One Rank One Pension (OROP), or "same pension, for same rank, for same length of service, irrespective of the date of retirement":p 1 was decided as the basis for determining the pension and benefits of Indian Armed Forces in 1973, when it was terminated by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MOD), in an "ex-parte" decision, during the tenure of the Indian National Congress (INC) led by Indira Gandhi. :paras 10.4 and 11.2
The termination of OROP, and drastic decrease in Armed Forces soldiers' pension from 70 percent to 50 percent of last pay drawn, two years after 1971 Bangladesh war, caused disquiet in the Indian Armed Forces and, since 2008, has been cause of public appeals and protests,:para 2,10.2,10.4 and 11.2 and hunger strikes by armed forces veterans, the overwhelming majority of whom retire before they are forty years old.
In 2008, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, led by Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister, while disregarding OROP for the Armed Forces, granted OROP to present, and future civil Servants, in perpetuity, at the apex pay grade (Rs 80,000), the highest pay grade in the government, the pay grade at which majority of the officials of India's Central Civil Services, including police officers, retire.:para 1.2.8–9
In contrast to near hundred percent Apex-OROP coverage to past and future retiree from the civil services, including majority of civilian officers in Ministry of Defenceresponsible for providing secretarial, logistic, and rear area services to the Armed Forces, only a fraction of one percent of the armed forces officers, as hedge against their opposition to the scheme, were also sanctioned OROP.
Sanction of OROP at apex scale to all civil services was accompanied by two other radical decisions in 2008: grant of 'non-functional financial up-gradation' :para 11.20 to all civil services including the Indian Police Service,:p 156 note 3, and Annexure -I, p 319 and creation of several hundred new posts of secretaries and Special Secretaries, at the apex grade pay level, so as to make almost all civilian and police officers eligible for apex scale OROP pensions. For the Indian Police service, for instance, over three dozen new apex grade pay level post were created.:pages 645–46; para 3.2.12 'Non-functional financial up-gradation'(NFU) was not extended to Armed Forces.
These decisions, widened the increasing the pay and pension gap between defence and civilian officials. It sharply downgraded time scale and highly selective Armed Forces pay grades and ranks across the board, most significantly, at the senior ranks of Colonel to Major General, and their equivalents in the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force (IAF). The pay and pension down grades, with wide organizational and morale ramifications, were widely resented by the armed forces. :para 10.4 and 11.2 
In response to the growing unease in the Armed Forces, and escalating protest by veterans with implementation of OROP as focus, the Government set up of a ten-member all-party Parliamentary Panel, known as the Koshyari Committee after its chairman, to examine the OROP issue. The Koshyari Committee after considering the evidence, and hearing oral depositions for eight months, submitted it report in December 2011. The committee unanimously found merit in OROP and strongly recommended that, "Government should implement OROP in the defence forces across the board at the earliest and further that for future, the pay, allowances, pension, family pension, etc., in respect of the defence personnel should be determined by a separate commission":p 1 Despite the Koshyari Committee report, public commitments, including in the parliament, and visible disaffection amongst the armed force veterans, the UPA Government was slow to reach out to the veterans and implement OROP.
In May 2014, the UPA Government lost the election. It was replaced by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which like the Congress Party, had included implementation of OROP in its election manifesto. Sonia Gandhi of INC, and Narendra Modi of BJP, at political rallies made repeated commitments to implement OROP, if elected. Narendra Modi, the BJP prime Ministerial candidate, in order to win armed forces and veteran support, made implementation of OROP an election rallying call.
The BJP leadership after it assumed office continued to make pledges, and promises, but did not implement OROP. This raised doubts and suspicion amongst ex-servicemen about its intent to implement OROP according to the accepted definition. The BJP ambivalence provoked nation wide protests by the veterans, starting 15 June 2015.
On 14 August 2015, Rajnath Singh, the Home Minister of India, ordered the Delhi Police and Central Reserve Police Force, a Counter Insurgency force under the Ministry of Home Affairs, to remove the ex-servicemen gathered at Jantar Mantar. The police, citing security concerns, in a ham handed operation 'pushed around', dragged, assaulted, lathi-charged and otherwise humiliated the peaceful gathering of Ex servicemen, and their families, many of whom were in their eighties.  Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, Chairman of Indian Ex Servicemen Movement, after the police raid, told the Press Trust of India, "This is shocking and obnoxious. Nothing can be worse. We are the protectors of India's Independence. The move to remove our tents is barbaric, undemocratic and dictatorial."
On 5 September 2015 the NDA Government, following 83 days of public protest, announced, unilaterally, the implementation the 'OROP Scheme' for the Armed Forces. The order to implement OROP was issued two months later on On 7 November 2015.
The Ex-servicemen greeted the Government OROP Scheme of 5 September as well as the implementation order of 7 November with dismay and dissappointment.They said OROP sanctioned by the government did not conform with the 'accepted' definition of OROP, and decided to continue with their protest.
Former Chiefs of Indian Air Forceand Navy expressing strong support to OROP.
|Former Chiefs of Indian Air Forceand Navy expressing strong support to OROP.|
Koshyari Committee definition
In 2011, the Petitions Committee of the Rajya Sabha or the Koshyari Committee, after examining the evidence, and taking into account the written and oral submissions by top officials from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Finance, veterans, and senior serving armed forces officers, over a six-month period (May–December 2011), defined the concept of OROP as follows:
The Koshyari Committee definition of OROP was accepted by the Government, endorsed by Parliament, and by ex-servicemen and ex-servicemen organizations. It has since become the accepted definition and basis for the ex-servicemen's demand for implementation of OROP. It is in sync with the ex-servicemen definition of OROP, according to which OROP "implies the grant of equal pension to soldiers of a particular rank, who have rendered the same length of service, irrespective of the date of their retirement.":p 1
On 27 February 2014, the MOD, in a meeting to discuss implementation of OROP attended by AK Antony, Defence Minister, Jitendra Singh, Minister of State, RK Mathur, Defence Secretary, Sangita Gairola, Secretary Department of Ex-Servicemen's Welfare, Arunava Dutt, Secretary Defence Finance, the Adjutant General of the Army, and the Vice Chiefs of the three Service, endorsed the OROP definition, affirming that OROP
BJP Government: search for new definition
The 'accepted definition' of OROP, did not find favor with the BJP Government. On 30 May 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after more than a year of pledges and promises to implement OROP, controversially declared that there are "too many definitions [of OROP] going around", and that his Government is "looking for one on which all stakeholders agree". Modi's musings on the need for a new more acceptable OROP definition prompted widespread dismay, disappointment, and outrage amongst Armed Forces pensioners. Modi's statement was perceived by veterans as disingenuous: intended to to delay, dilute, and deny OROP. Lt General Vijay Oberoi, former Vice Chief of Army Staff, in a caustic commentary on the PM declaration, wrote that BJP Government was "expected to have a mind of its own and not be overly influenced by highly biased civil officials, who never lose a chance to put down the military. It is sad that the political-bureaucratic nexus is back in power, much to the detriment of the nation." He noted that the "conviction among military personnel now is that the touted ‘change’ that was the slogan that brought this government to power was only an election ploy and there is no difference between this and the previous governments." The implications of PM 's statement was that the definition of OROP is not settled; that there are multiple definitions; that BJP does not subscribe to the Koshyari Committee definition; that Koshyari Committee definition is open for revision; and that there is a need for a 'new definition of OROP', a definition that is acceptable to 'all stake holders'. The other stake holder were neither defined nor identified by the government.
