Free foodgrain for one more year
NEW DELHI, Dec 23: The Government today approved revision of pension of armed forces personnel under ‘One Rank One Pension’ scheme with retrospective effect from July 1, 2019 and the decision will benefit around 25 lakh pensioners.
The decision taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will result in an additional annual expenditure of Rs 8,450 crore, according to the Defence Ministry.
It said Rs 23,638 crore will be paid as arrears to the pensioners from July 2019 to June 2022.
“The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved revision of pension of armed forces pensioners/family pensioners under One Rank One Pension (OROP) with effect from July 1, 2019,” the Ministry said in a statement.
It said the pension of the past pensioners would be re-fixed on the basis of average of minimum and maximum pension of defence forces retirees of calendar year 2018 in the same rank with the same length of service.
The armed forces personnel retired up to June 30, 2019 (excluding those retired pre-maturly (PMR) with effect from July 1, 2014 will be covered under this revision, according to the ministry.
More than 25.13 lakh (including over 4.52 lakh new beneficiaries) pensioners and family pensioners will be benefitted from the decision, it said.
The Government had issued notifications in 2015 announcing the implementation of the OROP scheme. It had a provision for reviewing the pensions every five years.
The ex-servicemen have been demanding a revision of the pension.
“The additional pension to defence personnel and family pensioners will entail an additional annual expenditure of Rs 8450 crore,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters at a briefing.
The Ministry said pension for those drawing above the average shall be protected. The benefit would also be extended to family pensioners, including war widows and disabled pensioners, according to the Ministry.
It said arrears will be paid in four half-yearly instalments.
“However, all the family pensioners, including those in receipt of special/liberalised family pension and Gallantry award winners, shall be paid arrears in one instalment,” the Ministry said.
The Defence ministry said the estimated annual expenditure for the implementation of the revision has been calculated at approximately Rs 8,450 crore considering 31 per cent dearness allowance.
It said the arrears from July 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021 have been calculated as over Rs 19,316 crore based on dearness allowance of 17 per cent for the period from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021 and 31 per cent DA for the period from July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
Arrears from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2022 have been calculated at Rs 23,638 crore as per the applicable dearness relief.
This expenditure is over and above the ongoing expenditure on account of OROP.
Meanwhile, in a pro-poor move, the Government decided to provide free foodgrains to 81.35 crore people for one year under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) at an estimated cost of Rs 2 lakh crore.
Currently, the beneficiaries covered under the NFSA pay Rs 1-3 per kg.
Under the Act, foodgrain is allocated at 5 kg per person per month for priority households category and at 35 kg per family per month for Antodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) families at highly subsidised prices of Re 1, Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg for coarse cereals, wheat and rice, respectively.
With the Cabinet decision today, beneficiaries under NFSA will get foodgrains free of cost for one year till December 2023.
The decision comes days ahead of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) ending on December 31, 2022. The PMGKAY was launched in April 2020 to provide relief to the poor during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Prime Minister has taken a historic decision of providing foodgrain to the poor free of cost. A total of 81.35 crore people would benefit,” Food Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.
The move will entail an expenditure of about Rs 2 lakh crore for the exchequer, he said, adding the entire cost will be borne by the Union Government.
Government officials described the latest Cabinet decision as a “new year gift for the country’s poor”, saying that over 81.35 crore people will now get free foodgrains under NFSA.
The beneficiaries will not have to pay a single rupee to get foodgrains, they added.
On the PMGKAY, Goyal said the Government provided free foodgrain (5 kg per person per month) for 28 months.
Asked if PMGKAY would be extended beyond December 31, 2022, the Minister said the scheme has been merged with NFSA and the additional quantity is now not required.
Goyal further said the additional foodgrain under the PMGKAY, which was started during COVID because of financial stress of poor people, is not needed now.
“Financial conditions have now become normal. Still, to provide relief to poor the Government has made foodgrain under NFSA free of cost,” the Food Minister said.
The Centre enacted NFSA in July 2013, giving legal entitlement to 67 per cent of the population (75 per cent in rural areas and 50 per cent in urban areas) to receive highly subsidised foodgrain.
The coverage under the Act is based on the population figures of Census 2011. The NFSA is being implemented in all 36 states/UTs and covers about 81.35 crore persons. (PTI)
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