Defending India: No compromise, no concession

The Indian Army, Air Force and Navy need to be strengthened in view of rapidly changing regional and global realities. Tragically, the services have been ignored by the Congress and failure to address the concerns of the Army, Air Force and Navy has bred undesirable discontent. The BJP will address all pending issues immediately. It will be guided by the following solemn commitments while dealing with the defense of India:

1. The long-pending acquisition of military hardware will be expedited through absolutely transparent means in a time-bound manner.

2. Budget allocations for defense forces will be spent without being allowed to lapse. The criminal negligence of the defense forces by the UPA Government has resulted in nearly Rs 24,000 crore by way of budgetary allocations being allowed to lapse over five years. This not only endangers the lives of our soldiers but also the security of the nation.

3. Our forces are performing a service to the nation and deserve better pay and privileges.

Towards this end, the BJP is committed to the following measures:

The pending issues of pay and privileges will be revisited and resolved to the satisfaction of the defense forces. The modalities for setting up a separate Pay Commission for the forces will be expedited

All personnel of the Army, Air Force and Navy, as also paramilitary forces, will be exempt from paying income tax on their salaries and perquisites

The honorarium for winners of gallantry awards like Pram Vir Chakra, which is abysmally low at Rs 500 to Rs 3,000, will be increased ten-fold to Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000. This will be done with retrospective effect; the honorarium will be tax free

The principle of one rank, one pension will be implemented

Incentive-based steps will be taken to make joining the defence services an exciting proposition for young men and women to overcome the shortage of officers

Incentives will be offered to State Governments for ensuring honourable settlement of retired personnel of the defence services.

4. The present shortage of defence personnel at all levels will be met by making the Services an attractive career option. This would include competitive pay and privileges, and pension benefits. This task will be completed in a time-bound manner.

5. The capacities of Defence Research and Development Organisation will be enhanced. The PPP route will be explored for conventional defence production bearing in mind the nation’s needs and to make India a competitive player in the global market by 2020.
BJP Manifesto

Comment: If BJP manifesto is sincere and not a vote bank gimmick it is bound to win the elections. If it is a vote catching gimmick it will surely lose. The Defence Forces today need to be addressed in all angles to ensure security of the Nation.