Arun Jaitley, the current Finance Minister and former Defence Minister, has opposed Koshyari Committee definition of OROP. On 14 August 2015, the day the police roughed up veteran at Jantar Mantar, said, "the arithmetical translation" of OROP was posing a problem because of " several interpretations (of the definition of OROP)". On 31 August 2015 Arun Jaitley, without defining OROP, says, "I have my own formula on what OROP means. Somebody else may have their own formula on OROP but it has to be within reasonable and rational criteria. You can't have an OROP where pensions are revised every month or every year".Responding to Jaitley, the UPSEM alleges that Arun Jaitley, is manipulating the media, specifically, the Times of India, and India TV channel, to misinform the public, and exacerbate difference between the Officers and soldiers, on the OROP issue.
OROP for civil services
The UPA Government sanctioned One Rank, One Pension (OROP) to all civil servants who retire at the apex pay scale, the highest scale of pay in the Government of India, ie, the current pay scale of secretaries, and special secretaries to the Government of India, which is currently Rs. 80000(fixed).:p 1–2 All IAS , IFS, and most IPS officers retire at this scale.
'Apex OROP' decision was processed in the Department of Pensions and Pensioners' Welfare (DOP&PW), a department directly under the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister's Office, by Indian Administrative service (IAS) and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers. They not surprisingly, favored themselves with 100 percent OROP coverage at apex scales. The decision was implemented not by a public notification, but a slyly worded internal memo, issued by Department of Pensions and Pensioners' Welfare. Avay Shukla, a former officer of the Indian Administrative Service, ( 1975 batch, Himachal Pradesh cadre), who retired at the apex grade, and is recipient of Apex Grade OROP linked pension, wrote in a newspaper article that apex OROP for the civil services was done slyly, by "a slight of hand", by a decree, "that all who retire in this scale (known loftily as the Apex Scale) would get OROP – that is, their pensions would always be linked to whatever revised Apex Scale the subsequent Pay Commissions decided. Since every single IAS and IFS officer retires in the Apex Scale this forever ensured OROP for themselves. To reduce any opposition to the stratagem, some Apex Scale posts were also made available to other All India services." As 'Apex-OROP' was done secretly it has neither been discussed or scrutinized by the media, or the Ministry of Finance, and for this reason remained little known.
Beneficiaries of OROP-2008
'Apex-OROP' while appearing to be selective, provides apex grade pay pension coverage to thousands of retired , serving, and future Civil Service officers, including 4802 Indian Foreign Service 600 Indian Foreign Service officers, and majority of the 4720 the IPS serving officers not with standing what their responsibilities or duties entail.
Ajay Prasad, IAS, former defence secretary, who retired on 30 June 2004, on 22 August 2015, in a debate on national TV denied that he was getting Apex-OROP . J.K. Khanna, a IPS officer, who retired as DGP, in 2011, and Avay Shukla, IAS, who retired in 2010, have confirmed that they like other IAS and IPS officers are getting Apex OROP.
In comparison with near 100 percent coverage to all present and future members of the direct recruits to All India Civil Services, a mere .13 percent of the Armed Forces Officer corps are covered by the special OROP scheme. Those covered include the three heads of the Defence Forces, Army Commanders, and few other Lt Generals, and their equivalents in the Navy, and Air Force. This minuscule upper crust of the armed Forces officers corps was covered by the apex scale as a hedge against them raising their voices on the 'stratagem'. Contentiously, apex-OROP while covering all civil officers in the MOD, including those responsible for providing various support services to the defence forces, like accounts and audit, land, excluded the senior most ranks of the Armed Forces, including Lt Generals, Major Generals, Vice Admirals, and Rear Admirals, and Air Marshals, the commanders of the Armed Forces largest formations: its Corps, Divisions, air commands, bases, fleets and training establishments. Sanction of Apex-OROP to thousands of officials, amongst other factors, is perceived as the "causus belli" for the protest by Armed Forces veterans over OROP. It is also the probable cause for the unprecedented letter by former Chiefs of Defence Forces of India to the Government declaring their support for OROP for the Armed Forces.
Ministry of Defence and OROP
The higher bureaucracy in Indian Ministry of Defence (MOD), unlike defence ministries in other countries, is staffed entirely by civil service officers on deputation, who have never served in the armed forces or are familiar with its working or ethos. The MOD bureaucracy is drawn from the IAS and from other civil services, including from civilian services responsible for providing support services to the Armed Forces such as the from Indian Defence Estates Service, the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS), and Indian Ordnance Factories Service. The entire MOD bureaucracy is covered by Apex OROP. MOD higher bureaucracy, despite being assured full apex-OROP coverage has, since the issue was raised, been opposed to OROP for the Armed Forces. 
The MOD is considered by most ex-servicemen, including former head of the Armed Forces, as permanent impediment to OROP, and welfare of ESM. Four former heads of the Armed Forces in August 2015, in a open letter addressed to the President of India flagged "The hostile approach of MoD bureaucracy" and its "antagonistic handling of problems related to pensions and allowances of aging veterans, war widows and battle-casualties'.
In 2011, during the tenure AK Antony, as Defence Minister, Neelam Nath, Secretary of Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare (Poorva Senani Kalyan Vibhag) from 1 June 2009 to 30 September 2011, on instructions of Shashi Kant Sharma, Defence Secretary, opposed OROP for the Armed Force, in her deposition to the Parliamentary Panel.:para 4, and 4.1 The Koshyari Committee however, disagreed with submissions by the Ministry of Defence and found "merit in the demand for One Rank One Pension by Armed Forces Personnel", and urged the Government to implement OROP at the earliest.
