I have relied on the following documents before writing this post: -
(a) Relevant portions of Para 6 of the 142nd Report of the Rajya Sabha Committee on Petitions aka Koshyari Committee report re-produced below, specifically the submissions by representatives of the Army, Air Force and not relevant submissions of Navy on periodicity:
"6.4 He (Army Representative) further submitted that there is administrative difficulty on the part of the Ministry that pensioners cannot be given increment every year. So, perpetually they will never be at par with current retirees. As a way out, he suggested fixing a period of five years or every Pay Commission to Pay Commission, for bringing all pensioners at par. He suggested a similar exercise for the family pensioners also.
6.5 The representative of the Air Force submitted that to bridge this gap the suggestion regarding fixation of pay in five-year period or Pay Commission to Pay Commission was a good one and informed the Committee that the long pending issue may be sorted out this way.
6.6 The representative of the Indian Navy apprised the Committee about the unique life and difficulties which were experienced by a man in uniform. He stated that the family as well as the men in uniform was living in such a difficult conditions and they had to sacrifice so much in their life that special recognition should be given to boost the morale of the Armed Forces. He also added that even after retirement, a man in uniform cannot pursue any other business and they have a very limited job opportunity after retirement.
(b) Para 3 of the MoD letter 12(1)/2014/D(Pen/Pol) - Part II on OROP dated 07.11.2015: -
...ii. Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners on the basis of the average of minimum and maximum pension of personnel retired in 2013 in the same rank and same length of service.
iii. Pension for those drawing above the average will be protected.
....v. In future the pension would be re-fixed every 5 years.
(c) Tables of OROP vide PCDA (P) Circular No. 555 which is 50% of the average of the minimum and maximum reckonable (for pension) emoluments drawn by a similarly situated officer retiring in 2013. It must be borne in mind that this amount is not 50% of the minimum of, say, the Pay Band-4 of Rs 37400 and maximum of the same pay band Rs 67000 + Grade Pay as appropriate.
Illustratively, the OROP amount for same rank and same years of service on date of retirement would vary because
(i) those promoted earlier to say Col would have earned more number of increments whilst
(ii) those promoted later would have earned lesser number of increments, and
(iii) the average would be somewhere in between, with
(iv) protection for those in (i) as by law, their pension cannot be reduced.
(d) Recommendations of the 7th CPC for more beneficial of (i) pension as drawn on 31.12.2015 multiplied by 2.57 as an interim measure, or (ii) 50% of the Notional Pay drawn on date of retirement as the final pension. Accordingly, tables were provided in PCDA (P) Circular No. 608 dated 17.10.2018.
2. Revision of Pensions: Pensions were revised w.e.f. 1.1.2016 as an interim measure at d(i) above and now the concerned PSA is in the process of issuing e-PPOs in compliance with d (ii) above.
3. CGDA has sought advice from MoD before actioning the clamour for revision of pension in Jul 2019 stating: -
(a) Revision of pension vide Para 1 (d) (i) above w.e.f. 1.1.2016 meets the criteria for enhancement of pension within the 5 year period, and is in consonance with the Army and Air Force reps submission that pension be revised every 5 years or from Pay Commission to Pay Commission
(b) PSAs' are actioning the GoI/MoD order dated 17.10.2018 for Notional Pay based pension vide issue of e-PPOs and that these take into consideration increments earned by those promoted to a certai rank earlier than others but all retire with the same number of years of service.
(c) What are the modalities for revision in Jul 2019 i.e. OROP 2014 was based on pension drawn by personnel retiring in a particular rank with same years of service now that pension of the average amount indicated in Circular 555 and also higher as protected by MoD letter of 07.11.2015 of has been revised w.e.f. 1.1.2016.
