with an effective and optimum resource utilisation. He stressed on working as an integrated whole with shared resources of data and information, specifically in area of pension, payments, compilation and accounting preferably on real time basis. The Defence Minister emphasized that faster and transparent decision making and focus on “Make in India” are the two pillars of our strategy for leapfrogging our economy to a higher growth. Shri Parrikar cautioned the Defence Accounts officials against any attack of hackers on their database.

Shri Parrikar also inaugurated Pension Call Centre for dealing the queries from the pensioners and their families regarding their entitlement and pension payments. The Pension call centre for Army pensioners has been established in the office of PCDA (Pension) at Allahabad and can be accessed through the toll free number 1800 180 5321. The Defence Minister also hinted that an order regarding implementation of One-Rank-One-Pension (OROP) may be issued very soon. He said after the implementation of OROP the pension related anomalies will be reduced. On this occasion a statistical hand book on defence expenditure was also released by the Defence Minister. Earlier, Director General of Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) Shri MJ Joseph presented a ISO 9001 certificate to Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) Shri Arvind Kaushal for its Delhi Defence Accounts Office.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh, CGDA Shri Arvind Kaushal and Financial Advisor (Defence Services) Ms Vandana Srivastava were amongst the dignitaries who graced the inaugural function.

The theme of the conference is ‘Good Governance through strategic collaboration. During the conference, four business sessions concerning shared Database, E-Governance, Strengthening of IFAs System and HRD issues have been planned covering the Department’s working and emphasizing synergy with its client etc. of the defence services. Senior officer of the department as well as defence forces will lead the panel discussions on these issues and provide a road map for collaborated system improvements.

Source: PIB News