Indian Army Dental Corps Recruitment 2012

Indian Army Dental Corps Recruitment 2012 : 36 SSC Officers Vacancies
Nitin Oct 3rd, 2012
Indian Army Dental Corps Recruitment 2012 Applications are invited from Indian Nationals for grant of Short Service Commission in Army Dental Corps (AD Corps).
Total No. of vacancies – 36
Eligibility:
(a) Candidates must be BDS (with minimum 55% marks in final year)/MDS from a College/University recognized by Dental Council of India (DCI). (b) Should have completed one year rotatory Internship recognized by DCI by 31 Oct 2012.
(c) Should be in possession of Permanent Dental Registration Certificate valid at least upto 31 Dec 2012.
(d) Should be less than 45 years of age as on 31 Dec 2012.
(e) Should be medically fit in all respects for service in the Armed Forces.
Selection Procedure:
(a) Short-listing for interview: BDS candidates found eligible will be short-listed based on their Final BDS marks and attempts taken in Final BDS. Short-listed candidates will be called for interview. All MDS candidates found eligible & in possession of MDS degree will be called for interview. There will be no short-listing in their case.
(b) Medical Examination: Candidates provisionally placed on merit list after interview by Selection Board will be brought before a Medical Board for ascertaining their Medical Fitness.
Pay Scale:
The candidates on commissioning in AD Corps will be granted rank of Capt in the pay scale PB-3 (15600-39100). They will be granted Grade Pay of Rs 6100/- & Military Service Pay of Rs 6000/-. Non-practicing allowance (NPA) at the rate of 25% of the Basic pay, Grade Pay & MSP and DA as admissible (total emoluments will be appx Rs 60,000/-p.m.). In addition, entitled free ration, subsidized accommodation and allied facilities shall be provided. MDS degree holder will be eligible for PG allowance of Rs.1250/- p.m. or specialist pay after undergoing the laid down procedure. In addition, officers are entitled to 60 days annual leave & 20 days casual leave, LTC, free Medical facilities for self and family including dependent parents, Group Insurance of Rs. 40 lakhs & unit CSD facility etc as per the existing rules.
How to Apply for Indian Army Dental Corps Recruitment 2012:
Candidates should apply to the Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS/DENTAL), Room No.12, ‘L’ Block, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi – 110001, on a separate plain paper giving particulars in the application form click here for specimen format, so as to reach by 31 Oct 2012. Candidates who have applied earlier may also apply if they fulfil the eligibility criteria.
Indian Army Dental Corps Recruitment 2012

Outsourcing the best option for the Military to reduce corruption

'Private sector can ease Indian Army's maintenance burden'
New Delhi,Business/Economy,Defence/Security, Tue, 02 Oct 2012 IANS
New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul) is a concept hitherto confined to the civilian aviation sector. Now, an industry lobby is promoting this as a means by which the Indian Army can cut down its maintenance costs and improve its operational preparedness.
"A modern army's equipment readiness has to be sustained at high levels to meet the demands of a complex and uncertain operating environment. This becomes crucial since the Indian Army is looking at capabilities for quick deployment, reducing repair cycle time, inventory overhang and repair costs," an official of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) explained.
"The Indian Army's modernisation strategy is focused on acquiring capabilities that will enable it to succeed in any operation today or in the future. Operational sustainment of weapon systems aims to retain these capabilities throughout its lifecycle.
"The proliferation of land weapon systems across the complete spectrum in the military necessitates effective implementation and integration of an MRO environment so as to keep the user in a state of mission readiness 24x7," the official said. Toward this end, FICCI and the Indian Army's Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) Monday announced that the first international seminar on MRO in Land Systems would be held in New Delhi on Dec 3-4.
The seminar aims to institutionalise measures for the Indian Army adopting MRO for its land systems "through forging strong public private partnerships, so as to ensure military equipment meets operational requirements in a cost effective manner", the official said.
The seminar will bring together MRO domain experts, IT solution providers and stakeholders from industry, including policymakers, regulators and manufacturers, to deliberate on and help evolve the MRO policy systems for land systems that will achieve the stated objectives of mission readiness.
Private sector can ease Indian Army's maintenance burden
Comment: The Local Purchase in the Military is resorted due to NA (non availability) of stores. Generally this cycle of operation is meant to defraud the exchequer- inflated bills, bribes, commissions- resulting in poor quality or substandard products or stores with 100% failure rate within a few months. Encouraging this practise is anti- national and let down of our troops. There are numerous scandals like tents, boots, blankets, motor vehicle parts, spurious stationery, defence stores, the list is endless. Even grants for training is fudged. The prime reason for failing and falling standards of troops.

