Premature retirement clause: Armed forces convey OROP concerns to govt The armed forces are worried about the organizational impact of the clause which directly affects serving military personnel.

The defence services’ main concern is about the accretion of what they term as “non-performing assets” — personnel who haven’t been promoted due to the steep hierarchical structure of the military. The top hierarchy of the defence forces has conveyed to the government its concerns about the denial of OROP to military personnel seeking premature retirement from defence services now onwards. This clause is part of the government notification on OROP which conceded OROP to ex-servicemen who had taken premature retirement but denied it to those who seek premature retirement from now on.  The armed forces are worried about the organizational impact of the clause which directly affects serving military personnel. Top sources in service headquarters have confirmed to The Indian Express that top brass of at least two of the defence services have personally registered their concerns with senior levels of the government last month. The defence services’ main concern is about the accretion of what they term as “non-performing assets”, military personnel who haven’t been promoted due to the steep hierarchical structure of the military. Disincentivised by denial of OROP, if these personnel do not seek premature retirement, they will continue to occupy the posts which would be otherwise tenanted by younger officials who have not been superseded. The incremental effect of disproportionately large numbers of superseded officials with every passing year will be detrimental to the military.  On an average, nearly 12,000-14,000 soldiers and JCOs, and 450-500 officers seek premature retirement from the army every year. “Nearly half the officers get superseded by 40 years of age in the army. If they don’t opt for premature retirement, they will serve for another 14 years. There are not enough ‘sheltered’ appointments to post them away from important operations posts. This is bound to affect the efficiency, discipline and morale of the army, especially demotivate those working at the cutting edge level” says Srinath Raghavan, a former military officer and Senior Fellow at Centre for Policy Research. The issue of OROP for premature retirees first came up when defence minister in September announced the exclusion of military personnel who have sought premature retirement from the ambit of OROP being granted by the government. Faced with strong opposition from protesting ex-servicemen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally announced in Faridabad that there was a misunderstanding and the issue of OROP for premature retirees will be resolved amicably. In the government notification issued on 7th November, government agreed to grant OROP to all ex-servicemen, including those who had already taken premature retirement, but barred those who seek premature retirement from now on from getting OROP. The defence minister has asked the veterans to end their ongoing protests and place their complaints before the one-member judicial commission announced by the government. “While the veterans can take their complaints over the notification to the judicial commission or courts, the service headquarters can’t do so. These concerns have to be thus raised internally at the highest levels by the military leadership lest it affects the operational effectiveness of our armed forces,” a senior military official said. The Army Headquarters officially refused to respond to the story as, it said, “the matter is under consideration by the government”. Defence services feel that the denial of OROP to military personnel going on premature retirement goes against the recommendations of the Ajai Vikram Singh Committee, which had recommended measures to reduce the age profile of officers. These recommendations were approved by the cabinet and implemented by the government. “After the AVSC report, the government itself issued a policy stating that up to 3.1 percent of military personnel can be granted premature retirement every year. By keeping them out of OROP, government is working against its own principle of a young and motivated military,” the senior military official argued. “Most modern armies work on the principle of “up or out”. Officials who don’t get promoted have to compulsorily retire after a fixed period in any rank, usually 4-5 years. That is how armies stay young, fresh and motivated. Making premature retirement attractive is the way in which India can work towards that goal. Denying OROP actually does the opposite,” Raghavan added