OROP and UPA government
During the tenure of the UPA Government, OROP issue gained salience. This was mainly because Manmohan Singh, UPA Government’s Prime Minister, in the wake of Sixth Central Pay Commission (6 CPC), in 2008, decided to [a] disregard OROP;:para 5.1.58 [b] grant time bound higher pay grades and ranks to civilian and Police officers, who wears army badges of rank, at fixed intervals, independent of the job requirement, or span of responsibilities; [c] sanction assured automatic pay promotions, to all officers of All India Services, and the police, under what has been called the "Non-Functional Up-gradation" (NFU), and [d] terminate "traditional pay parity between the commissioned officers and the AIS", by denying similar pay promotions to armed forces.:para 1.2.8–9
These decisions had the effect of sharply down grading Armed Forces pay grades and ranks across the board, and were widely perceived as attempts by the civil and police bureaucracy to undermine Armed Forces honour, esteem and Izzat, The perceived sense of injustice exacerbated resentment and made OROP an emotional issue. :para 10.4 and 11.2 
Ex-servicemen's organisations and Armed Forces veterans frustrated with UPA Government, in despair, took to the streets. Ex-servicemen protest which began tentatively slowly escalated from meek submission of petitions, to return of service and war medals, dharnas, and hunger strikes. :paras 10.4 and 11.2
OROP and the BJP
Narendra Modi, the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate, at a large election rally, in Rewari, Haryana, with former General VK Singh and Chief of Army Staff standing by his side, in the presence of tens of thousands Ex-Servicemen, declared that he will implement OROP, if elected. After N Modi’s election there were more promises, and public affirmations, by Manohar Parrikar, the Defence Minister, including the Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister, on the merits of OROP, and their intent to implement OROP. most memorably on Diwali 2014, at Siachen Glacier, in 2014, where he told soldiers "It was in my destiny that One rank One pension has been fulfilled". Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister and Defence Minister, in the Budget Speech on 10 July 2014, said, "We reaffirm our commitment to our brave soldiers. A policy of 'One Rank One Pension' has been adopted by the Government to address the pension disparities. We propose to set aside a further sum of ₹ 1,000 crore to meet this year’s requirement":page 25,para 140
Modi's "Mann Ki Batt", radio address on 31 May 2015, in which he asked Ex-Servicemen to remain patient, as he gets rid of the bureaucratic hassles.
Potential beneficiaries of OROP
Potential beneficiaries of OROP is about 2.6 million ex-servicemen, and 60,000 widows, including war widows, i.e., a combined total of 3.2 million, of whom about 86 percent are widows, JCOs, NCOs, and other ranks, about 14 percent are officers. Out of the estimated outlay on OROP of Rs 8400 crores about Rs 6200 Crores will be on account of Widows, JCOs, NCOs, and other ranks, and about 2200 for Officers.
Protest by armed forces veterans
On 15 June, ex-servicemen despairing of BJP promises, commenced nationwide protests, and hunger strikes.
Four former chiefs of the Armed Forces of India, namely General S F Rodrigues, former COAS, and Admirals L Ramdas, Arun Prakash and Sureesh Mehta, former Chiefs of Naval Staff, in an open letter to PresidentPranab Mukherjee, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, on 13 August 2015, warned that the denigration and humiliation of veterans, and the Government handling of veterans and armed Forces issues, pose grave "implication for national security" 
One Rank One Pension (OROP)
Indian ex-servicemen(veterans) on Protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi for Equalization of Pension of all veterans retired in same rank with same years of service.
|One Rank One Pension (OROP)|
Indian ex-servicemen(veterans) on Protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi for Equalization of Pension of all veterans retired in same rank with same years of service.
Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister, on 5 September 2015, the 83rd day of the nationwide protest by ex-servicemen on OROP, in the presence of the three Chiefs of the Armed Forces, announced that "despite the huge fiscal burden", Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister, "has fulfilled his commitment and approved OROP for Armed Forces personnel."  The "estimated cost to the exchequer" to implementing OROP, the Defence Minister said, "would be ₹ 8,000 to 10,000 crore at present". 
The definition of OROP, for the approved OROP scheme, Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister, said "implies that uniform pension be paid to the Armed Forces personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, regardless of their date of retirement. Future enhancements in the rates of pension would be automatically passed on to the past pensioners. This implies bridging the gap between the rate of pension of current and past pensioners at periodic intervals". "Under this definition, it has been decided that the gap between rate of pension of current pensioners and past pensioners will be bridged every 5 years".
"OROP Scheme" includes the following:
OROP and premature retirement
Defence Minister's decision to include the clause "Personnel who voluntarily retire will not be covered under the OROP scheme" in the OROP scheme announcement, on 5 September 2015, without warning the ex-servicemen, caused immediate outrage, and doubts about government intent amongst ex-servicemen. Arguing against the exclusion clause the ex-servicemen have said that it was not a part of the discourse, and discussion between the ex-servicemen and the government; it was not an items on the discussion agenda on 5 September morning meeting between minister and ex-servicemen; voluntary retirement scheme(VRS) is a term used by Public Sector Units, and corporate sector, to retire their staff on mutually agreed package, which usually does not have a pension component; and that VRS is not applicable to the Armed Forces, as the Armed Forces does not have VRS. Ex-servicemen have explained that the armed forces has premature retirement (PMR), which is different on many counts from VRS: to avail pension, and PMR, Armed Forces officers must have completed 20 years of service, and soldiers 15 years service; and unlike VRS, PMR invariably has a reserve liability, ie, they can be ordered back into service by the government if the national situation so demands. Ex-servicemen were surprised and disappointed that MOD, which oversees PMR, included, at the last minute, and without warning, the exclusion clause. They were also disappointed that the MOD, which should have known better, conflated VRS and PMR in its announcement. Who was behind the confusion is unclear. The ex-servicemen have demanded an inquiry on how the offending caveat was slipped into the Ministers statement, and MOD press release. Colonel Anil Kaul, spokesperson of the United Front of Ex-Servicemen said, "When we met the Defence Minister on Saturday, there were only three points on the table and that did not include the question about the PMRs. But then, the Defence Minister surprisingly made an announcement at 3 pm that personnel who retire voluntarily will not be covered under OROP. Upset, when we met him again between 6.30 and 7 pm, he too was surprised about the inclusion of the clause."  To defuse the ex-servicemen suspicion, distrust, and prevent further escalation, the Prime Minister, on 6 September, announced in Faridabad that all pensioners including those who took premature retirement will be covered by the OROP scheme. It is estimated that 46 per cent of all ex-servicemen are PMRs.
OROP is not a settled issue. It is,as MOD statement notes, 'a complex issue' and 'not an administrative matter alone', and therefore the MOD has decided to constitute "a One Member Judicial Committee", which will do a "thorough examination of interests of retirees of different periods and different ranks" and consider "inter-service issues of the three Forces". The "One Member Judicial Committee" the statement says "will give its report in six months". Ex-servicemen rejected MOD decision to constitute a one-man committee headed by a retired Supreme Court justice. Instead they urged the Government to constitute a committee of three military veterans, recommended by ex servicemen and an official, appointed by MOD, and that the committee be called upon to submit its report not in six but one month.
Explanation for delay
The Defence Minister in explanation and as alibi for the delay in implementing OROP, which has been under consideration of the BJP Government for the last 16 months, and pending for four decades, cited the following: [a] The previous governments of Man Mohan Singh led United Progressive Alliance "remained ambivalent on the issue of OROP"; its Minister of State for Defence, in 2009, "in reply to a question, informed Parliament that there are administrative, technical and financial difficulties in implementing OROP". [b] In February 2014, United Progressive Alliance Government while stating that " OROP would be implemented in 2014-15", made a "a budget provision of a mere Rs. 500 crore", which was "not based on any thorough analysis", and that it failed to "specify what OROP would be, how it would be implemented or how much it would cost". These explanations for delay in the implementation of OROP by the present Government find echo in Narendra Modi, PM speech, at a large rally, in Faridabad, Haryana, on 6 September 2015. The Congress Party, not unsurprisingly, disagrees with these explanations.
