This has reference to the recent news item “Seventh Pay Commission recommends 23.5 % salary hike for central government employees and pensioners with effect from 1.1.2016”. We are at a loss as to whether the Seventh Pay Commission has addressed the issue of OROP (One Rank One Pension). It is a very sorry state of affairs that the defense personnel who defended our Country have to struggle to get their OROP (One Rank One Pension) sorted out.

Whenever successive pay commissions enhance the salaries and consequently the pensions, these are effected only prospectively. The gap between past pensioners and their younger equivalents keeps widening with every successive pay commission. Also, as compared to the other civil employees, defense personnel do not get to serve as many years as required to procure optimum pension amount. For example, while a civil servant may put in as many as 33 years and secure a 50% pension, a defense personnel would probably be retired much before he completes that many years and so will not be eligible for the same amount of pension.