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.

Committee to Look Into pay and Pension Grievance Of Retired Military Personnel.

   A Committee was constituted by the Government in July, 2012 under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary and consisting of Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Defence Secretary, Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Secretary, Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare and Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training for looking into the pay and pension related issues of relevance to Defence Services Personnel and Ex- Servicemen.

   Although there was no military representative on the Committee, consultations were held with all the Service Chiefs by the Committee before finalizing the recommendations.

   Four recommendations were made by the Committee on revision of pension/family pension of Armed Forces personnel. They are- One Rank One Pension - Bridging the gap in pensions, Enhancement of family pensions, Dual family pension and pension to physically/mentally challenged son/daughter of armed forces personnel on marriage. All the recommendations of the Committee, 2012 have been implemented by issue of eight Government letters on 17.1.2013. These are available on the websites www.desw.gov.in and www.cgda.nic.in.

    This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri Jitendra Singh in a written reply to Dr. Chandan Mitra in Rajya Sabha today.

Grievance of EX-Servicemen.

   In view of the persistent demand from the Ex-servicemen and their associations, Government constituted a committee headed by Cabinet Secretary in July, 2012 to look into the Pay & Pension related issues of Armed Forces personnel & ex-servicemen.

   The Committee submitted its report dated 17.08.2012 on pension issues, which has been accepted by the Government. The recommendations relate to OROP-Bridging the gap in pension, Enhancement of family pension, Dual Family Pension and Family pension to mentally / physically challenged son/daughter of armed forces personnel on marriage.