Following the Manohar Parrikar statement on the decision to implement OROP, Major General ( Retd) Satbir Singh said, "Out of the six demands that we made, the government has only agreed with one. We want clarification on the premature retirement point in the OROP. "On Government decision to revise pension every five years rather than every year he said, that this was not "in the spirit of One Rank, One Pension, it will be One Rank, Five Pensions," and therefor "urge the government to rethink it"."
Former Defence Minister's response to OROP Scheme
A.K. Antony, former defence minister in UPA Government, on 5 September 2015, calling the BJP government OROP scheme "totally disappointing", said it "substantially diluted the provisions of the OROP announced by the UPA". He said, it "ridiculed the ex-servicemen as well as the whole country." Refuting Manohar Parrikar's allegation that Congress Government was ambivalent on OROP, he said, "We had already accepted in toto the demand for OROP and were in the process of implementing it." 
The estimates of expenditure on account of OROP has undergone many revisions: according to early MOD estimates OROP was expected to cost ₹ 3000 crores;:para 6, 6.11 this figure has since been questioned and revised. The current estimates vary between ₹ 8,000-9,000 crores. :para 7 Finance Ministry estimates for implementation of OROP in accordance with the accepted Koshyari definition, according to media reports in August 2015, were about ₹ 12000 crores , ie, about ₹ 4000 crores more than estimated earlier.
Some defence analyst who have examined the financial implications of OROP have contended that OROP is affordable, and that opposition to it is based on 'specious' grounds. Former heads of Armed Forces including Admiral Arun Prakash have also contended that OROP is affordable as it is small fraction of the defence budget.
The outlay for Defence pension for 2015–16 is ₹ 54,500 crores, which includes about 500,000 defence civilians. All Civilians officers from the IAS and other AIS in the MOD, since 2008, are covered by OROP.
No Year Defence Pensions in ₹Crores Remarks
1 1981–82 1,670
2 2013–14 53,582.15 Defence allocation₹ 2,24,000 crore (US$37.15 billion prevailing average exchange rate). 2013-14 defence budget is exclusive of Rs 53,582.15 crore for defence pension, including for defence civilians. It also includes Rs 500 crore on account of the government’s One Rank One Pension (OROP).
3 2015–16 54,500 includes Rs22,500 crore (45%) for civilian pensions Defence allocation Rs. 2,46,727 crore (US$40.4 billion). The pension allocation includes Rs. 62,852.6 crore provided to MoD under the heads of Defence Pensions (Rs. 54,500 crore) and Civil Expenditure of MoD (Rs. 8,852.6 crore), both of which do not form part of India’s official defence budget. Total Pensioners 24.62 lakh , including 5.62 lakh (22.83%) defence civilian pensioners.
|No||Year||Defence Pensions in ₹Crores||Remarks|
|2||2013–14||53,582.15||Defence allocation₹ 2,24,000 crore (US$37.15 billion prevailing average exchange rate). 2013-14 defence budget is exclusive of Rs 53,582.15 crore for defence pension, including for defence civilians. It also includes Rs 500 crore on account of the government’s One Rank One Pension (OROP).|
|3||2015–16||54,500 includes Rs22,500 crore (45%) for civilian pensions||Defence allocation Rs. 2,46,727 crore (US$40.4 billion). The pension allocation includes Rs. 62,852.6 crore provided to MoD under the heads of Defence Pensions (Rs. 54,500 crore) and Civil Expenditure of MoD (Rs. 8,852.6 crore), both of which do not form part of India’s official defence budget. Total Pensioners 24.62 lakh , including 5.62 lakh (22.83%) defence civilian pensioners.|
Measures to reduce Armed Forces pension bill
Reducing the ratio of military pensioners to serving military personnel
The current ratio of military pensioners to serving military personnel is 1.7 to 1. In comparison the ratio of civil pensioners to civil work force is 0.56 to 1. Reducing the ratio of pensioner to serving in the military will, it is argued, greatly reduce the defence pension bill. To reduce the military pension bill, the 6 CPC and Koshyari Committee, had urged the Government to absorb Armed Forces personnel after their military engagement in Civil Government organization including Police Organization as is the custom in many countries, including in China, and in advanced economies like S Korea, Singapore, Israel, Switzerland, and the United States.
The transfer and absorption of Armed Forces personnel after the end of their military service into government organizations and departments where their unique skills, training, discipline and strengths can be optimally used, despite recommendations of the Parliament and Pay Commission, has been mostly ignored by successive Governments, mainly on account of want bureaucratic commitment in MOD, and sustained obstruction by IPS bureaucrats in MHA. :para 5
Fifth Central Pay Commission (5 CPC)
The 5 CPC, in its report submitted in January 1997, recommended increase in posts for Armed Forces personnel in Group C and D in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) from 10 percent to 25 percent. For Short Service Commissioned Officers, on completion of their military service, 5 CPC recommended earmarking 25 percent officer's post in the CAPFs. The intent of these recommendations was to reduce the defence pension bill, save on training and recruitment costs, provide trained manpower to government departments, and provide soldiers a second career after their term of military engagement.:p 139, para 2.4.4
The Pay Commission recommendations were, however, mostly ignored by the Janata Dal (United Front), and BJP Government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee that followed. Mulayam Singh Yadav, Defence Minister (1 June 1996 – 19 March 1998), Indrajit Gupta (Communist Party of India-United Front), Home Minister (29 June 1996 – 19 March 1998), and L K Advani (BJP), Home Minister (19 March 1998 – 22 May 2004) did little to implement these recommendations. The problem festered, and the pension bill ballooned.:p 139, para 2.4.4
Sixth Central Pay Commission (6 CPC)
The 6 CPC found that Indian Para Military Forces, called Central Armed Police Forces—CAPFs, which has a total strength of about 7,00,000 (in 1996), and defence civilians in Ministry of Defence, which had a strength of 4,00,000, have a combined annual intake of around 35,000 personnel; in comparison Armed Forces personnel (Army, Air Force, and Navy) pensioned off every year (in 1996) was approximately 40,000.:para 2.4.5, p 139 The 6 CPC on the basis of its analysis concluded that "potential to allow lateral shift of nearly all Defence Forces personnel to CPOs and various cadres of defence civilians exists".:para 2.4.6
The 6 CPC recommended that in future posts in the "CPOs/defence civilian organisations" should be filled by lateral transfer of Armed Forces personnel, including Short Service Commissioned Officers, after they complete their term of military service.:para 2.4.6p 140 Improving the post military service prospects of Short Service Commissioned Officers finds a prominent place in the BJP manifesto 2014, a pledge on which the BJP has till to act.
