Monday 17 February 2014

One Rank One Pay Implementation of the Pension of Defense Forces Officers.




One Rank One Pay Implementation of the Pension of Defence Forces Officers.
 

“The soldiers of the same rank and the same length of service receive the same pension, irrespective of retirement date”

The rank structure in the Army identifies an officer based on the nature of responsibilities entrusted to him.  The structure is pyramidal in nature. This pyramidal   structure starts from the level of a Battalion Commander   on wards. There is no pyramidal structure before that. The implementation of OROP for granting same pay for the same rank for the same year of service works out perfectly in respect of officers  starting from the responsibilities of a Battalion Commander on wards.

However it is not the same in the case of Majors and Lt. Cols. since both perform the responsibilities of a company commander. The difference is only in the working experience. The Major has a working experience between six to thirteen years of service, where as a Lt. Col. has the working experience of above thirteen year service. The transition from a major to a Lt. Col. therefore is purely based on the year of service i. e. experience. The Major is in the pay scale of PB3 and has a service experience  from six to thirteen years .  After the completion of thirteen years of service all Majors are placed in the scale of PB 4. and  they are identified by giving them the rank of Lt. Col. This transition is  100 percent and automatic  in nature and therefore the same rule should also be applied to all the retired Majors having more than thirteen years of service keeping in view of the rule of same pension for the same length of service irrespective of retirement date. They should automatically be given the rank of a  Lt. Col. and their pension be worked out based on the scale in PB 4. This would clear all the anomalies that have arisen in the pension structure of the officers of the defence forces.