Himachal CM seeks 'one rank, one pension' for ex-servicemen

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh Saturday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi here and pleaded the case for implementation of 'one rank, one pension' scheme for the ex-servicemen.

He said the implementation of the scheme would benefit the majority of the ex-servicemen in the state and would give them additional economic security in their old age.

The chief minister also apprised Gandhi about various developmental projects and schemes launched in the state, an official statement said.

He said the state has adopted the party's election manifesto as an official document and all the promises made in the manifesto are being implemented.

Singh apprised her about the action taken by the government on a corruption "charge sheet" submitted by the Congress, when in opposition, to President Pranab Mukherjee against the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

In the charge sheet, the Congress accused then chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal of extending favours to his son Anurag Thakur, a BJP MP, and the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) which is controlled by him.

It had alleged that the government had provided several pieces of land to the HPCA in various parts of the state.

The Congress alleged that the government has extended favours to infrastructure group Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. in setting up hydropower and cement projects.

Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-himachal-cm-seeks-one-rank-one-pension-for-ex-servicemen-1927319

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Ex-servicemen seek 'one rank, one pension'

Joining the nationwide campaign for “One rank, one pension”, members of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) under Brig Khushal Thakur (retd), convener of IESM Movement, Himachal Pradesh, held a meeting at Kullu on Thursday.


The members reiterated their demands of “One rank, one pension”, widow pension, correction of pay anomalies, restoring the rank and status, national commission for the armed forces on the lines of women's commission and the minority commission and guaranteed job till 60 years for an ex-servicemen.

He alleged, “The military has been deliberately kept out of the policy formation loops even after six decades of loyal, secular, patriotic and dedicated service to the nation.”

He alleged that there was a stark difference in employment of military and civilian employees and there was no parallel in any of the civilian services and as such the military needed to be treated fairly.

The military and civil services were two equal pillars of the government and need to be treated as such and there should not be any disparity in pay, perks and pension. In many of the countries, the pay and pension of military personnel was 20% to 30% higher than their civilian counterparts, added Thakur.

He said the IESM had planned to intensify the movement at state and nation levels to protest against the injustice meted out to ex-servicemen.
Source:hindustantimes

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One Rank-One Pension

The gap between past pensioners and their youger equivalents retiring from the armed forces does not necessarily keeps widening with every successive pay commission. Over the years several improvements have been made in pension of past pensioners. The pension of past pensioners have revised in accordance with recommendation of each successive Pay Commission, as accepted by the Government. The Sixth Pay Commission had recommended fitment formula and modified parity for past pensioners, in order to reduce the gaps, which were accepted by the Government.

Pension Improvement is an ongoing process and considerable improvements have been made in the pensions of armed forces personnel. The Group of Ministers (GoM) had in 2005 improved the pensionary benefits of PBORs. On the recommendations of PMO, a Committee was set up under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary in June, 2009 to look into the issue of 'One Rank One Pension and other related matters. After considering all aspects of the matter, the Committee keeping in mind the spirit of the demand, suggested several measures to substantially improve pensionary benefits of Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR) and Commissioned Officers, which have been accepted by the Government and orders for implementation of all the recommendations have been issued. These are available at www.pcdapension.nic.in.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM PallamRaju in a written reply to Dr.RajanSushantand others in LokSabha today.

Source:pib

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