Response of the NDA Government
The recommendation of 6 CPC on lateral movement, however, were mostly ignored by the Indian National Congress-(UPA) Government. A K Antony, the Defence Minister (24 October 2006 – 26 May 2014), at the time did little to follow up on these recommendations. P Chidambaram, Home Minister (30 November 2008 – 31 July 2012), the minister responsible for implementing the recommendations on lateral movement, according to the 6 CPC, resisted implementing these reforms which would result in savings of tens of thousands of crores.:p 141, para 2.4.8 In the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) the resistance to these imminently sensible measures was from the civil and police bureaucracy, especially from the heads of Indian Para Military Forces, also called Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).:p 141, para 2.4.8 The seven CAPFs are headed by officers from Indian Police Service. They have direct access to the Minister of Home Affairs, and were elevated by the UPA Government to apex pay grades, a grade higher than that of most Lt Generals, including those in command of Corps of the Indian Army.:page 645–46, para 11.18
Savings from lateral movement of Armed Forces personnel
The 6 CPC estimated that the "at the end of 13 years the annual savings" from transfer- absorption of Armed Forces personnel to civil departments, including police, "will be to the tune of ₹ 7,800 crore at constant price index". Lateral transfer- absorption, in the longer term result in savings in the overall pension bill, and would more than off set projected expenditure on OROP.:p 141, para 2.4.7 
Two years after the 1971 war, in 1973, following the third pay commission, the Ministry of Defence (MOD), terminates ‘One Rank One Pension’ the basis for deciding pension of Indian Armed Forces Personnel ‘which had been in vogue for 26 years since independence’ through an ex parte administrative order.:para 10.1–2, and 6.2 Armed Forces pensions before 1973 because of early retirement, conditions of military service, were about 70 percent of the pay of rank at which they retired. In 1973, the pension of civilian government servant was increased from 33 percent to 50 percent, and that of armed forces who have far shorter careers, and more challenging service conditions, was decreased: officers’ pension from 70 percent to 50 percent and soldiers from 70 to 37 percent of last pay drawn.
The Estimates Committee 1980-81 (Seventh Lok Sabha, Fifteenth Report on Resettlement of Ex-servicemen) found that "that disparity in pensions" is " 'Thorn’ (which) freshens and deepens the wound almost every month when an ex-serviceman who had senior appointment in the Armed Forces is chagrined to find that his pension packet is woefully lower than that of an ex-serviceman who was many grades junior to him". The Committee found that "disparity in pension is inequitable and unfair and there is no justification to perpetuate it particularly among ex-servicemen where rank structure have always been the principle determinant of emoluments, perks and privileges. The Committee recommended that this matter should be examined with a fresh approach ... and just solution found to end the disparity in pensions to the satisfaction of large body of ex-servicemen".
Indian National Congress (I) Government led by Rajiv Gandhi, PM, on the prompting of ex servicemen, appoints a High Level Committee headed by K P Singh Deo, Minister of State for Defence. K P Singh Deo Committee found that ‘Ex-servicemen throughout the country... are of the view that a Defence Forces pensioner irrespective of the date of his retirement should get the same pension as another pensioner who retired later for the same rank and the same length of service. Whenever, pensions are revised the same should be applicable automatically and with prospective effect to existing pensioners. Similarly, other kinds of pensions like family pension, special family pension, widows pension and so on, whenever revised should again be automatically applicable to older cases, in the light of principle which has been already established with respect to the pensions of High Court and Supreme Court Judges". This the committee noted "is indeed worth consideration". the then Government, however, ignored the K P Singh Deo Committee findings and recommendations. This provoked the six Members of the All-India Ex-Services Welfare Association to go on indefinite fast in 1987, which resulted in creation of another committee to consider the issues.
By 1985, Armed Forces has fourteen different categories of pensioners.
Rajiv Gandhi led Indian National Congress (I) Government following the 4th CPC decides to implement concept of 'Rank Pay' for armed forces officer ranks ranging from 2/lt to brigadier in the army, and equivalent ranks in the Air Force and the Navy. Depending on the rank, the 'rank pay' varies from 200 to 1200. The 'rank pay', is not an additional pay, but amount deducted from their pay grade. The deduction of 'rank pay' from their grade pay allows the MOD to end old civil-police military equations, and make new equations of equivalence with police, and AIS officers. Selection grade ranks of the armed forces of Lt Colonel, Colonels, and Brigadiers, because of 'rank pay' deductions from their pay, makes these ranks junior to to time scale ranks in the police and AIS. For instance, as general Satbir has pointed out, Second Lieutenant and Lieutenant were equated with Junior Time Scale (JTS) and Captain with Senior Time Scale till 3CPC, were "clubbed with a single civilian rank of JTS". He asks, "How could it be allowed that the first military rank of Second Lieutenant along with two promotional ranks of Lieutenant and Captain were all clubbed with the first civilian rank?". Similarly at the level of major "rank pay' had the effect of promoting civilian pay grades equal to major till the 3 CPC, to that of colonels." Major General Satbir Singh has termed 'rank pay' implementation as “rarest of rare fraud, perjury and Injustice to the defence forces”. Service headquarters for various reasons do not take up the issue. Eventually, Maj AK Dhanapalan, a retired major, litigates 'rank Pay'. After protracted legal struggle high court, despite many appeals,in a land mark decision declares the 'rank pay' concept illegal. In its judgment the SC notes that the 'rank pay' was wrongly deducted from basic pay and ordered re-fixation of pay "with effect from" and not "as on" 1 January 1986.
Six members of the All-India Ex-Services Welfare Association go on indefinite fast in 1987, demanding follow up action by the Government on KP Singh Deo Committee findings and recommendations.
In 1989 the VP Singh Government appointed Jafa Committee to implement his promise of OROP for ex-servicemen. This committee, according to ex-servicemen, however, "did every thing to scuttle this concept" An Ad hoc was offered in October 90, which the ESM called "betrayal of their trust" and rejected it. The ESM alleged that " The half truths and lies trotted out by this Committee are being utilized by the Bureaucrats to mislead the leadership in denying the ex-servicemen the grant of this One Rank One Pension".
OROP is considered by Sharad Pawar committee (1990-1991), during the tenure of PM Chandrasekhar (1990-1991).:para 10.1 In 1992, the Government grants a 'one time increase', instead of OROP.
The 5 CPC submits its report in January 1997. The Governmentapproves 5 CPC recommendation of full parity between pensioners before and after 1 January 1986 and a modified parity between pre- and post- 1 January 1996 to all pensioners including Armed Forces pensioners, but ignores OROP. Government decision to accept 5 CPC depress military pensions, including that of General Officers who, in an precedent action, file a lawsuit against the Government. After protracted litigation, strongly contested by the UPA Government, the Supreme Court of India rules in favor of the litigants.
23 November 2002
6th CPC submits report. Its stand on ‘One Rank One Pension' is ambivalent. 6CPC recommends that "extant provisions may continue".:para 5.1.58
The 6 CPC recommended that in future posts in the "CPOs/defence civilian organisations" should be filled by lateral transfer of Armed Forces personnel, including Short Service Commissioned Officers, after they complete their term of military service.:para 2.4.6p 140
29 August 2008
UPA Government issue Gazette notification accepting most of the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission. To the considerable disappointment of the serving armed forces members and veterans, Government fails to address the many anomalies that adversely affect Armed Forces pay, pensions, ranks, organizational structure, basis for relations with civil bureaucracy, and police led security establishment in the centre.  