Celebrities conferred honorary ranks absent from annual parades

Navy decides not to confer honorary ranks henceforth
Dehradun: In a significant move, the Indian Navy, after sensing the apathy of the honorary-rank holder celebrities towards armed forces, has decided to not to confer anyone with these prestigious ranks henceforth.
Navy has concluded that the celebrities previously conferred with such ranks have remained apathetic towards the armed forces. Chief of Navy staff, Admiral DK Joshi said that the Indian Navy is now not in favour of conferring prestigious titles to the civilians.
Recently, following the footstep of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni, who also holds the honorary rank of Lt-Colonel in the Territorial Army, had chosen to give a miss to the Army’s annual parade ceremony. Last year, Dhoni was conferred with the honorary rank of Lt-Colonel in the Territorial Army amid much fanfare.
Tendulkar was inducted into the Air Force as an Honorary Group Captain in September 2010.
The absence of Dhoni and Tendulkar from their respective organisational events had sparked off a debate on whether the celebrities should be conferred such titles or not. The Ministry of Defence had started conferring such titles to the celebrities in a bid to attract the youths for opting defence as their career. But the non-participation and non-commitment of these celebrities towards their duties have caused disappointment which has culminated into the fresh decision of Indian Navy to stop honouring any celebrity with these titles. JPN/Bureau
Navy decides not to confer honorary ranks henceforth MS Dhoni skips Territorial Army Day parade
Comment: Absent from parade means they should be discharged from service.

Rank Pay: The conspirators of deceit and cheating need to be identified

Repost
Dear Friends,
We had the pleasure of meeting the Hon'ble Raksha Mantri on 29 Sep with regard to the latest announcement on OROP.
Brig Bhagwan Singh, Air Cmde Sushil Soni, Col Raj Singla, Lt Nar Singh Dass and Capt Mangal Singh were part of my Delegation.
The exchange of pleasantries were followed by the submissions we had gone to make. Before we however got down to talk about the problems, we presented the RM with a Memento commemorating the 30th Anniversary of our Association.
To begin with we presented him with a paper about the recent award prepared by our team led by Lt Nar Singh Dass, our Gen Secy on Pensionary Matters. This dealt with what we got as a result of this announcement in real terms. (Paper follows). This was prepared with whatever little information we had. We welcome comments from all of you on what we have stated so that the entire paper can be corrected to give as true a picture as possible.
We apprised him that what has been given is no where near OROP and it all tantamounted to bureaucracy cheating us the Veterans and misleading the leadership. He agreed that what has been given is not OROP but assured that they have given this much for now. More will follow.
We then submitted that the recent Koshyari Committee had worked out the expenditure of Rs 1300.00 crores for grant of full OROP. The Cabinet Secy's Committee has not even given 25 % of what OROP signifies and has announced the sanction of Rs 2300.00 crores, almost twice the amount required for meeting this one single most important demand of OROP for the last 31 years.
With this one stroke, not only they achieved their aim of denying us our rightful dues but also conveying to the leadership how generous they are, as against our demand of Rs 1300.00, they have sanctioned 2300.00 crores. Indirectly also conveying to the leadership how ungrateful and greedy we the veterans are that an amount of Rs 2300.00 crores also does not make us feel grateful to the Gov't and satisfied. We also submitted what we feel may have been done to bloat this figure.
Bureaucracy has been misleading the leadership for over 15 years on Rank Pay which the Fourth CPC had granted and very proudly denied to the Veterans by the bureaucracy. Recently the Govt lost that case. The Hon'ble Supreme Court has directed the Govt to pay the dues amounting to Rs 1600.00 crores within three months with interest. This being the Supreme Courts final order has to be carried out. We submitted that obviously, the bureaucracy has clubbed this amount of Rs 1600.00 crores with another Rs 700,00 crores of the total amount of Rs 1300.00 crores required for OROP and made it Rs 2300.00 crores.
We then appealed to him to please have the matter investigated. Any body found guilty of misleading the leadership should be punished. We further appealed that the Gov't should also take appropriate action to find out the persons who were responsible for the sufferings of the veterans in Rank Pay case. Once they are identified they should not only be proceeded against but also made to pay the interest amount to the affected veterans. I am glad to say that The Raksha Mantri gave us a very patient hearing and we expect that the more to follow comes up fast.
Lt Col Inderjit Singh
Chairman
Related Reading
The Conspiracy against Indian Army!
Advise from Maj AK Dhanapalan- Role of the Service HQs?
Comment: It is evident that General K Sundarji (CAOS 1986 to 1988) was totally misled by his stooges in AHQ- The AG's branch shares in this conspiracy to cheat the Military- we need to identify them too.

