One Rank, One Pension NewBudget 2015-16

One Rank, One Pension stuck between Services and Defence Ministry

 New Delhi | February 28, 2015 5:01 pm

Reinstating government’s commitment on implementing the ‘One Rank, One Pension’ policy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the issue is pending as the method of calculating pension is stuck between the Armed Services and the Defence Ministry. “I have already in the last Budget said that we are going to implement ‘One Rank, One Pension’. This need not be stated on every occasion. We are completely committed to it,” Jaitley told reporters here when asked about the delay in launching the scheme.

RELATED

·         One Rank, One Pension Scheme To Be Rolled Out Soon: Parrikar

·         Defence Ministry Gets Rs 2.29 Lakh Cr In Union Budget

·         One-Rank-One-Pension: Jaitley Questions UPA's Sincerity

Explaining the reasons behind the delay, the Minister said: “The methodology of calculating the One Rank, One Pension is an issue pending between the Services and the Defence Ministry.” As and when that idea is formulated, not only it should be implemented, it will be implemented, he added. “You may only notice that I have today, despite the squeeze, increased the allocation for Defence by almost Rs 25,000 crore,” Jaitley said. Last month, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said that ‘One rank, One pension’ scheme will be rolled out soon. The scheme, which seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel who retire at the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement, has been a long-standing demand of the over two million ex-servicemen in the country. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF ONE RANK ONE PENSION BEFORE BUDGET

BJP MP demands early implementation of 'one rank, one pension'

Last Updated: Thursday, February 26, 2015 - 19:06

New Delhi: Demanding early implementation of the 'one rank, one pension' scheme, BJP MPTarun Vijay on Thursday suggested that "privileges" of MPs and MLAs be withdrawn and the money be used to fulfil the long-standing demand of the ex-servicemen if government is facing fund crunch.

In the meeting, the MP told Parrikar that if government was facing financial difficulty, then it should take away the privileges given to MPs and MLAs and the money should be used to implement the 'one rank one pension' scheme.Vijay, a member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, called on Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and conveyed his strong views on the issue.

Later, the BJP MP said the Defence Minister was "very sympathetic" to his demand and fully agreed that the government must act on it.

'One rank, one pension' has been a long-standing demand of the over two million ex-servicemen in the country.

It seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel who retire at the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement.

Earlier this month, the Defence Minister had assured the ex-servicemen of early implementation of the scheme, saying his Ministry has fast-tracked the work on it.

Vijay also raised the issue of non-revision of disability pension to ex-servicemen. He said though soldiers' basic pension was revised in 2012, the disability pension has not been revised.

RAILWAY BUDGET 2015

Railway Minister Spells Out Five Point Execution Strategy for Transforming Indian Railways

The Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu while presenting the Railway Budget 2015-16 in Parliament today has said that the goals of transforming Indian Railways will be achieved with a five point execution strategy. These are: a) Adopting a medium-term perspective: Budget proposals to mark beginning of a Five Year Action Plan to transform the Railways. PROPOSED INVESTMENT PLAN (2015-2019) Item Amount (Rs in crore) Network Decongestion (including DFC, Electrification, Doubling including electrification and traffic facilities) 199320 Network Expansion (including electrification) 193000 National Projects (North Eastern & Kashmir connectivity projects) 39000 Safety (Track renewal, bridge works, ROB, RUB and Signalling & Telecom) 127000 Information Technology / Research 5000 Rolling Stock (Locomotives, coaches, wagons – production & maintenance) 102000 Passenger Amenities 12500 High Speed Rail & Elevated corridor 65000 Station redevelopment and logistic parks 100000 Others 13200 TOTAL 8,56,020 b) Building Partnerships: This will require partnering with key stakeholders: States, PSU’s, partner with multilateral and bi-lateral organizations & other governments to gain access to long term financing and technology from overseas, the private sector to improve last mile connectivity, expand fleet of rolling stock and modernize our station infrastructure. c) Leveraging additional resources: Indian Railways envisages investment of Rs. 8.5 lakh crore in next five years to be mobilized from multiple sources to cater to funding i.e multilateral development banks, pension funds. d) Revamping management practices, systems, processes, and re-tooling of human resources: ·        Targeted operating ratio for 2015-16 at 88.5% against 91.8%in 2014-15: best in the last 9 years. ·        Indian Railways to speed up decision making, tighten accountability, improve management information systems: training and development of human resource. e) To set standards for Governance and Transparency **** GG/AD/DB (Release ID :115927)