Indian government approves pricey plan to equalize veterans’ pensions
By Nigam Prusty NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian government approved a long-awaited program to equalize pension payments for retired military personnel despite it being a “huge fiscal burden,” defense minister Manohar Parrikar said on Saturday. The program, known as “One Rank One Pension”, or OROP, will ensure uniform pension payments to ex-servicemen who served at the same rank and for the same amount of time, regardless of the year they retired, among other measures. Veterans in India have been fighting for reforms to their pension packages for years.