Civil Military Relations: The pivot has become unstable

Army will Continue to Play A Pivotal Role in the Nation Building : Pallam Raju
Minister of State for Defence Dr. MM PallamRaju has said that the Army has always in the past and also in the future will continue to play a pivotal role in the nation building and for that it must emerge as a national symbol and represent the nation’s unique characteristics which is ‘Unity in Diversity’.
Delivering Field Marshal KM Cariappa Memorial Lecture on ‘Army’s Contribution to Nation Building – The Way Ahead’ here today, Dr.Raju said the military virtues of sacrifice, loyalty and discipline have always remained and must serve as objects of veneration for the rest of the nation.
Following is the text of the speech delivered by the Minister: Army will Continue to Play A Pivotal Role in the Nation Building: Pallam Raju- click here
Civil-military relations in crisis
Civilian bureaucrats, who in any case are not specialists, lack the ability to inform themselves adequately and constantly re-invent the wheel. As a result, they show a poor grasp and understanding of military matters and are unable to engage in an informed dialogue. Many members of India’s strategic community have recognised these problems and offered some sensible policy measures to enable more harmonious civil-military relations. For instance, Admiral Arun Prakash, among many others, has argued in favour of integrating bureaucracies and fostering teamwork by cross-posting civilian and military officers. Recognising the problems stemming from a generalist civil service, N.N. Vohra has advocated the creation of a civilian Ministry of Defence, or even National Security cadre. Almost all members of the strategic community have called for a more logical and mature declassification policy.
Read more: Civil-military relations in crisis by ANIT MUKHERJEE- click here

