One Rank One Pension likely on NDA Govt’s menu for PM’s second Independence Day Speech on 15th August

Various departments of the government are engaged in ironing out the kinks and working on the timetable of implementing the ambitious and expensive pension scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort could bring the much-awaited good news for millions of ex-servicemen across the country as he is expected to announce the adoption of One Rank, One Pension (OROP) for ex-servicemen.

Modi had recently sought information from all ministries and departments on the progress made on the schemes announced by him, during last year’s Independence Day speech. Senior government officials said the announcement on OROP for defence personnel might deal with concrete steps that the government might take in rolling out the programme in a time-bound manner. Various departments of the government are engaged in ironing out the kinks and working on the timetable of implementing the very ambitious, and prohibitively expensive, pension scheme.

The finance ministry is working on calculating the financial cost of the scheme. Officials admit it is easier said than done. While defence ministry officials have said that OROP could cost the government about Rs 8,000 crore per annum, finance ministry policymakers say the amount could be almost double, at around Rs 15,000 crore per annum.

“The PMO has made OROP a priority; there is a lot of work going into it. A few things would be taken into account once you start calculating how much it will cost the exchequer. Firstly, all pay commissions combined, there are way more retirees than serving personnel currently. And second, due to short service commission and greater life expectancy, we are having to pay pension for a good 50-55 years per person in some cases,” an official from the finance ministry said.

Modi in his first Independence Day address from the Red Fort last year, had announced a slew of new initiatives which included Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao for preventing female infanticide, Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana and also Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Read more at: Business Standard