AFVOA Newletters of Year 2008

Page 35 of 56 Elbert Hubbard A Paper on the Sixth Pay Commission By Vice Admiral Barin Ghose 1. From the rank based pensions of 1947 when the pension of a Colonel was the same as the Secretary to the Government of India, with higher ranks drawing greater pensions, the downhill continues without a break. This was because a ceiling in the case of civilians was not applicable to the Armed Forces, to what exists today. This paper seeks to put into one place how and why this came about. 2. Regrettably the Indian Armed Forces have lagged behind in their efforts towards enhancing the adequacy of pensions in relation to the truncated career and consequent steep drop in life time earnings. In fact the pension of our personnel has actually declined as percentage of last pay drawn since Independence and today stands lower than the civilian counterparts for the bulk of our personnel. To my mind the reasons for this state of affairs was perhaps due to lack of experience and understanding of the crucial role played by a just and equitable emolument structure in the early post independence years. Thereafter, as we gained experience and knowledge, we concentrated on the pay and allowances of the emoluments at the cost of post retirement benefits. It is only in the past 15 to 20 years that we have been alive to this aspect but are unable to make headway on account of difficulties retrieving lost ground. 3. The 3rd Pay Commission started the damage by defining Armed Forces pension as nothing more than something to meet adversity for it stated that with the truncated career it was inconceivable that personnel would spend their remaining working life doing nothing. They did away with rank based pension for officers, changed the weightage to he detriment of everyone. 4. In the early eighties the COSC appointed (Late) Major General MEA Krishnan to review our pensions and suggest how to retrieve lost ground. This Report was one of the masterpieces on the subject. A copy was held in the PCC(N) of the 4th and 5th CPC but is no longer around. I think USI should hunt around for a copy to be kept in the library. The COSC sent the report to the MOD after accepting the same. It formed the basis of our memorandum to the 4th CPC. 5. The Government appointed the now famous KP Singh Deo committee. The committee made a large number of recommendations on Ex Servicemen. The Govt, proudly announced in Parliament that it had accepted the majority (90%) of the recommendations. What it failed to accept was return to ONE RANK ONE PENSION done away by the 3rd CPC and that all pensioners irrespective of vintage should draw the same pension for the rank they retired. A committee headed by the Defense Minister with MPs as members however examined it for acceptance and implementation but rejected the OROP. We are however continuing our fight for its implementation. 6. The 5th CPC in Chapter 127 of their Report referred to the Nakra judgment in the Supreme Court. It recorded that it respects the judgment. Pension is not in the nature of alms being doled out to beggars. Retired personnel need to be treated with dignity and courtesy befitting their age. Pension is their constitutional, statutory, inalienable, legally enforceable right earned by the sweat of the brow.