'One Rank One Pension (OROP)': The Rights and Wrongs

Someone asked me what is my take on the demand for 'One Rank One Pension (OROP)' by retired defense personnel in India. I am son of a retired Indian Army officer and thus OROP, if and when implemented, is going to directly benefit my family. My father gets a pension and naturally his pension would also increase if OROP is implemented. So, one may think that I am fully supporting the demand as well as protests/agitations by the veteran defense personnel in New Delhi. 

Right and Wrong.

I do and firmly believe that defense personnel, serving as well retired, should be the best paid men in the country. Unlike everyone else in the country, the soldiers stay away from their families for long periods, serve in remote and inhospitable areas and face dangers on regular basis. Paying them what they deserve is the least we can do for them. Some people argue that defense personnel already get a lot of perks in forms of rations, subsidized products in CSD canteens, rebates on flight tickets and so on. Indeed they get all that but they do not get enough money to give their families the comfort that they and their families deserve. The life of an army officer may look very glamorous from outside but it typically is not as glamorous as it looks. Defense personnel and their families give a lot to the country and they definitely deserve better financial benefits. I do know that I am deviating from the topic as the current demand is not related to salaries at all; it focuses on pensions.

Coming to the demand regarding pensions, veterans are asking for same and standardized pension for every retired defense personnel at each designation. As per some sources, a Lieutenant Colonel retiring in 2010 gets higher pension that a Major General who retired in late 90s. It is definitely unfair and should change. The year of retirement should not decide the pension. If salaries are increased on the basis of increasing cost of living and inflation, pensions should also increase to match the current levels. I am completely with the veterans on this point. And so is the government. Government has already announced that it is committed to implementing OROP after ironing out some administrative challenges.

Now, lets talk about areas where I disagree with the veterans;

1. Veterans are demanding a 'Rolling Adjustment Plan' under which they want the pensions to be adjusted every year. There are around 22 lakh defense pensioners and the number would keep growing. A 'Rolling Adjustment Plan' would be quite difficult to implement. Plus, it would create a huge financial issue (do not want to use the word 'burden' due to my immense respect for the armed forces)
2. One should note that the usual norm is of a 10-year adjustment for all the other government pensioners (source: Times of India; as shown in the picture below). Hence, the demand is to make extremely drastic changes, which would have a long-term impact 
3. 
4. Veterans need to understand that the armed forces is not the only organization, which is eligible for such a system and benefits. Once this is implemented for the armed forces, other departments (e.g. BSF, CRPF, railways etc) would also ask for similar changes. The request would not be unjustified as others should also get better benefits. Keeping this in mind, the veterans must understand and appreciate the fact that the decision and calculation is not a straight-forward one for the government. Government has to ensure that they do not make a hasty decision, which is impractical. Else, they would face similar requests, agitations and protests from others
5. Another point (small one) is that I, personally believe that personnel from the armed forces, serving or retired, should not indulge in such agitations and protests. I do agree that it may have been difficult to make others hear their voices without such means yet I feel that defense personnel should not indulge in such protests and agitations. It is uncharacteristic for the defense personnel (even if they are retired) to adopt such measures. The government has already communicated that they are committed to implementing OROP. I think the veterans should now show some patience. Else, this would start to look more like 'arm-twisting' than anything else. This is also giving a lot of cannon-fodder to presstitutes, who do not even need a reason to target the government

Overall, the overall demand is justified and there are no two-ways about it. Veterans deserve better pensions and more. However, the adjustment plan is unreasonable and impractical, which would lead to an administrative and financial nightmare. And the approach is uncharacteristic. 

On a side note, majority of the people in India respect the armed forces and anything related to the armed forces becomes a popular topic. Several civilians are showing their support to the demand of the veterans, which is heart-warming. 

However, more than anything else, I am extremely pleased and proud that the government is making cautious moves instead of opting for hasty populist measures in order to earn quick brownie points. Approving the demand and implementing OROP without putting enough thought would have been and still is an easy option. But the government is choosing to weigh the impact from all angles before implementing OROP. This government does not seem to be interested in gaining short-term political mileage at the cost of long-term negative financial impact. 

That is why, I trust this government and leadership.