India's army veterans win battle to reform pension scheme
Veterans have fought for the changes for four decades but protests have intensified in recent months.
Three million Indian army veterans won a decades-long battle yesterday to change the way their pensions are calculated, as the government bent to protesters' demands and announced it would overhaul the controversial scheme.
India's armed forces personnel, who typically retire earlier than other public sector workers, have mounted fierce opposition in recent months to the current pension scheme, which is based on their salary when they retire.
They argue this leaves them vulnerable to inflation eroding their livelihoods and say it is unfair a soldier who retired recently should receive a larger pension than one who left service earlier.
Under the newly agreed 'One Rank, One Pension' (OROP) deal, ex-servicemen will now receive a pension based on 2013 salaries, to be refixed every five years - irrespective of when they retired.
"Despite the financial burden, the government of India has taken the decision to implement OROP," Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said.
The scheme will cost 80 billion rupees (HK$9.3 billion) to 100 billion rupees, he said. Military pensioners will receive arrears dating back to July 2014.
"Now the issue is hopefully behind us, I appeal to the veterans to continue to contribute to the vital task of nation building and development," Parrikar said.