OROP: Bureaucrats mock the Military

Posted on October 12, 2012
One Rank One Pension
GOVT’S FRAUD ON EX-SERVICEMEN
By Col (Dr) PK Vasudeva (Retd)
New Delhi, Oct 12 : Ex-servicemen have reason to be angry. The Centre’s grant of Rs 2300 crore to the defence services and its claim that it has moved towards granting One Rank One Pension (OROP), as demanded has sadly proved to be a fraud. The ex-servicemen who have been agitating for OROP for over three decades had an initial sense of relief with the grandiose announcement by the Government last month that the Cabinet had approved their demand, but it was short lived.
Once the details of the decision unfolded, it came to light that the approval is nowhere close to the OROP they had been agitating for. What has been given, albeit grudgingly, does not even meet the provision of the Armed Forces Tribunal Judgements in favour of the Defence Personnel, which is effective since 01.01.2006. Till the 60s, OROP was in vogue as Military Pension, and the faujis got 65 per cent of their last pay because most had to retire in their late 40s/early 50s while civilians got 33 per cent since all served up to 58 years. The 3rd Pay Commission abolished Military Pensions, reduced it to 50 per cent, increased civil pensions to 50 per cent, and added a proviso that to earn full pension a Government servant must serve for 33 years. Thus, most military men seldom got full pension because very few could serve for 33 years, but the civil servants invariably did because they served till the age of 58, and met the criteria.
The perfidy of this rule and shabby treatment meted out to the Armed Forces is indeed unfair. The Supreme Court has already declared that pension is “delayed wages for services already rendered”. Thus, Colonel ‘A’ who retired with 24 years of service at the age of 48 years in 1989 must get the same pension as ‘B’ who retires today at the age of 50 years with 24 years of service. Why must Colonel ‘A’ need to beg when he is only seeking justice as he had to retire at a much younger age than his civilian contemporary who joined the IAS at the same time?
The civilians do not retire with only 24 years service at the age of 50 as they carry on till the age of 60. In fact, the Supreme Court recently was constrained to rebuke the Government for “treating soldiers like beggars”. Regrettably our media, which is the fourth estate and takes up issues, has not cared to highlight the military’s issues.
Indeed, the OROP story has turned out to be a cruel joke on the defence personnel by the Centre. Not for the first time, has the Union Government spread canards, to slow down the momentum of demands, and package implementation of court orders to pass off as OROP. It is a sad state of affairs when our establishment treats its people as though they belong to the other side of the border. The neglect of Armed Forces shall prove to be suicidal for the nation as the morale of the troops is low and god forbids, hostilities erupt with our neighbour. Recall that after his recent visit to J&K, Defence Minister A K Antony had apprised the Prime Minister about this low morale, following which a committee under the Cabinet Secretary was set up to address the anomalies in the defence forces pay and allowances.
However, the OROP issue that has been analysed for over seven months by members of a Committee of Parliament had an awkward situation wherein a Committee of secretaries gave evidence against its grant. Little else could be expected from it and the Prime Minister, Defence Minister and the three Chiefs were apprised of the apprehensions.
Worse, it is a great pity that the demand by three Chiefs to include members from the serving and retired defence personnel in the Committee was not accepted.
At the end, the Government not only has left 39 serious anomalies in pay & pension of defence personnel unresolved, it has also not implemented the judgements of Armed Forces Tribunal & Supreme Court given in favour of defence personnel. This apart, the recommendations of Rajya Sabha Petition Committee on OROP strongly recommending it for the defence personnel too have not been implemented.
OROP basically implies payment of uniform pension to personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement. Consequently, any enhancement in pension rates is automatically passed on to past pensioners.
Officials said the recent package had sought to “bridge the gap” between the pensioners who retired before January 1996 and those who superannuated after that date and was “expected to largely meet the demands on OROP”. However, OROP is meant to ‘remove the gap’ rather than ‘bridge the gap’. There is thus a situation where “a sepoy, Naik and Havaldar have been given an increase of only Rs 400 per month, whereas a sepoy who retired in January 2012 draws approximately Rs 4,000 more than retirees prior to 2006”.
The Supreme Court, in its latest ruling set right another anomaly of the bureaucracy where rank pay granted by the 4th Central Pay Commission was illegally deducted from the pay of the officers of the rank of Captain to Brigadier. A large number of such officers have already died and the number may be 15000 of nearly 40,000 affected. There is all likelihood that the veterans and the next of kin of the deceased officers will be able to get this benefit.
This apart, the 6th Pay Commission gave non-functional upgradation to all the Central services (51) including the paramilitary forces, whereby every officer from these services retire in the grade of additional secretary, irrespective of vacancies. Sadly, the political and bureaucratic leadership seems to have closed its eyes when it comes to the defence services.
Well, playing games with faujis all the time can’t be a coincidence and appears to be a sinister design. It is highly de-motivating factor for the military as it makes defence services a low priority career choice, and weakens the fabric of our national security.,BR> The ex-servicemen propose not to give up their fight and expect the Government to do justice. The fraternity is all set to intensify their all-India protest from December 1, 2012 but in a dignified manner. Will the Government pay heed gracefully? — INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)
One Rank One Pension: GOVT’S FRAUD ON EX-SERVICEMEN

Rank Pay: Supreme Court Ruling of 3 months is too short a time for babus to deliver

Important Draft orders: Rank Pay Arrears Fourth pay Commission
Dear Sir,
It is brought to your kind notice that a draft letter on the likely notification to be issued in the IV CPC Rank pay case covering all aspects and the re- fixation tables from IV CPC to 6CPC in case of each rank from Capt to Brig is in circulation on email. The authenticity of this letter is questionable.
Such mails will only add confusion and chaos and put the cart before the horse in the instant case. It may also give food for thought to the sputniks who may not be keen to give us our desired dues.
It is requested that this information be put on "Report my Signals' so that further circulation and speculation stops. Please accord Priority.
Thanking you
With regards
Secy RDOA
Comment:
Some veterans are acting in a very irresponsible manner and spreading rumours regarding Govt letter having been issued regarding the Rank Pay case. There is NO TRUTH in such emails.
The fact is that the draft instruction on Rank Pay case is yet to finalised by the three Services Headquarters. After the draft is finalised, it will be sent to MoD. The MoD will take its own sweet time and do its usual amendments to the draft before it is issued as a letter to the three Services Headquarters. CDA (O) in the meanwhile is assessing the final outgo of funds on account of the Rank Pay Ruling by Supreme Court of 04 Sep 2012. This is an ongoing bureaucratic winding process under the umbrella of the Supreme Court Orders. The 3 month time criteria is no guarantee that our babus will deliver.