(d) ACAS (Accts) as Chairman PARC has stated that there are cases of personnel retired in 2015 and 2016 drawing lesser pension as compared to those drawing OROP w.e.f. July 2014,
4. In my personal opinion OROP is RIP because of the Notional Pay based pension because personnel of the same batch/course are promoted to higher ranks at different time frames (eg. Army has 0 year for Combat Arms, +1year for Combat Support and +2 years for Services as per Command Exit Policy), thereby earning more increments which results in higher reckonable emoluments on date of retirement than those promoted later.
For instance, in Cir 555, Table 1, if a Col's pension value of Rs 36130 is taken, the pay (multiplied by 2) would be Rs 72260 and pension as on 1.1.2016 as per Option (i) of 7th CPC would be Rs 92854.
However, on page 196 of Cir 608, for Col drawing Rs 72260 (OROP Rs 36130), there is a pay range of Rs 70360 - 72450 (i.e. OROP of Rs 35180 to Rs 36225) for which the notional pay in 7th CPC is shown as Rs 186200; so pension as per Option (ii) in 7 CPC would be Rs 93100.
P.S: A fresh RTI has been filed on 28.8.2020 requesting for the latest file notings on OROP - 2.
Revised PPOs are being uploaded. It is still going on. Two methods are compared at present.
ReplyDeleteNo justification can be expected, when all the Protocols including the
ReplyDeleteSupreme Court & other systems are the poppet & and dancing as per the Command of the Rulling Party, hence otherwise how can be Mdm:Nirmala Sitaraman can be Finance Minister, with out any Economic background,
& all this are happening after 2014,anyone can reffer, Sunday Telegrapgh, published from Kolkata-
OROP for Lt Col with 23.5 years qualifying service is Rs 32428/-. After 7th CPC, this orop became Rs 83340/-(multiplying by factor of 2.57). Notional basic pay as per 7th CPC is Rs 140500/-. Adding to this MSP of Rs 15500/-, we get Rs 156000/-. So the notional pension comes out to be Rs 78000/- which is lesser than the OROP of Rs 83340/. RTI query has further revealed average pension of Rs 86825/- in year 2013 for Wing Commander with 23.5 years qualifying service. So orop in case of Lt Col with 23.5 years of qualifying service comes out to around Rs 86825/- wef 01.07.2014 whereas notional pension works out to just Rs 78000/-. So the benefit with OROP over and above the notional pension comes to around Rs8825/- + Rs 1500/-(DA of 17%) i.e. Rs 10325/- p.m. Hence OROP revision will definitely be beneficial in this case.
ReplyDeleteThe notional pay to look for Rs 32428 is Rs 64826 which gives a 7th CPC Notional pay of Rs 167700. Add MSP one gets Rs 18300 and Pension under 7th CPC as Rs 91600 which is more beneficial that Rs 32428 x 2.57 = Rs 83340 by Rs 8260?
DeletePlease correct the figure to read Rs 183200. Error regretted.
DeleteThe concordance table for Lt Col (letter No. 17(1)/2017 (02)/D(Pension/Policy) GOI MOD DESW dated 17 Oct 2018) who retired during 1.1.2006 to 31.12.2015 having pay range of Rs 53080- 54660 clearly mentions notional pay of Rs 140500/-. The case cited here pertains to a person equivalent to Lt Col rank with 23.5 years qualifying service having retired with basic pay of Rs 45690/- and grade pay of Rs 8000/-
DeleteSir, In context of ” notional pay to look for Rs 32428 is Rs 64826 which gives a 7th CPC Notional pay of Rs 167700”, there might be a need to factor in the VI CPC GP and MSP while calculating the VI CPC “notional pay” corresponding to OROP of VI CPC.
DeleteThe equivalent VI CPC pay, corresponding to OROP, would not be 2xOROP.
Small typing error, Sir. Kindly amend to read 'RTI query has further revealed average pension of Rs 86825/- in year 2018 for Wing Commander with 23.5 years qualifying service. So orop in case of Lt Col with 23.5 years of qualifying service comes out to around Rs 86825/- wef 01.07.2019'.
