Monday, September 28, 2015

OROP & ITS BY PRODUCT : Bypassing Conventional Media is a established norm now

SOURCE  : http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/811831


             OROP  & ITS BY PRODUCT  : 

           Bypassing Conventional Media
                                       is
                    a Established Norm Now






Bypassing Conventional Media Could Become Norm  is an understatement, by passing conventional media is a established norm now & the same has been acknowledged by Mr Modi at  FACE BOOK in California on 27 Sep 2015 & full credit goes to  black out of OROP movement by the established conventional Media which has got a bleeding  dirty RED NOSE now because of medium of  Social Media

   OROP HAS GROWN & HAS NO NEED FOR  COWARDLY CONVENTIONAL INDIAN MEDIA,  INDIA's FIFTH COLUMN, WHICH CANNOT HIDE NOW BEHIND THE SMOKE SCREEN OF
                     ' CHAMPIONS 
                                OF
                FREEDOM OF SPEECH'.

BLOODY  MEDIA COWARDS,  THE UNDEPENDABLE  FIFTH COLUMN 
                                                 Vasundhra

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo


Bypassing Conventional Media Could Become Norm

                   By

BIKRAM VOHRA

Sunday 27 September 2015


With supreme fatigue having set in on the One Rank One Pension (OROP) issue no one is really interested in the media about carrying anything on it. Unless one of the fasting ex servicemen cops it or there is a bonfire of the vanities and they burn their citations of bravery or hand back the medals, the party, as far as the TV and Press are concerned, is over, time to move on to tilt at other windmills.

It’s just a bunch of wrinkled uncles in white pajamas who have overstayed their welcome.


[ Is it so? Obviously the conventional media has been browbeaten by the Government threats ]

Curiously though, the major snub given the vets by Indian media per se and their deliberate ho hum turning of the back to the Ekta rally earlier this month in which 50,000 ex servicemen and their families displayed an impressive solidarity, has opened another front.

It is only the innate arrogance of the fourth estate that stops it from figuring out that there is an enemy and the enemy is at the gate.

The vets took the publicity blackout punch on the chin, realized that no mikes were now going to be thrust at them in a frenetic ‘push and shove’ that had marked the early days of the protest and so, like the soldiers they still are, developed their own strategy.

Let’s go to the people and use the social media platforms, we don’t need the conventional press.


This could well be one more push in a global changeover where the conventional Press is made redundant.


Everyone of the OROP leaders I have spoken to says it may not set the Jamuna on fire but the word is spreading. The first signature campaign gathered 35,000 supporters inside two hours and is now a legitimate legal document that can be forwarded to the government.


It strikes me that the TRP race and the inward looking press and TV band of journalists might just be facing a future siege, a sort of Alamo without the heroics.

The conceit is so tangible in our ranks that no one would even consider social platforms as a threat. But with bloggers more interesting and erudite than professional writers, the public involvement in issues intensifying and the chance for the individual to express himself sans interference is a heady elixir.

 The speed of delivery then makes for a deadly combination.


Anybody can be a writer and a dispenser of news and opinion. With very little editorial control or accountability.

The advent of the trolls who grasp any report on the websites and ignite verbal wars laced with malice is now an incontrovertible part of the scenario.


The adhesive which is still needed is a sense of organization and it is fair to concede that the OROP call may not achieve its goals at such an early stage but it has set into motion an alternative messenger. The geometric progression of 100 people sending forward a chain letter concept in the morning can reach hundreds of thousands by evening. Before you know it there is not just a groundswell of public opinion there is a visible reaction.


It is a sobering thought that it was Twitter and Facebook that accelerated the Arab Spring in Egypt and for a high density population like we have in India getting the nation to stir its conscience and come to bat for a cause is not difficult at all. Youtube is widely seen as a major element in the impact on US politics.


The Governor of Vermont Howard Dean was the pioneer for political activism through social media. He changed the paradigm on mobilization of numbers, accelerated fundraising and gave the likeminded their focus.