Government decision to accept 6CPC widely perceived by high-ranking Armed Forces veterans, including former heads of the Armed Forces, as attempts by the civil and police bureaucracy to undermine Armed Forces honour, esteem and Izzat. Public protest by armed Forces veterans escalate. :paras 10.4 and 11.2
The acceptance of the 6 CPC by the government provokes widespread dismay amongst ex-servicemen. For the first time Ex-servicemen engage in public protest and threaten hunger strikes. Major general Surjit Singh writes that "The Sixth Pay Commission has done inestimable damage to civil-military relations", and giving vent to the general mood says, "The protest rallies are actually a manifestation of the seething anger which many veterans carry as baggage accumulated during service. We all seem to have very bitter memories of the shoddy treatment meted out to us by civil servants. :p 1 
Indian Ex Servicemen Movement(IESM) an "All India Federation of Ex Servicemen's organizations" is established in August 2008, in the wake of the UPA Government decision to implement Sixth Central Pay Commission, which depressed military pays, pensions, and ranks, relative to civilian Government employees, especially in the Ministry of Defence( MOD) and Police led security services. IESM focuses on identifying, and advocating veteran causes, principally issues affecting veteran honor and izzat, and the implementation of One Rank One pension for the armed Forces of India.
OROP protest gained momentum and support following Government decision to [a] disregard OROP;:para 5.1.58 :para 5.1.58 [b] grant time bound higher pay grades and ranks to civilian and Police officers, who wears army badges of rank, at fixed intervals, independent of the job requirement, or span of responsibilities; [c] sanction assured automatic pay promotions, to all officers of All India Services, and the police, under what has been called the "Non-Functional Up-gradation" (NFU), and [d] terminate "traditional pay parity between the commissioned officers and the AIS".:para 1.2.8–9
16 December 2008
Ex-servicemen begin a relay fast at Jantar Mantar. The peaceful protest is largely ignored by the government. Veteran decide to surrender of their war medals, including war and gallantry medals.
8 February 2009
Armed Forces veterans from the three services march to the Rastrapati Bhavan to meet and surrendered their medals to Pratibha Patil, the President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Pratibha Patil refuses to meet with the ex-servicemen (ESM). Instead ESM are met by junior official in the president's secretariat who collects the medals. The presidential slight and "studied disrespect" fuels ESM grievance.
7 July 2009
"Report of the Committee on One rank One pension and Related Issues" dated 30 June 2009, a 21 page document, is issued by Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure to Secretary Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence. The Committee, referred to a cabinet secretary's Committee on OROP, was constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to examine OROP for the armed Forces. It consisted of seven bureaucrats from the IAS, but excluded armed Forces representative. The Seven member Committee consisted of:K. M. Chandrasekhar, Cabinet Secretary, Chairman; and six members: Vijay Singh, Defence Secretary, Ministry of Defence (MOD); Neelam Nath, Secretary Ex Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence; (MOD),Madhukar Gupta, Secretary Home, Ministry of Home Affairs; Rajni Razdan, Secretary Pension and PW; Rahul Sarin, Secretary, Department of personnel and training, PMO; and Sushma Nath, Secretary Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. :p 21, para 9 The committee met five times. The 21 page report, is shallow in its analysis: while recounting past developments, it ignores growing disparities in pay and pension between civilian and armed forces, the reasons behind OROP becoming a cause of street protest by officers and men of three armed forces of India, and the impact of OROP protests on military morale and national security. The committee did not recommend OROP for the armed forces. The salient reasons for not recommending OROP in the report are: historical, ie, OROP has been examined before, and not recommended by GOM (2005–06), law ministry, etc; that acceptance of OROP has financial implication of Rs 8000-9000 crores;:para 3 and that grant of OROP "cannot be implemented for ex-servicemen alone and a demand for similar dispensation amongst civilian would also arise" :para 2.15
7 May 2010
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence in its report to Parliament strongly recommends grant of OROP.
29 October 2010
K. Sanjay Prabhu, a resident of Bengaluru, submits petition to Rajyasabha Committee On Petitions for grant of one rank one pension to the armed forces personnel. The petition is countersigned by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, M.P. (Rajya Sabha).
8 Nov 2010
Maj Gen Satbir Singh, on behalf of the IESM, sends Letter to A.K. Antony, Defence Minister (DM). The letter distributed to all IESM members, and the media, expresses concern and alarm, on Antony's reply in parliament, to a question by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP, and in his letter to Pratap Singh Bajwa, Congress MP from Gurdaspur, in which the Antony affirmed that OROP had been examined but not recommended citing examples. Satbir asks, why examples of OROP being recommended including by Group of ministers, amongst others, was excluded in his reply. The letter which runs into several pages provides a detailed background of OROP, including related issues, and implications. The letter, referring to the Committee of secretaries that had not recommended OROP for the Defence Forces on which the DM relied for his reply, ask the Defenec Minister, "Are the Committees set up by the Govt consisting of only bureaucrats with no representation from Defence Forces considered superior to the Committees of Parliament, Group of Ministers, the Prime Minister and even the rulings of various courts in favour of Defence Personnel? Have we changed the definition of civilian control of Armed Forces and delegated the same to the bureaucrats. There are the questions in the minds of Defence veterans". The letter concludes with an appeal to Antony to reconsider his decision and "grant OROP to the Defence Forces at the earliest".
6 March 2011
IESM organizes a Vishal(विशाल) Rally, in Delhi, to gather to collect service medals to return to the President, sign blood petition to the President, and decide on future course of action. 6500 Ex servicemen and 125 widows from 16 states of the union participate in the rally. 30 ex-servicemen make speeches. The speeches, and interaction with the participating ex-servicemen reveals growing sense frustration, sadness, anger, despondency, unhappiness, and impatience with the government. The governing body recognizes that the big challenge is how to keep the movement peaceful in the face of growing impatience. At the rally, the following proposal are voted on, by show of hands:  IESM to continue with the campaign till the Government agrees with the demands;  medal to be handed over only to the President;  Ex service organizations in states to lobby Vidhan Sabha members to pass resolution in favor of OROP; and  At the national level only those parties have right to ex servicemen vote who favor its implementation.
15 March 2011
Rajya Sabha, Chairman, admits petition for grant of one rank one pension to the armed forces. On 4 May 2011 ten member Koshiyari Committee commences hearing. :para 5
16 Mar 2011
Indian Ex Servicemen Movement issues 'Khabarnama' its first newsletter. The newsletter in roman hindustani, is distributed widely amongst IESM members through the Internet and social media. The newsletter, demands that the Government set up a ESM Commission, on the lines of Women’s commission and Scheduled Caste Commission, free of MOD bureaucracy, composed of ex servicemen. Recalling Government announcement of separate Pay Commission for the armed forces, the newsletter, calls on the Government to establish the Pay commission now, so that it can address the anomalies caused by the 6 CPC.
