State Bank of India(SBI)on Monday March 14,2016 released arrears worth Rs. 1,465 crore to 7.75 lakh defence pensioners under One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme, as per the government rules.
The NDA Government had in November 2015 formally notified the OROP scheme for the more than 24 lakh ex-servicemen and six lakh war widows in the country.
"As per government guidelines, first instalment (1/4th of the total arrear amount up to February, 2016) to service pensioners and full amount of arrears to 'family pensioners' and 'gallantry award' pensioners will be paid on 14th March, 2016," SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said in a statement.
"All pensioners will get revised basic (pension) from March, 2016 onwards," she added.
The bank has the largest share of defence pensioners and serves about 50 per cent of total defence pensioners across the country, he said.
SBI has introduced facilities in all branches and Centralised Pension
Processing Centres (CPPCs) to provide arrear details to the pensioners.
Despite a demand by protesting ex-servicemen to implement OROP with effect from April 1, 2014, the NDA Government has said that arrears would be paid with effect from July 1, 2014, and has pegged the arrears till December, 2015 at Rs. 10,900 crore.
As per government directions, payment of arrears would be made by the pension-disbursing authorities in 4 installments except for family pensioners and pensioners in receipt of gallantry awards, who will be paid arrears in one installment.
The OROP scheme is expected to cost the government Rs. 7,500 crore per year.
The NDA Government had in November 2015 formally notified the OROP scheme for the more than 24 lakh ex-servicemen and six lakh war widows in the country.
"As per government guidelines, first instalment (1/4th of the total arrear amount up to February, 2016) to service pensioners and full amount of arrears to 'family pensioners' and 'gallantry award' pensioners will be paid on 14th March, 2016," SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said in a statement.
"All pensioners will get revised basic (pension) from March, 2016 onwards," she added.
The bank has the largest share of defence pensioners and serves about 50 per cent of total defence pensioners across the country, he said.
Despite a demand by protesting ex-servicemen to implement OROP with effect from April 1, 2014, the NDA Government has said that arrears would be paid with effect from July 1, 2014, and has pegged the arrears till December, 2015 at Rs. 10,900 crore.
As per government directions, payment of arrears would be made by the pension-disbursing authorities in 4 installments except for family pensioners and pensioners in receipt of gallantry awards, who will be paid arrears in one installment.
The OROP scheme is expected to cost the government Rs. 7,500 crore per year.
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