Defence Pensions Delayed

The disbursement of pensions to 58,275 defence pensioners was delayed this month as their banks could not confirm their identification by April 30, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Wednesday.

The government has approved a "one-time special waiver" to help those facing difficulty with new digital systems get the required verification process done.

Even as ex-servicemen held protests over delay in non-implementation of the 'One Rank, One Pension' scheme, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today sought to assuage their concerns, saying the "promises" made will be kept and that they should be "patient".

Retired defence personnel are protesting across the country including at Delhi's Jantar Mantar today against the delay in the implementation of the long-awaited 'One Rank One Pension'. The ex-servicemen have also declared a relay hunger strike from Monday.

Former Defence Minister AK Antony on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "criminal inaction" leading to delay in implementation of the "One Rank One Pension" (OROP) decision of the UPA government and claimed that it has made ex-servicemen "restless".

Two war veterans today boycotted a function where they were to be felicitated by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, to protest against the delay in implementation of "one rank, one pension" for the armed forces.

The disbursement of pensions to 58,275 defence pensioners was delayed this month as their banks could not confirm their identification by April 30, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Wednesday.

The government has approved a "one-time special waiver" to help those facing difficulty with new digital systems get the required verification process done.

Even as ex-servicemen held protests over delay in non-implementation of the 'One Rank, One Pension' scheme, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today sought to assuage their concerns, saying the "promises" made will be kept and that they should be "patient".

Retired defence personnel are protesting across the country including at Delhi's Jantar Mantar today against the delay in the implementation of the long-awaited 'One Rank One Pension'. The ex-servicemen have also declared a relay hunger strike from Monday.

Former Defence Minister AK Antony on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "criminal inaction" leading to delay in implementation of the "One Rank One Pension" (OROP) decision of the UPA government and claimed that it has made ex-servicemen "restless".

Two war veterans today boycotted a function where they were to be felicitated by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, to protest against the delay in implementation of "one rank, one pension" for the armed forces.