18 Mar 2011
Major General Satbir Singh, Vice Chairman Indian ESM Movement, sends an appeal to Satpal Maharaj, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), and Chairman, Standing Committee on Defence. He reminds him that one Rank One Pension(OROP) has been a veteran demand for the "past 30 years" which "in-spite of PMs, RMs( Defence Minister) and all Party Parliamentary Committees assurances and recommendations" remains to be implemented. Recalling his meeting with him on 5 May 2010, General Satbir writes that the delay in granting OROP is "grave Injustice to the Defence Veterans". The Government's reasons for rejecting OROP on "administrative, financial and legal” grounds, he asserts, have "been duly demolished", including by Judges in their judgments on the lawfulness of OROP. He says the Government's "total indifference to the demands of Defence Veterans" is incomprehensible especially in the context of its indulgent and placatory approach to aggressive agitations by Jats and Gujjars.
The appeal notes that veterans have deposited 22000 medals with Government, and that another 10000 medals " are waiting to be deposited with the President who, despite being the Supreme Commander of the armed Forces, has has thought it fit to neither meet the veterans or receive their medals. The appeal adds that in addition to returning their medals, a petition signed by over 100,000 ex servicemen in their blood has been submitted to the President to mark of their distress and anguish over the inaction by Government.
The appeal ends with the refrain "Do the Armed Forces Veterans have to continue paying the price for being patriotic, law abiding and disciplined?" The appeal was distributed over the Internet to IESM members, and copies were separately sent to Members of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Partap Singh Bajwa.
27 May- 19 December 2011
Neelam Nath , the Secretary Ministry of Defence, Department Ex-servicemen Welfare (1 June 2009 to 30 September 2011), opposes grant of OROP, citing financial, administrative and legal reasons.:para 6, 6.1Secretary Department of Pensions and Pensioner's Welfare (Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions) in his submission raises alarm that if OROP is accepted for the Armed Forces, then there will be similar demands from the civilian pensioners and others. he says Cabinet Secretary's Committee has assessed financial implication of Rs. 8,000-Rs. 9,000 crores per annum tentatively. :para 8.1 Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Chairman Committee on Petitions, presents the report, to the parliament. The report finds no merit in the Arguments by the UPA Government opposing grant of OROP to Armed Forces pensioners. It finds that “there is merit in the demand for One Rank One Pension by Armed Forces Personnel” and strongly recommended that, “Government should implement OROP"
12 July 2012
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, according to the Ministry of Defence Annual report for 2012-13, "on the persistent demand" of ESW, constitutes a Committee under Ajit Kumar Seth, the Cabinet Secretary " for looking into pay and pension related issue of relevance to defence personnel and ESM" but not specifically OROP.:para 11.41, p171 
Ajit Kumar Seth committee to look into armed Forces pension has no members from the armed forces, but six secretaries from the IAS:  PK Nair, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister;  Shashi Kant Sharma, Defence Secretary;  Secretary, Department of Ex- Servicemen’s Welfare, Ministry of Defence;  Secretary, Department of Expenditure;  Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training; and  Secretary, Department of Revenue. There are no Armed forces personnel on the panel despite separate letters from the Chiefs of the Army, Navy and the AirForce to AK Antony, Defence Minister to include a Armed Forces representative on the panel. The Panel lacks credibility and little is expected from it.
Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma, Chief of Naval Staff and Chairman, Chiefs of the Staff Committee, makes a presentation to the Committee. The committee also meets with Air Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne, Chief of Air Staff and General Bikram Singh, Chief of Army Staff. The Committee submits report on 27 August 2012; its position on the OROP is no different from that of secretaries who deposed in front of Koshiyari Parliamentry Panel. It evades the OROP issue.:para 11.41, p171
24 September 2012
UPA government announces that it has approved OROP. Says it has set aside ₹ 2,300 crore for the ‘One Rank One Pension’ scheme. Despite the declaration, the government does little to implement OROP.
On 27 February 2014
A K Antony, Defence Minister in UPA Government, says that UPA will implement OROP by 1 April 2014.
24 April 2014
A K Antony constituted a Joint Working Group (JWG). CGDA, was appointed chairperson (later promoted to Secretary & Financial Adviser in the MoD). Members included representatives from Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Defence/Finance, and Service HQ (Chairmen of the Army, Navy and Air Force Pay Commission Cells and a few officers). The first meeting of the JWG was convened on 2 May 2014 in the office of the CGDA, when he recorded that “As future enhancements have to be automatically passed on to the pensioners, Services proposal for incremental increase in pension on 1st July every year shall be considered. Chairman of Pay and Remuneration Committee (PARC) and also Chairman, Naval Pay Commission cell, being the senior-most from the Services at that meeting, scored out words "incremental increase in pension on 1st July every year, shall” and substituted with “annual revision of OROP tables should be considered.”
10 July 2014
Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister and Defence Minister, in his maiden Budget Speech in the parliament, says, "We reaffirm our commitment to our brave soldiers. A policy of 'One Rank One Pension' has been adopted by the Government to address the pension disparities. We propose to set aside a further sum of ₹ 1,000 crore to meet this year’s requirement":page 25,para 140
14 August 2014
Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM, Chairman IESM, writes to Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, in response to his statement in Leh on 12 Aug 2014 stating that budget caters for the demand of OROP. The letter says the statement is "erroneous", and not in sync with Draft Govt Letter (DGL) prepared by Service HQs in the meetings in Feb and March, 2014, in which the forecast for OROP was ₹ crore, and not ₹ 1500 crore earmarked in the budget. The letter recalls that in a meeting chaired by Mr. AK Antony, former Defence Minister on 26 Feb 2014, OROP definition was approved and OROP was to be implemented with effect from 01 Apr 2014. The letter reminds the PM that "It has been six months since the OROP was approved". The letter draws to the fact that BJP had included implementation of OROP in its manifesto, and the President in his address to both houses of Parliament had made a commitment on behalf of the Government. The letter notes that "The undue long delay in the implementation of the main demand of OROP is causing serious concern to the defence personnel who are feeling dejected with the apathy of your Govt like all previous Governments", and urges the PM to "issue directions to the MoD for immediate implementation of OROP strictly as per its approved definition" and that "Any dilution of the definition or implication of OROP as approved will not be acceptable to the Defence Fraternity"
20 August 2014
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Admiral Robin Dhowan and General Dalbir Singh Suhag, briefed A K Mathur, Justice (retd), the chairman 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC), on the pay and pension "anomalies" caused by the 6 CPC.
23 October 2014
Narendra Modi, on Diwali Day, during a well publicized visit to army formation in Siachen Glacier, told soldiers "It was in my destiny that One rank One pension has been fulfilled". Modi's "Mann Ki Batt", radio address on 31 May 2015, in which he asked Ex-Servicemen to remain patient, as he gets rid of the bureaucratic hassles.
17 February 2015
Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister, approves proposal for implementation of OROP, estimated to cost ₹ 8600 crores. The proposal is forwarded by the MOD, to Ministry of Finance on 17 Mar 2015, where it is still lying.
13 March 2015
General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Chief of Army Staff, while addressing a rally of several thousand ex-servicemen in Jhajjar, Haryana, said that "The OROP will come out in the same principle as desired. It will be effective from 1 April 2014 and may be approved latest by April 30 this year. However, delay does not matter as arrears will be given."