Remember the Oscar Morales saga where the Colombian citizen took on the guerrillas engaged in kidnappings and used Facebook to generate a global uproar that actually resulted in the release of a victim.


How rapidly a report on social media can spread can be seen by this rendition. A retired soldier spoke to the throng. He started by saying he was the father of not one, yes not one, but two martyred sons. He asked the Hon’ble PM (with reference to his foot-in-mouth public remark that he’d given OROP at the cost of the poor) what he need to further prove his loyalty to the nation? To stifle spontaneous cries of ‘Shame, Shame’ he declared that if the PM publicly proved that he indeed needed to deprive the poor to give OROP, he didn’t want it.


How many parents have given two sons in uniform and stayed on earth to mourn them?

The pass on effect was intense.



The problem is that the intensity is no different for rumors, half truths, mischief and prejudice. That is the scary part.


IT IS ESTABLISHED NOW



COWARDLY CONVENTIONAL INDIAN MEDIA IS  INDIA's  FIFTH COLUMN ON THE PAYROLL OF THE HIGHEST BIDDER






 

OROP - Protest: Gul Panag Appeals To PM Modi, Asks Him Not To Break Veterans' Moral






GUL PANAG

OROP Protest: Gul Panag Appeals To PM Modi, 

Asks Him Not To Break Veterans' Moral

Updated: 






NEW DELHI -- Actress and AAP leader Gul Panag today alleged that despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "light clarification" on the One Rank One Pension issue, there is still ambiguity left over the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS).


Panag, daughter of retired Lt Gen HS Panag, appealed to the government to "unconditionally" fulfil OROP promises the way soldiers serve the nation, as she claimed that veterans were actually given "One Rank Five Pension".


She was addressing the war veterans, who have been protesting for over 100 days at Jantar Mantar.
Panag alleged that the government's Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) is a non-entity as there is nothing voluntary about it. She said that despite the Prime Minister giving light clarification over the issue, there is still ambiguity related to VRS.
"Even if you take premature retirement, you do so after completing your pensionable services and that is also because the country wants to keep their Army, Navy and Air Force young.


"But you can be recalled anytime for five years and even when you apply for VRS, whether or not you get it now or after four years is not in your hands," Panag, who contested Lok Sabha polls on an AAP ticket, said.


On September 6, a day after the government announced implementation of OROP, Modi had said some people were trying to "mislead" the armed forces, particularly on the issue of premature retirement.


"Jawans in the army have to retire after 15-17 years of service. A few people think they will not get OROP....they are misleading you by terming it as VRS (voluntary retirement scheme)....

"But if anybody gets OROP, jawans will be the first.... Those injured, those who had to compulsorily leave they will get OROP. And the Prime Minister who loves the army cannot even think of depriving such people of OROP benefits," Modi said at a rally in Faridabad.


Panag asked the government to fulfill the promises "completely".

"When a soldier pledges his life to protect his country, he does it fully without any conditions and this is what we expect from the Prime Minister also, that the promise he made to us, he should fulfil it completely, not without any conditions.
"What the government has given in the name of One Rank One Pension is actually One Rank Five Pensions," Panag said.

The former beauty queen also said that when the Prime Minister speaks of giving a befitting reply at the country's border, it is these soldiers who put their life at risk to guard the borders.

"When the PM says that 'mooh tod jawab diya jayaega' (befitting reply will be given), who does this? It is the soldiers who are deployed full time at the borders, and these soldiers would be ex-servicemen tomorrow. The PM should not break their faith and morale," she said.

The AAP leader also asked why the Defence Minister had not sent out any government notification regarding OROP even three weeks after the announcement was made.

Panag also sought to correct those who call the OROP a sentimental issue, saying that those who join the defence services do it for their passion for the nation and not as any other job.

