Armed Forces Welfare

One Rank One Pension — equal pension for equal rank and equal length of service, regardless of when a soldier retired — had been demanded since the 1970s. Without it, a jawan who retired in 1990 drew substantially less than one of identical rank and service who retired in 2010. Successive governments accepted the principle without implementing it.

OROP was approved in November 2015 and implemented with effect from 1 July 2014. It has benefited over 25 lakh veterans and their families, and pensions were revised with effect from 1 July 2019 and again from July 2024; under that third revision, ₹1,224.76 crore was paid to 20.17 lakh beneficiaries within 15 days. A four-decade demand was closed.

Under OROP, pension is fixed on the average of minimum and maximum pension of personnel retiring in a base year at the same rank and length of service, and is revised periodically so the gap does not reopen. Arrears were paid in instalments, with the full amount paid at once to family pensioners and gallantry-award winners.

Other long-pending items followed. The National War Memorial opened at India Gate in 2019, naming soldiers killed in action since 1947 — the first national monument of its kind since independence. The post of Chief of Defence Staff was created on 24 December 2019. The defence budget rose from about ₹2.3 lakh crore in 2014-15 to over ₹6.8 lakh crore in 2025-26.

25 lakh+ veterans and families benefiting from OROP, effective from 1 July 2014. ₹10,795 crore of arrears under the first order; ₹1,224.76 crore paid to 20.17 lakh beneficiaries under OROP-III (July 2024 revision). National War Memorial dedicated 25 February 2019. Chief of Defence Staff post created 24 December 2019. Defence budget ₹2.3 → ₹6.8 lakh crore. Sources: Ministry of Defence, DESW, PIB.