Chetwode Motto: Back to Basics

LEST WE FORGET OUR MEN
An Officer’s responsibility towards his Men does NOT end with his retirement; it is a lifelong commitment.
We, Officers, owe it to our Men; for having had the honour & privilege of leading them, while in service.

Lunch with Ex-Servicemen on Tuesday, 2 Oct 2012
1. With a view to reach out to Ex-Servicemen at Bangalore, I had most cordially invited a few Ex-Servicemen for lunch at my place on 2 Oct 2008. And it was gratifying that 11 Ex-Servicemen came over, couple of them with their spouses. 2. On arrival, the Ex-Servicemen mentioned, “Saab, hame retire hokar 10 saal ya 15 saal ho gaya. Hamaare puraane saab log kabhi kabhi CSD canteen me milthe hain. Thodaa saa Hello, Hello baath- cheeth hothaa hai. Bus uthnaa hi. Yeh pahli baar hai ki, ek Afsar saahibaanne, hame apne ghar me khaane ke liye bulaayaa hai”. I could see that the Ex-Servicemen were profoundly touched by my simple gesture of inviting them for lunch at my place. And so was I touched. And that day, I decided that, as long as I live, 2 Oct every year shall be the day when Ex-Servicemen shall be cordially invited to join me for lunch at my place.
3. On 2 Oct 2009, 17 Ex-Servicemen, a few of them with their families were gracious to join me for lunch at my place.
4. On 2 Oct 2010, over 100 Veteran Officers of the Army, Navy & Air Force joined hands and hosted a lunch for approximately 400 Ex-Servicemen, their families and Defence Family Pensioners. It was gratifying to see a galaxy of Generals, Admirals & Air Marshals present as hosts and talking to Ex-Servicemen, their families and Defence Family pensioners. A large number of Ex-Servicemen and Veteran Officers recalled their days together, with nostalgia.
5. Unfortunately, on account of my ill-health and personal commitments, I could not organize hosting of a station lunch for Ex-Servicemen on 2 Oct 2011 and 2 Oct 2012. All the same, lunch for Ex-Servicemen was hosted by me at my place on 2 Oct 2011 and on 2 Oct 2012.
6. Point for kind consideration by Veteran Officers. I suggest that 2 Oct every year should be a day when Veteran Officers host lunch for Ex-Servicemen, their families & Defence Family Pensioners, either individually at their place or collectively at a central location in all stations. The local mil Fmn Cdr or Station Cdr may be invited for Lunch. A small gesture as hosting of a lunch for Ex-Servicemen by Veteran Officers on 2 Oct every year would go a long way in strengthening the bonds of kinship, brotherhood & camaraderie amongst the Ex-Servicemen fraternity.
Regards,
Col Shaitan Singh Rajan of Jikargacha

