Exodus From Armed Forces: REVISE SIXTH PAY COMMISSION
By Dr. P.K. Vasudeva
New Delhi, April 18, 2008- (Posted Just to refresh status)
A fresh and potentially crippling round of exodus has hit the Armed forces, already facing severe manpower crunch. There is a shortage of about 35,000 personnel in the Forces. In the Army alone there is a shortage of 11,153 officers, Navy 1,403 officers and the IAF is short of 1,368 officers.
The disappointment with the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, has forced dozens of officers to seek premature release from service and a large number of them are planning to leave for greener pastures outside. The pay package of a Major to Brigadier has gone up by just 13-15 per cent. A horde of Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels are therefore queuing up to quit soon.
Defence Minister A K Antony has assured the Service chiefs that he will push for corrections in the pay panel report to meet the aspirations of the soldiers, who will be getting less than that of a peon of the civil services. But such a situation could have been avoided in the first place. For much before the decision to appoint a Sixth Pay Commission was taken by the Centre, the three Services’ chiefs had placed before it the need to appoint a separate Pay Commission for defence services.
Their stance was that no member of the Armed forces was included in the Pay commissions even though the Forces comprised 40 per cent of the Central Government employees. Moreover, the civilians were unable to comprehend the tough service conditions, ground realities and military ethos which need to be taken into account while working out the pay and allowances. Worse, the panel couldn’t appreciate the promotion structure, wherein a Brigadier was given more pension than a Major-General and scrapped the running pay board, which had partially compensated for limited promotions.
By Dr. P.K. Vasudeva
Exodus From Armed Forces
Armed forces: Too little, too late
Huge hikes for greenhorns will make the forces attractive but not enough to retain the flock. Half the army’s officer corps is still unhappy.
The armed forces hoped the Sixth Pay Commission would improve their attractiveness, increase their retainability and reduce the deficiency in the officer corps. These are three of the biggest problems the world’s second largest armed forces are grappling with and yet the report has addressed only the first problem.
A hike of over 60 per cent for young officers has somewhat levelled the playing field in the hunt for young talent and in reducing a shortage of nearly 12,000 young officers. However, a modest hike for mid-level officers like lt colonels, colonels and brigadiers— from where the exodus is taking place— means nearly half the army’s officer corps feels left out.
A paltry pay hike for soldiers (they will get a military service pay of only Rs 2,000) is a reflection of how there is no shortage of aspirants for persons below officer rank. The new running pay band means the service chiefs, now treated on par with the cabinet secretary, will get huge pay hikes amounting to Rs 90,000 per month.
The commission has recommended a military service pay of Rs 6,000 per month for officers and lateral absorption of retired personnel of armed forces into the paramilitary forces (the armed forces retire their personnel earlier). However, the proposed pay hike will create fresh inequalities. (Lateral entry scheme is the pipe dream of bureaucrats and will never see its daylight as long as vested interests are there in recruitment!)
A young lieutenant now earning Rs 8,250 will receive Rs 25,760 or a pay hike of over 60 per cent. However, his commanding officer, a colonel with 19 years of service, will take home only Rs 44,140. The running pay band has also triggered angst because most of the armed forces’ personnel will continue to draw lower pay through their career. Almost all civil servants will reach the rank of joint secretary in 16-17 years service and remain in the higher pay band for a period of another 20 years. On the other hand, approximately 87 per cent of armed forces’ officers will never rise to the equivalent rank of major general.
The commission has recommended a significant improvement in terminal benefits— gratuity has been raised from Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. The underlying message to the armed forces is “come join us if you have it in you. Serve for 20 years and then go fend for yourselves”, says Major General Surjit Singh (retired).
The commission is silent on short service commissions, something critical for ensuring the army can fill in vacant slots and has shot down the one-rank-one pension scheme which figured in the UPA’s election manifesto and was meant to redress the imbalance between retired personnel. The forecast is that after the initial euphoria, old problems will return to haunt the armed forces.
Sandeep Unnithan
Armed forces: Too little, too late
Present Status of Pay Anomalies
All would have noticed that the Chiefs are being made to plead services case first before the Cabinet Secretary and now Sushma Nath, the expenditure secretary. Who in any case is the villian of the piece, first as member of 6 CPC then a member of Committee of Secretaries. It is a repeat of the charade of 5th CPC. It lowers the dignity of the chiefs to plead the case before a mere secretary. It is for the RM to fight the services case and at best the chiefs should argue their case before the Committee of ministers.
The second issue as per the OUTLOOK of 13 Oct 2008, the decision of the Cabinet Committee of Ministers was fudged by some babus to benefit themselves and those in the IFS. Victory of IAS manipulators will ensure the degradation of the Armed Forces which is the only visible, credible and dependable institution left unblemished!.
The armed forces, instruments of state power, are clearly at risk of being affected by the growing mismatch between the ideals they adhere to and the practice they witness.
The body politic in uniform
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