Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Rank Based Pension- Logic for replacing OROP by RBP

Tough times Ex-servicemen and their kin gathered in large numbers for the protest Photo: TARUN SEHRAWAT
Soldier’s Lament- click here

Brig KP Singh Deo- Sitting extreme right
A high powered committee in 1985 headed by Mr KP Singh Deo coined the term One Rank One Pension (OROP)
Dear Raj and Friends,
I am forwarding a mail from our esteemed senior veteran Gen Bahri. While I will have the issue researched by the officers currently dealing with the subject, the message set me thinking, and I am led to believe, that there is a need for us to change tack. The term OROP has become a red rag to the bull. Successive governments have grappled with it and given it up. I suggest we drop this term and replace it with a simpler term, "RANK BASED PENSION" (RBP)
This will give us the following advantages;
We will be reverting to a system which was in vogue for a long time. I know for sure that for each rank, a pension was specified (Maj Rs 550, Lt col Rs 675 and so on) and as long as an officer had put in a specified length of service, he was granted the pension specified for his rank. It was reduced for lesser service proportionately. The amounts specified for the various ranks were loosely derived from the pay of that rank. The pension had nothing to do with the pay actually drawn by the soldier at the time of retirement. This 'rank based system' is exclusive for the armed forces, and so the civilians can not claim this, ipso facto. The RBP format ensures that there can be no anomalies of the kind which the present system is riddled. It meets the two conditions, namely the length and quality of service as the determinants for pension. It is simple to implement and neither the banks nor the pensioners will have any difficulty in understanding the process. Maj Gen Renjen has also suggested that we choose another term, to show that we are neither rigid nor unreasonable. Let us give a ceremonial burial to OROP and seek the good old and time tested RBP. This might well turn out to be a 'win win' solution.
Regards,
Maj Gen Surjit Singh

From: Satish Kumar Bahri
Date: Feb 27, 2009 5:34 PM
Subject: IAS Pensions in Late 50s
To: Surjit Singh
Dear Surjit,
In connection with with the fixation of our pensions I would like you to do some research thru your contacts in the PC cell. As far as I remember in early 50s, soon after I was commissioned, new pension scales were fixed for the Army. There was tremendous jubilation as a Lt Cols pension was fixed at Rs 675 pm after 20 yrs service. This was equivalent to a serving substantive Capt's pay. In 1956 I met an IAS officer and he was surprised to hear what was drawn by a Lt Col. It was he who told me that the max pension that a civil servant can draw is Rs 800 pm. This was equal to a Brig's. It may be a useful bit of info to high light the point and show how we have been done down over the years.
Lt Gen SK Bahri (Retd)
Indian military: Nation owes you by Surjit Singh

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