OROP: The viral mutates to a damp squib

80th Raising Day of IMA and OROP
MONDAY, 01 OCTOBER 2012 00:17 BRIGADIER (RETD) CS THAPA
The news regarding one-rank-one-pension first emerged on the ticker around 7.30 and by 8.30 pm it went viral, thanks to mobiles.
There is a trust deficit between the veterans and the Government and none was keen to pour out the bubbly even though a neutral press was saying so, every one wanted to see the fine print. The veterans are further divided into the haves and the have-nots, or the ‘we’ and ‘they’ between those that retired before or after the sixth pay commission. The pre-veterans refused to believe it and sure enough they were proved right the moment the fine print was out. The fiasco regarding the one-rank-one pension clearly shows the misleading tendencies both of the Government and a Press which does not verify before broadcasting -- all this shows the establishment in a poor light. This is at best a gap removal exercise -- the OROP is miles away. A jawan has got a paltry increase of four hundred rupees, is that what costs the exchequer Rs 2,300 crores? The farmers got Rs 42,000 crores from UPA-I as loan waiver and the State Government electricity boards got a waiver from UPA-I for transmission losses (means stealing electricity) and the soldier for all his sacrifices gets peanuts. All this clearly shows that the veterans have a long way to go -- as long as there is babudom, we all need to read the fine print. The Tehri area has a large number of ex-servicemen one has not heard the issue of OROP being thumped on the table by any of the Tehri Parliamentary bye poll candidates- wonder if it matters to them.
Closer home, the Indian Military Academy gets ready to celebrate its 80th Raising Day, and it’s been a long journey for the Academy. The Academy has seen a passage that has been eventful and is getting ready to be dressed for the occasion. The event is likely to be a two-day event, needless to say most of us are looking forward to a good round of golf and the celebrations the next day on October 1. Such occasions normally start with a solemn ceremony wreath laying at the war memorial in honour of those who sacrificed their today for our tomorrow, and other events such as the sound and light display in front of the Chetwode building followed by dinner. One has learnt that the CM is attending the sound and light display -- wonder how he finds the time in the middle of electioneering?
The last time one attended the sound and light display it was when my friend Raj Sujlana was the Commandant. Raj is busy now recruiting people in Punjab but the sound and light legacy that he left behind is going to be seen all over again.
Forty years ago when one passed out of the Academy it was producing officers for a victorious army. The mood was different and the Academy was the connoisseur as far as officers’ training was concerned. The Americans were licking their wounds of Vietnam andPakistan was a dismembered state. The seventies and early eighties were iconic years as far as operational thought and plains warfare in the army was concerned
Then came the rebound, by Pakistan burning the Kashmir flame and starting the strategy of death by a thousand cuts, the academy had to modify its curriculum. Counter Insurgency (CI) operations and small unit operations took center stage due to a proactive media, during that stage one was a battalion commander at IMA. The academy responded well with a CI operation capsule and other changes. Suddenly Kargil dawned and the blood and guts story of the academy was highlighted. Its tough physical training had stood the test of high altitude and high endurance, some of the bravest of the brave were just out of the academy our cadets of yesterday are national heroes of today, and the academy had delivered again.
Today in its 80th year the academy again stands at crossroads. The road ahead is difficult and full of challenges. The current requirement is of a soldier scholar whom the academy is trying to nurture and bridge the intellectual gap. There are many challenges that the academy faces, needless to say it can be a separate topic of discussion but the nature of warfare is changing and the academy has done well to take measures to address this change. It becomes difficult to make changes in established mindsets and set norms therefore; one does not grudge the commandant, but he is up to doing the needful.
There is an air of expectancy as a lot of changes have been carried out to the curriculum. The bulk of the Academy has shifted to South Campus and Gentleman Cadets go scurrying about their training. The academy still attracts good material because the academy is over subscribed and there is a marked difference in the body language of a third term GC about to pass out to that of a first termer, but language skills are definitely on the decline.
The challenges for the academy not withstanding most intend to line up our stomach with butter as we wait to see the sound and light display. I know for a fact that all events done on the drill square ground in front of the Chetwode are always nostalgic and memorable; it’s the ambience of the surrounding. No wonder how many passing out parades one may witness, the last one is always the best so also will be the sound and light display. As my wife and I walk down for dinner to the new South campus mess we always miss the old mess, it was so cramped that we met one another out of sheer lack of space.
80th Raising Day of IMA and OROP

