The Chief Minister's Office of Rajasthan announced on Sunday, 26 July 2026 that the state government has raised the honorarium of ex-servicemen employed across various state departments through REXCO (Rajasthan Ex-servicemen Corporation) by 10 per cent each in 2024 and 2025, crediting Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma for the move.

Context

The post, shared under the campaign hashtag #आपणो_अग्रणी_राजस्थान ('Our Leading Rajasthan'), states that the Rajasthan government has given 10-10% increments in the honorarium of ex-servicemen working through REXCO in state departments — one increase in 2024 and another in 2025. The announcement comes on Kargil Vijay Diwas, the annual commemoration of India's victory in the 1999 Kargil War, lending symbolic weight to the welfare measure.

REXCO, the Rajasthan Ex-servicemen Corporation, is the state-level body that facilitates the placement and employment of retired armed forces personnel in various government departments. Veterans deployed through REXCO typically serve in security, administrative, and supervisory roles across state offices.

Policy Backdrop

Rajasthan's honorarium revision sits within a broader national framework of veteran welfare. The central government's landmark One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme, implemented in 2015, standardised pensions for retired military personnel based on rank and length of service, irrespective of the year of retirement. State-level measures such as REXCO employment and honorarium enhancements are designed to supplement OROP and other central entitlements.

Indian states have periodically revised allowances and re-employment support for veterans, particularly around national defence commemorations. Rajasthan's back-to-back 10 per cent increases over two consecutive years signals a sustained, rather than one-off, commitment to improving post-retirement income for ex-servicemen serving in state roles.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are ex-servicemen currently employed in Rajasthan's state government departments through REXCO. A cumulative 21 per cent rise in honorarium over two years — compounding two successive 10 per cent increments — represents a meaningful improvement in take-home pay for veterans who have transitioned to civilian state service after military retirement.

The move is also politically significant for the Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, which took office in December 2023. Veteran communities are an influential constituency in Rajasthan, a state that has historically contributed a large number of soldiers to the Indian armed forces. Welfare announcements timed to defence commemorations tend to resonate strongly with both serving families and retired personnel.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the actual rollout of the revised honorarium rates across all concerned state departments and whether the enhancement is reflected in subsequent Rajasthan state budget allocations. Veteran welfare groups are likely to watch whether the government extends similar revisions to other REXCO-related benefits or broadens the scheme's coverage to include more departments.

With the #आपणो_अग्रणी_राजस्थान campaign framing the announcement, the Sharma government appears to be positioning veteran welfare as a visible pillar of its governance record ahead of future electoral cycles.