DeleteThanks and regards,
Sir, the most basic flaw in fixing 7 CPC Notional Pay, in the case of Officer veterans, is that while applying pay formulae from one Pay Commission to the other, a major correction for transit from pre AVS-I to post AVS-I (15 Dec2004 to 16Dec2004) has been totally missed out, leading to huge disparities between pensions of older and present retirees. http://ow.ly/8UrN50ByNfw
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to obtain the live data on how the OROP tables were compiled/calculated. However, this anomaly of pre/post AVSC will not get resolved unless someone who is disadvantaged goes to Court. Till then all we can do is bang our heads against a wall or softer option, our palms.
DeleteIt is the sane on the part of the Govt which is not able to pay the correct OROP as promised. Is it because of non availability of skilled officers to sort out this problem or the Govt does not want to keep their promise and doing cheating tactics.
ReplyDeleteSir how can same amount be paid to officers of same rank and years of service unless all are promoted in the same time frame. For example, all Lt Cols to Cols (and equiv) in the 18th year of service, whether Army, Navy or Air Force?
DeleteAs long as there are differentials in the 3 Services and even intra-service, those commissioned on the same date and retiring with the same rank and years of service would have different residual periods in the rank in which they retire in. Differential tenures in ranks would mean different number of increments. Which means some one of the course promoted earlier would have higher RE on retirement compared to course-mate(s) promoted later but all retiring with same rank and same years of service.
What in your solution to get correct OROP?
Sir, I had submitted previously (link follows) that all pay commissions had smoothed out these differences in dates of promotion by fixing pensions based on rank and qualifying service as yardsticks, the only difference being that pre OROP pension fixations were at minimum of pay in payband level.
ReplyDeleteOROP corrected that somewhat by using the concept of average of minimum and maximum pensions of 2013 in the same rank but still using QS as a basis. It is my impression that the representatives of associations litigating on the matter had spoken of ”top of the scale” being the correct basis rather than average of min and max pensions in the sense that the max pension of 2013 for a specific rank and QS combination be used for calculating OROP of older retirees.
That would have resolved the variations in pensions to some extent. Pensions of those retiring post OROP implementation could have been stepped up to the max level to ensure uniformity or they would have had their pensions stepped up to the same level after the implementation of the next CPC.
But this would still not have addressed the AVS issue.
The problem with 7CPC notional pay is a bit different. 7CPC, while making the matrix has totally ignored the QS factor. Number of increments in the matrix or the application of concordance tables do not co-relate pension fixation to QS. That leads to fixations falling short of the Commission’s own stated aim of ensuring, and I quote, ”inter temporal equity”.
The link to my previous submission: https://twitter.com/ashwanisarda/status/1293073642947919872?s=21
Top of the scale in 6th CPC would have resulted in pension for Lt Col being fixed at Rs 40500 (half of Rs 67000+8000+6000), Col at Rs 40850 (half of Rs 67000+8700+6000), Brig at Rs 40950 (half of Rs 67000+8900+6000) whereas Maj Gen would be Rs 38500 (half of Rs 67000_10000), Lt Gen 39500 (half of Rs 67000+12000).
DeleteSecondly, from 1986 onwards pensions were 50% of last pay drawn (incl Rank Pay or MSP where applicable). It was not at minimum of pay scale/pay in pay band.
Thirdly, QS is the Armed Forces will never result in an equitable pension because of the different time frames adopted by 3 Services for promotion. Hence, my opinion that increments of earlier promoted would increase last pay drawn vis-a-vis course-mates promoted later but all retiring at the same total QS.
Sir, I don’t think “top of the scale” ought to imply “top of the pay-scale” for any rank.
DeleteMy understanding is that instead of taking the average of minimum or maximum pension of a rank for a specific QS, just the maximum (hence top of that scale) pension for the same QS and rank needed to be considered. That would not have made it top of the pay scale for all.
Also, QS has always been a common factor for determining pensions regardless of service, branch, arm et al, though earlier the pensions were based on minimum of pay in payband. With OROP it could have been the maximum pension for a rank with a specific QS.