OROP: ESM waits for Justice while Government squanders money on subsidies

Extending the 'one rank one pension' rule to ex-servicemen was long overdue
ET Bureau Oct 8, 2012, 06.42AM IST
The government has done well to accede to the long standing demand of ex-servicemen for 'one rank, one pension (Orop)'. But the manner of putting this principle to practice has invited criticism from ex servicemen.
This defeats any political gain the ruling coalition expected from the decision. It is still possible to discuss this with ex-servicemen and remove the niggles that remain. This corrects a long-standing injustice to the armed forces vis-a-vis their civilian counterparts.
The government had conceded the Orop demand for civilians close to a decade ago on the grounds of equity. It is iniquitous to differentiate between pension entitlement of retirees of the same rank and years of service merely on the basis of when they retire.
Having accepted the merit of this in one case, there was no justification to deny it to ex-servicemen. Many would argue the nation owes more to those who guard its borders than to civilian pensioners. Governments resisted the Orop demand because of the additional stress it would impose on the exchequer.
Unlike civilians who retire at 60 and, given the average life span of 70-80 years, can be expected to draw pension for an average of 10-20 years, military personnel retire earlier. As a result, they can be expected to draw pensions for much longer. The reality, moreover, is that the rules of the game are drawn up by civilians and that meant ex-servicemen had to wait for justice to be done.
As a paper that has long argued for fiscal rectitude and expenditure control, it might seem at odds for us to defend a package that is expected to cost about Rs 2,300 crore annually in its present form, a little more when the package is properly fleshed out and is likely to increase in future.
Except that we have never stood for a blanket clamping down on expenditure as much as for rationalisation and wise prioritisation of public expenditure. Between subsidies on diesel and cooking gas of over Rs 1.5 lakh crore and other subsidies, the Rs 2,300-crore bill on account of higher pension to ex-servicemen, there is no doubt which is more deserving. In terms of hard numbers, the amount is almost insignificant. But as a long-overdue * gesture, its significance cannot be underestimated.
Extending the 'one rank one pension' rule to ex-servicemen was long overdue

India hit by Corruption Bombs

October 10, 2012, 9:45 a.m. ET
India Plans Changes in Anti-Corruption Law By ROMIT GUHA
NEW DELHI--India's government is planning to amend the country's anti-corruption law to plug its loopholes as well as to add provisions to book corporates that fail to prevent bribery and protect honest officials, the prime minister said Wednesday.
The reforms initiated in the early 1990s did reduce many corrupt practices, but the subsequent, faster economic growth led to newer opportunities for corruption, Dr. Manmohan Singh said in a speech to the federal agencies that investigate corruption cases.
While the corrupt should be "relentlessly pursued," the innocent shouldn't be harassed, he said.
Dr. Singh's speech comes in the backdrop of a slew of corruption allegations faced by the Congress party-led coalition government on issues ranging from allocation of radio bandwidth to the grant of coal blocks and the organization of the Commonwealth Games in 2010. The most recent issue involves allegations of corruption against the relative of a top ruling-party leader.
The government has denied any wrongdoing in all these cases. These allegations have left the government scrambling to contain the damage to its image rather than work on its legislative agenda. Many say officials were wary of taking decisions fearing they may come under the scanner at a later date or get pulled up by courts.
The government has promised not to protect those involved in wrongdoing. Several senior government officials and lawmakers, including a former telecoms minister in Dr. Singh's Cabinet, are facing criminal charges of conspiracy. They have all denied the charges.
"Experience has also shown that big-ticket corruption is mostly related to operations by large commercial entities," Dr. Singh said. "It is therefore also proposed to include corporate failure to prevent bribery as a new offence."
He said the amendment will seek to tackle a loophole in the existing law which doesn't have any provisions to prosecute the bribe provider.
New Delhi is working on a system to transfer benefits under social-sector programs directly to the bank accounts of people, instead of distributing them through government agencies, he said. It also plans to pay cash to consumers instead of some subsidies it currently gives to companies for selling their products at state-set prices. While reiterating the importance of fighting corruption, Dr. Singh said the "mindless atmosphere of negativity and pessimism" that is created over corruption can only damage the country's image and hit at the morale of the government.
India Plans Changes in Anti-Corruption Law

