Government meets demand,12 lakh retired jawans get pension hike

The Government has announced a substantial increase in pensions of jawans to meet a long-standing demand of the ex-servicemen community. Presenting the budget on Monday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the enhanced pensions would benefit more than 12 lakh personnel below officers rank and would cost the exchequer Rs 2,100 crore annually.

While pensions for jawans have been increased, a similar raise for retired officers has not been announced and is expected to be resolved later. However, the non-inclusion of officers in the announcement has raised concerns amongst ex-servicemen who are waiting for a detailed explanation by the government.

The only change from the interim Budget that was announced in February is the decision to increase pensions for ex-servicemen,

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Gurjjar quota hot potato is passed on to Law Ministry

With the Vasundhara Raje govemment passing the buck to the Centre on the Guijjar demand for ST status, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today called Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Law Minister HR Bhardwaj to discuss the matter.

Following Raje's latest letter to the PM,wherein she reiterated her earlier stance of seeking a separate category for Gujars, over and above the existing quotas, and giving them 4 to 6 per cent reservation, the Prime Minister's Office decided to refer the matter to the Law Ministry to examine such a possibility.

Today's meeting also saw a general appreciation of the fact that politics aside, the trouble in Rajasthan may not remain confined there and may spread to other states, including those ruled by the Congress, if not handled properly.

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