12 May 2015
Indian Ex-Services League (IESL), Odisha unit, blames the bureaucracy for non-implementation of the grant of One Rank One Pension (OROP). Bidyadhar Nayak, Petty Officer Radio(Special),Indian Navy, general secretary of the Odisha unit, in press release on behalf of IESL said, "The CGDA, PCDA and Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare have now started carrying out their own interpretation of the definition itself of the OROP, which falls far below the intended pension benefits to the defence personnel.” 
16 May 2015
Manohar Parrikar, in Goa, said "OROP proposal is in final stage. The defence ministry has approved it and the finance ministry will clear it in a few days, adding, "it is the first time that a clear proposal has been sent to finance ministry on OROP."
28 May 2015
Wing Commander Suresh Damodar Karnik, 80, former flight commander of No 16 Bomber Squadron, also called the Black Cobras, Indian Air Force (IAF), a winner of the Vir Chakra for gallantry for combat action in the eastern and western theatres, refused to meet with Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister, and Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister, Maharashtra, to protest BJP's failure to honour its commitment to implement OROP. The commander, hero of the air war over Chittagong, in Pune, on 28 May 2015, said that he and his colleagues are unable to 'accept the invite' because the present Government is following a policy of NATO or ‘NO ACTION TALK ONLY’. And that the bureaucracy is "pursuing a policy of inching towards making Defence Forces into a Defiant Force"
29 May 2015
Major Vijai Singh Mankotia, formerly 1 Gorkha Rifles, President of the Himachal Pradesh Ex-Servicemen League and former minister, said, in Shimla, "It barely takes five minutes for Parliament and assemblies to double the salaries of its members but even after 31 years, since this demand of one-rank one pension was made in 1984, the Defence Minister has said it can take a few more months." He added, "The slogan, Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan, will again resonate as we will join hands with the farmers who are the worst suffers in view of the land Acquisition Bill." Himachal has over 1.5 lakh AF pensioners.
30 May 2015
Narendra Modi, PM, to a question, "Will you deliver on the one-rank-one-pension (OROP) promise to the defence personnel?", replied, "We are committed to OROP, but we are in consultation with defence personnel regarding the definition of OROP. Our government is here for five years, and we cannot do anything without consulting the people concerned. The dialogue is being actively pursued. It is just that there are too many definitions going around yet, and we are looking for one on which all stakeholders agree."
A K Antony, Former Defence Minister, responding to BJP Government allegation that the congress is "politicising" the OROP issue accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "criminal inaction" in delaying implementation of "One Rank One Pension", which he said has made ex-servicemen "restless". The BJP, he said, did little when it was in power from " 1998 to 2004." "Either he [Modi] is unaware of facts or he is misleading the nation in order to cover up his government's failure to implement the UPA decision on One rank-one pension. I can say that what he is saying is totally incorrect and factually wrong." Antony said, "UPA-I onwards we started implementing the provisions in a phased manner and thrice raised the pension of ex-servicemen substantially. Ultimately on February 26, 2014, the government finally decided to implement 'One Rank, One Pension' scheme". No government in future can dilute the decision taken by the UPA, he said. 
4 June 2015
Lt General Vijay Oberoi, former Vice Chief of Army Staff, and widely respected war hero of the 1965 war in which he lost his right leg while serving with Maratha Light Infantry, dismissed Narendra Modi's comments on OROP as disingenuous, especially his comment that there were multiple definitions of OROP. He wrote that BJP Government was "expected to have a mind of its own and not be overly influenced by highly biased civil officials, who never lose a chance to put down the military. It is sad that the political-bureaucratic nexus is back in power, much to the detriment of the nation." He noted that the "conviction among military personnel now is that the touted ‘change’ that was the slogan that brought this government to power was only an election ploy and there is no difference between this and the previous governments."
6 June 2015
Ex-Servicemen delegation led by Major General (Retired) Satbir Singh met Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister. The meeting was arranged on the initiative of General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Chief of Army Staff. The meeting was inconclusive, and the two sides agreed to meet again.
11 June 2015
About 5,000 ex-servicemen from Punjab, which has about 6,00,000 Ex-servicemen, according to Brig (Retired) Harwant Singh, state convener of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), are planning to go to Delhi to participate in the protest rally on grant of OROP scheduled to begin 14 June. The participants, which will include around 200 hunger strikers, will be given a "ceremonial farewel" at the war memorial inJalandhar by war widows. Brig KS Kahlon (retd), President, chapter of the All India Defence Brotherhood, said the protest will also include return by some ex-servicemen of their war medals to the President.
14–15 June 2015
Veteran hold "Maha Sangram Rally" at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, and 50 other locations nationwide. 15 June, commence relay hunger strike.
On 15 June, several hundred ex-servicemen, staged a dharna, at Lower PMG Square, Bhubaneshwar, Odisa. Bidyadhar Nayak , general secretary, Indian Ex-Services League(IESL), Odisa unit, referring to the PM's statement that OROP was complex issue said, "Does this imply that OROP has got entangled in bureaucratic malaise for another four years? We have every reason to believe that the Prime Minister is being fed with falsities by sections who are against OROP and lobbies are working hard against the armed forces personnel." IESL officials Group Captain Jagadananda Brahma, President IESL, Arun Mohanty, and Bidyadhar Nayak submitted a memorandum on implementation of OROP to the to Governor SC Jamir 
22 June 2015
Ex-servicemen announce intent to boycott golden jubilee events to mark the 1965 war with Pakistan, including "felicitation of 1965 War Veterans" to be hosted byPresident Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in September.  Ex-Servicemen also announce intent to boycott all government functions including at-home by president on Independence day (August 15), and the Ex-Servicemen contingent at the Republic Day Parade on 26 January 2016. Brigadier Harwant Singh, Regiment of Artillery, veteran of the battle of Chhamb-Akhnoor, 1965 war, says "We don't wish to be treated as showpieces, to be rolled out for ceremonies and discarded thereafter."
25 June 2015
Mizoram Ex-Service League, which has membership of 6,200 ex-servicemen [and about 25000 dependents], held protest rally, in Aizawl, demanding demanding implementation of OROP.
27 June 2015
Maj Gen Satbir Singh, SM (Retd), Chairman IESM, on the 13th Day of the Relay Hunger Strike, issued a circular, claiming that hunger strike protest have spread to 50 locations, all over the country. Urges Retired Generals to "take the lead as they have done while in service", and requests "at-least eleven General Officers" volunteers to join the relay hunger strike at Jantar Mantar on 1 July 2015.
28 June 2015
GIVE US RIGHT NOW WHAT IS LAWFULLY OURS
Nafisa Ali (actress & veteran's wife) expressing solidarity with OROP protest along with OROP activists Richa and Janhvi.
|GIVE US RIGHT NOW WHAT IS LAWFULLY OURS|
Nafisa Ali (actress & veteran's wife) expressing solidarity with OROP protest along with OROP activists Richa and Janhvi.