OROP – A Noble Government Initiative mired in Bureaucratic Slime

SOURCE  :
http://www.turningpointindia.org/orop-a-noble-government-initiative-mired-in-bureaucratic-slime/
CURTSEY
Utkarsh Turning Point




OROP – A Noble Government Initiative mired in Bureaucratic Slime


A Solution soaked in Mischief and Exaggerated Figures   
Karan Kharb
(An edited version of this article is also published in Organiser, New Delhi Sep 20, 2015)
                The announcement of the government decision by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on September 5 to implement the long outstanding one rank one pension (OROP) demand of the Ex-servicemen (ESM) has evoked a mixed response from the ESM – a term that includes all pensioners, war widows, war wounded and disabled veterans of the Army, Navy and Air Force. Whereas the ESM community in the country is largely happy and thankful to the Prime Minister for fulfilling his oft repeated commitment to implement the concept of OROP, they are feeling insidiously cheated by the bureaucrats who have deftly twisted the political intentions and decisions. Military pensioners eloquently acknowledge the sincerity of the Modi Sarkar in addressing the issue of OROP that has festered for over 42 years. The cordiality with which they have been able to interact with the Defence Minister and senior officials at the PMO has underscored their faith and pride in the political leadership that had become almost extinct during the long spell of Congress-UPA regimes.  Never before has there been a Government so favourably disposed towards safeguarding the genuine interests of Military personnel, veterans and matters of national security.

Honouring martyrs, helping widows!

Lt Gen Balbir Singh (retd), President, ‘Utkarsh – The Turning Point’ presenting cheques to widows of martyrs.


