Wait for final OROP order for clarity, says Manohar Parrikar

Mumbai, Sept 7: With confusion surrounding who among the retirees will get the benefits of One Rank, One Pension, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday asked all those concerned to wait for the final order, which will "explain it properly".

"You have to wait for the final order (on OROP) which will come. Why is there so much excitement till then? The PM has made it amply clear that those who are being allowed to retire through proper procedure will not be (adversely) impacted. You need to wait for the exact wording," he told reporters on the sidelines of an Engineers' Conclave.

He also clarified that the concept of 'Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) does not exist in the Armed Forces.

"In the Armed Forces even if you apply, you may not get voluntary retirement, unlike (in) civilian (service), where you can get it. In the Armed Forces, you can be refused.

There are many people who because of health reasons apply and the Armed Forces also want them to retire and, if that happens before the minimum service requirement, then they don’t get pension.

"We will explain this properly, no one should unnecessarily create confusion on it," Parrikar said. Parrikar said many things needed to be considered before Rs 8000 crore is sanctioned for implementing OROP.

"A lot of things have to be considered before sanctioning Rs 8,000 crore...it is not a matter of Rs 8. There were a lot of issues involved with it, why blame someone? It is very easy to say that give it (money), but when one has to give the money, it is not easy," he said.

He was asked whether differences between bureaucracy and the political leadership had delayed the announcement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had yesterday said those who had had to quit the defence forces prematurely would also be entitled to OROP benefits.

PTI