Cadres like AVC, MNS etc would need to be treated differently for OROP too, of course, as before.
Sir, if the three principles of (a)"Pension as deferred wage", (b)"non-discriminatory pension fixation", (c)"rank-cadre-type of commission and qualifying service as pension basis" are not considered, pensions for retired armed forces will never be rendered anomaly-free.
ReplyDeleteThat is why, IMHO, an understanding of "notional progression" needs to determine "notional pay" for VII CPC pensions as well as define OROP fixation from 2014 onwards till 31st December 2015. http://bit.ly/2vUcNuc
Dear Air Marshal,
ReplyDeleteYou gave a totally new interpretation to the concept of the notional pay/pension when you said," The notional pay to look for Rs 32428 is Rs 64826 which gives a 7th CPC Notional pay of Rs 167700."
So the OROP as on 31.12.2015 needs to be doubled to arrive at the notional pay on the same date. This notional pay (as on 31.12.2015) needs to be revised to arrive at the notional pay as on 01.01.2016. The notional pension would be half of it.
A court case needs to be filed against the Union of India for revising the notional pension/pay methodology for the defence personnel.
Thanks for showing new light.
@Wing Commander You may consider viewing a comparison of 7 CPC pensions that would have resulted for Lt Col and equivalent if these had been based on the 6 CPC equivalent notional pay corresponding to OROP ---> https://wp.me/p73MK6-vz
ReplyDeleteSeen the table. For the older retiree Lt Col with 23.5 QS, the revised pension has been stated as Rs 86800/- (OROP calculations as per 6th CPC notional pay and then multiplied by factor of 2.57). Equalization of OROP every 5 years takes this concept automatically. RTI query has further revealed average pension of Rs 86825/- in year 2013 for Wing Commander with 23.5 years qualifying service. So orop in case of Lt Col with 23.5 years of qualifying service comes out to around Rs 86825/- wef 01.07.2014.
ReplyDelete@Wing Commander Let me try and clarify for your QS. At a QS of 23.5 years, OROP for Wg Cdr was fixed at 32428 (for the period from July 2014 which was during regime of 6 CPC). For 7 CPC, the pension works out to 2.57x32428 = 83340. But if you calculate the 6CPC “notional pay” for 32428, it comes to 50856. That will translate to a 7 CPC pay (in matrix) of 152200 and hence a 7CPC pension of 86800 as against the present 83340. But that was not the way pension was fixed for 7CPC. It is still 2.57xOROP, ie 83340/-
DeletePlease re-check the amount stated in your reply which conveys, "RTI query has further revealed average pension of Rs 86825/- in year 2013 for Wing Commander with 23.5 years qualifying service".
As per Circular 555, that amount was Rs.32428/-. So a cross-check may be helpful.
Regards.
Small typing error, Sir. Kindly amend to read 'RTI query has further revealed average pension of Rs 86825/- in year 2018 for Wing Commander with 23.5 years qualifying service. So orop in case of Lt Col with 23.5 years of qualifying service comes out to around Rs 86825/- wef 01.07.2019'.
DeleteThanks and regards,
@Wing Commander
DeleteThank you for sharing that information.
At QS of 23 years, the 7CPC matrix should yield a 7CPC pension of 89150/- right from 01 Jan 2016. But fitment into Level 12A while transiting from 6 to 7CPC may have caused some variations in reality.
The 2.57XOROP pension being paid wef 01Jan2016 to a Wg Cdr with 23.5 yrs of service, as mentioned by you, is actually the matrix based 7 CPC pension of a Wg Cdr with about 20~21 years of service serving/retiring after 01 Jan 2016.
Concordance tables indicate that the 7CPC "notional pay" fixed at 140500, as mentioned in one of your previous comments, would roughly be the pay of a Wg Cdr, serving after 01 Jan 2016, with a QS of about 18 years.
You could have a look at this chart http://bit.ly/2LFW4Wb
Regards.