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Govt announces OROP for ex-servicemen, pension to be revised every five years

September 5, 2015

New Delhi, Sep 5: The government has decided to implement the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for veterans, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said here on Saturday. The pension would be refixed every five years and the scheme will be with effect from July 1, 2014.manoharparrikar

But the ex-servicemen said they were not "fully satisfied" with the government's decision. Maj Gen (retd) Satbir Singh, spearheading the campaign for OROP said they will take a decision later on whether to continue with the agitation for the implementation of the scheme.

Parrikar said that the arrears for the much-awaited scheme will be paid in four half- yearly instalments. Widows and war widows will get it first in one instalment.

"OROP will be fixed on the basis of calendar year 2013. Pension will be refixed for all pensioners on the same rank and with the same length of service as the average of minimum and maximum pension in 2013," he said.

Parrikar said that the previous government had set aside a sum of Rs.500 crores for OROP, but it was "not based on a thorough analysis".

He said experts have now estimated that the cost to the exchequer will be Rs.8,000 crores to Rs.10,000 crores. "This will increase further." The expenditure on arrears alone will be around Rs.10,000 crores to Rs.12,000 crores. Those drawing pensions above the average will be protected.

The minister said that personnel who opt for premature retirement will not be covered under the OROP scheme. "In future, the pension will be refixed every five years."

Over 25 lakh veterans would benefit from the implementation of the OROP scheme. The veterans have been protesting at Jantar Mantar for nearly three months to demand the implementation of the OROP scheme. They had said they would step up their protest if their demand was not met.

The announcement comes ahead of the upcoming Bihar assembly election. There had been intense speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may announce the OROP scheme during his August 15 Independence Day address to the nation. But, he only said that the scheme had been accepted in principle.

Parrikar made the announcement in the presence of the army chief, General Dalbir Singh, the naval chief, Admiral R.K. Dhowan, the air force chief, Air Chief Marshal Aroop Raha and Defence Secretary G. Mohan Kumar.

Parrikar said that the OROP issue has been pending for four decades and this was a matter of deep anguish. He said that there were technical and financial difficulties in implementing it.

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News Network
January 31,2020

Jan 31: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday hailed the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act as "historic" in his address to joint sitting of both houses of Parliament, prompting protests by some opposition members.

He also said that debate and discussion on any issue strengthens democracy while violence during protests weaken it.

"The Citizenship Amendment Act is a historic law. It has fulfilled wishes of our founding fathers including Mahatma Gandhi," he said.

"Debate and discussions strengthen democracy, but violence during protests weaken democracy," he said without directly referring to the anti-CAA protests in the country some of which have witnessed violence.

In a reference to abrogation of Article 370, Kovind said there is happiness among people of India that people in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have got rights on par with the rest of the country.

The president said Parliament has created record in the first seven months of the new government headed by Narendra Modi by enacting several landmark legislations.

"My government is taking strong steps for making this decade as India's decade and this century as India's century," he said.

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News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: India on Tuesday reported 8,171 more COVID-19 cases and 204 deaths in the last 24 hours as the country's virus count inches closer to two lakh, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of cases in the country now stands at 1,98,706 including 97,581 active cases, 95,527 cured/discharged/migrated and 5,598 deaths.

Cases in Maharashtra have crossed 70,000 including over 30,000 recovered while Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 tally jumped to 23,495.

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January 30,2020

Wayanad, Jan 30: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday compared Mahatma Gandhi assassin Nathuram Godse with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying both believed in the same ideology.

Gandhi, at an anti-CAA rally here, launched a scathing attack on Modi and said he was making Indians to prove that they are Indians.

Addressing participants at "Save the Constitution" march at Kalpetta in Wayanad, his Lok Sabha constituency on Martyr's Day, Gandhi said there was no difference between Godse and Modi.

"Today, an ignorant man is trying to challenge Gandhi's ideology. He is creating an atmosphere of hatred. The ideology is same. Nathuram Godse and Narendra Modi, they believe in the same ideology. There is no difference except that Modi does not have the guts to say he believes in the ideology of Godse," the Wayanad MP said.

Attacking the Prime Minister on the new Citizenship Law, Gandhi questioned Modi and asked who was he to ask Indians to prove that they were Indians.

"Indians are being made to prove that they are Indians. Who is Narendra Modi to decide who is an Indian. Who gave Modi the licence to ask for my Indianness? I know I am an Indian and I don't have to prove it to anyone. Likewise, 1.4 billion Indians do not have to prove that they are Indians," he said.

The Congress leader led the march here as part of efforts to intensify the party's protests against CAA in the state.

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