The government resolve to implement OROP in letter and spirit has, however, been muddled in its details – and that is what has angered the ESM who smell a rat in the fine print of the government press release issued ironically by the Defence Minister himself on September 5. An analysis of the OROP press release does reveal that the written word subtly deviates from the candour and sincerity displayed by the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister. Some of the major flaws irking the ESM discussed below do point to some crafty brains at work in the backrooms of ministers which also highlights the widening gulf in civil-military relationship. Arresting this drift and restoring a mutually trustworthy, cohesive working environment in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is itself a significant issue harming military morale and preparedness which, if allowed to persist, can seriously endanger our national security.
Flaws in the Solution
  1. The ‘VRS’ Mischief: The last minute insertion of voluntary retirement scheme’ (VRS) has angered the ESM community most. This issue had never figured during discussions between the ESM leaders and the Government which were frequent and spanned over three months. In the already trust-deficit civil-military relationship, the sudden mention of VRS is ridiculous, firstly, because there is no such thing as ‘VRS’ in military service and secondly, because wherever applicable in Civil Services, it is a one-time package settlement given to the employee concerned – a ‘scheme’ which is alien to military personnel. Civilian employees seeking VRS voluntarily opt for ‘no pension’ because the ‘scheme’ itself compensates them so adequately that they voluntarily forego their pension and opt for this scheme.  Military personnel, on the other hand, do seek ‘pre-mature retirement (PMR) but that is only after the concerned Officer/JCO/OR has earned ‘pensionable service’.  Such cases are already appropriately covered within the accepted definition of OROP which stipulates ‘length of service’ as a criterion to determine pension.  Military pensioners going on PMR would have already lost a portion of their pension entitlement because of having sought pension earlier than their batch-mates/equivalents superannuating after serving longer and, therefore, becoming entitled to more pension.  Denying OROP benefits to VRS/PMR categories is, therefore, utterly illogical and arbitrary which shall continue to embarrass the government unless deleted from the OROP dialogue as a bad joke.  Legal experts also opine that it will not stand scrutiny of law if the affected ESM chose to challenge it in the court.
  2. The 5-year Equalisation Plan:  This government decision to ‘equalise military pensions once in five years’ defeats the very concept of OROP. In the modern era of automated computing in banks and offices, there should be no problems in devising an appropriate software and applying the formulae to equalize pensions every year or even earlier without hassles. Rather than achieving ‘equality’, this exercise would be perpetuating the ‘inequality’ for five years which is genuinely resented by the ESM. Hopefully, the One-man Committee ordered by the government shall resolve this tangle in the spirit of the OROP definition – “same pension for same rank, same length of service irrespective of date of retirement.”
  3. Average of Maximum and Minimum’: Lt Gen Balbir Singh (retd), President, Indian Ex-Services League who represented the United Front of Ex-servicemen (UFESM) along with Maj Gen Satbir Singh (retd), in negotiating the OROP settlement with the Government, says, “Year 2013-14 was accepted by us as the Base Year for the initial equalisation with the understanding that the top of the pension scales as they existed on 31 Mar 2014 would be applied. But the government press release now says that the Base Year would be ‘calendar year 2013’ and the ‘equalisation’ would be based on the ‘average of maximum and minimum’ of that year. This is not acceptable”, Lt Gen Balbir Singh (retd) said, “because rather than equalising, its application would trigger even more disparities between the existing pensioners and the subsequent pensioners in the same year. Only top of the scale can be an equaliser.”
The Fallacy of ‘Unbearable’ Financial Burden
                Baseless stories have been hyped expressing fears of the mounting pension budget going beyond affordability limits of the government if OROP as promised by the Prime Minister is implemented.  Initial pay-out of OROP including arrears earlier assumed to take effect from April 1, 2014 stood at Rs 8,294 crore. Yet, arbitrary figures ranging from Rs 10,000 crore to 22,000 crore have been irresponsibly but quite frequently have been allowed to float in the media.  It is therefore necessary to clear public confusion by explaining the existing defence pension budget and the OROP effect on it which is explained hereunder:-
  1. Total ‘Defence Pensions’ Budget (2014-15)               = Rs 54500 cr
  • Share of Defence Civilians (37%)                                 = Rs 20165 cr
  • Share of Armed Forces Pensioners (63%)                  = Rs 34335 cr
  1. Subtract one time pay-outs (Gratuity/Leave encashment etc) = Rs 15000 cr
  2. Net Pension load                                                              =  Rs 19335 cr
  3. Total OROP (Initial outgo incl arrears)                        = Rs 8300 cr
  4. Enhanced OROP share for the next year (0.85%)      = Rs 183 cr
For every successive year the enhanced OROP share will decline until it becomes zero in the fifth year. It might appear strange to those who have heard that every year thousands of military pensioners are added to the existing 2.6 million and, therefore, so much more pension burden is added to the annual pension budget. No doubt, the overall pension budget shall increase but it will be grossly wrong to attribute the existing ratio of annual increase to the OROP effect which shall be reducing every year becoming nearly zero in the fifth year after OROP implementation.
The 6th Pay Commission had resorted to ‘bunching’ the service seniority of military personnel in different trades for the purpose of fixing their pay scales in respective pay band. As a result, these personnel are now retiring drawing pension at the ‘bunched’ scale despite the number of their years in service being different. These bunched categories are now in their last leg of service and would taper off in another 4-5 years. Thanks to this ‘bunching effect’, the enhanced proportion of OROP will diminish rather than escalate every year.
Civil-military relationship has been a cause of concern for long now. The widening trust deficit must be checked and concerted efforts are most urgently required to be made to restore and build up a healthy trustworthy working environment in the MoD by integrating and inducting military expertise in the Babodom of the ministry. Such a reorientation needed resolute, dynamic leadership which is now available in Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is heading a strong government at the centre after a long time.
Long ago, Chanakya had advised Chandragupta Maurya, “while the citizenry of the State contributes to see that the State prospers and flourishes, the soldier guarantees it continues to EXIST as a State1 To this man, O Rajadhiraja, you owe a debt: plese, therefore, see to it, on your own, that the soldier continuously gets his dues in every form and respect, be they his needs or his wants for he is not likely to ask for them himself.”   Then Kautilya, known also as Chanakya gave his king this blunt warning: “The day the soldier has to demand his dues will be a sad day for Magadha for then, on that day, you will have lost all moral sanction to be king.”



God bless our troops.

 They give so much

and

ask for so little in return.

Jai Jawan.