Final order on OROP to be issued soon: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar
Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said the final order explaining the details, including the rule of minimum service requirement for defence personnel, under the one rank one pension (OROP) scheme will be issued soon.
"Those who have retired with the proper procedure will not be impacted. Wait for the wordings. Why is there so much excitement till then?" said Parrikar on the sidelines of an engineers' conclave at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.
"Even the PM has made it amply clear that those getting retired prematurely will be entitled to OROP benefits," he said.
Making it clear that the voluntary retirement scheme for the armed forces is very different from that for civilians, Parrikar said, "There is no concept of normal VRS in the armed forces, so even if they apply they can be refused. But if someone applies for health reasons or injuries, the armed forces would want to grant premature retirement."
Parrikar added, "If it (premature retirement) happens before the needed time, then they don't get it. We will explain it."
On September 5, the central government announced that the OROP scheme will be implemented from July 1, 2014 - with arrears amounting to anywhere between Rs 10,000 and 12,000 crore - confusion on certain key issues remained.
Parrikar had then said that military personnel who took voluntarily retired will not be entitled to the scheme, which was rejected by veterans who had been protesting across the country for two months.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarified at a rally in Faridabad that OROP benefits will also be extended to former servicemen who have opted for premature retirement.
In the armed forces, Non Commissioned Officers (NCO) who have reached a pensionable limit of 15 years and officers who have completed 20 years can opt for premature retirement.
Veterans protesting at Jantar Mantar called off their indefinite hunger strike after the PM's assurance, but said protests would continue until all the contentious issues were resolved.
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