OROP: Koshyari Committee negated and fudged by Cabinet Committee

M 35 Palika Bhawan, RK Puram, Sector 13, New Delhi 110066. Dear Friends,
We had the pleasure of meeting the Hon'ble Raksha Mantri on 29 Sep, 2012 with regard to the latest announcement on OROP.
Brig Bhagwan Singh, Air Cmde Sushil Soni, Col Raj Singla, Lt Nar Singh Dass and Capt Mangal Singh were part of my Delegation.
The exchange of pleasantries were followed by the submissions we had gone to make. Before we however got down to talk about the problems, we presented the RM with a Memento commemorating the 30th Anniversary of our Association.
To begin with we presented him with a paper about the recent award prepared by our team led by Lt Nar Singh Dass, our Gen Secy on Pensionary Matters. This dealt with what we got as a result of this announcement in real terms. (Paper follows). This was prepared with whatever little information we had. We welcome comments from all of you on what we have stated so that the entire paper can be corrected to give as true a picture as possible.
We apprised him that what has been given is no where near OROP and it all tantamount to bureaucracy cheating us the Veterans and misleading the leadership.
He agreed that what has been given is not OROP but assured that they have given this much for now. More will follow.
We then submitted that the recent Koshyari Committee had worked out the expenditure of Rs 1300.00 crores for grant of full OROP. The Cabinet Secy's Committee has not even given 25 % of what OROP signifies and has announced the sanction of Rs 2300.00 crores, almost twice the amount required for meeting this one single most important demand of OROP for the last 31 years.
With this one stroke, not only they achieved their aim of denying us our rightful dues but also conveying to the leadership how generous they are, as against our demand of Rs 1300.00, they have sanctioned 2300.00 crores. Indirectly also conveying to the leadership how ungrateful and greedy we the veterans are that an amount of Rs 2300.00 crores also does not make us feel grateful to the Gov't and satisfied.
We also submitted what we feel, may have been done to bloat this figure-
Bureaucracy has been misleading the leadership for over 15 years on Rank Pay which the Fourth CPC had granted and very proudly denied to the Veterans by the bureaucracy. Recently the Govt lost that case. The Hon''ble Supreme Court has directed the Govt to pay the dues amounting to Rs 1600.00 crores within three months with interest. This being the Supreme Courts final order has to be carried out.
We submitted that obviously, the bureaucracy has clubbed this amount of Rs 1600.00 crores with another Rs 700,00 crores of the total amount of Rs 1300.00 crores required for OROP and made it Rs 2300.00 crores.
We then appealed to him to please have the matter investigated. Any body found guilty of misleading the leadership should be punished. We further appealed that the Gov't should also take appropriate action to find out the persons who were responsible for the sufferings of the veterans in Rank Pay case. Once they are identified they should not only be proceeded against but also made to pay the interest amount to the affected veterans.
I am glad to say that The Raksha Mantri gave us a very patient hearing and we expect that the more to follow comes up fast.
Lt Col Inderjit Singh
Chairman

LETTER TO RM ABOUT OUR ASSESSMENT OF THE OROP AWARD - 29 SEP, 2012
In July this year, after assessing the situation arising as a result of ongoing unrest in the Armed Forces, you were very truthful when you warned the Prime Minister about the possibility of things turning bad.
The entire Veterans community admired you for that as that was the strongest representation of our cause by any Raksha Mantri I had seen in the past thirty one years. Our hopes and aspirations rocketed sky high as it was the first time any body had ever put across the true picture about our legitimate demands. These were however short lived.
The first knock we got when the Prime Minister appointed a Secretaries Committee under the Cabinet Secretary to attend to our most legitimate and some very longstanding problems. The most important of these being OROP. When all this happened I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister and also sent you a copy. I enclose a copy for your kind information. I never expected it to reach his desk and I have been proved right.
The disastrous trends started showing up when there was no representation of the Armed Forces or Veterans in the Committee. The turning down of the appeal of even the three Chiefs on this issue was an ominous sign of impending disaster. Which did finally happen.
I wish to most emphatically state that over the past thirty one years, what ever we got, it was through the Congress Gov'ts. Other parties firstly did not understand our problems, when we did explain to them they flattered to deceive.
Since the Congress genuinely wanted to solve our problems they had developed a culture of forming committees with our representation on these, so that correct decisions based on facts are taken for solving our problems. Thus earning the sobriquet of being the most friendly party of the Armed Forces. This reputation is at stake with all the latest developments.
The High Level Empowered Committee, 1990 was the last one in which we were represented when we ensured that the bureaucracy did not get away with their lies. Many problems including OROP as a result got solved.
That is what the bureaucracy could not tolerate and set about creating a new culture of forming inter ministerial committees, Cabinet secretary's committees or a GOM in which we were left out to enable them to play havoc with every demand of ours. All such committees are set up to get rejection certificates of our demands by lying to the leadership. The more powerful the Chairman the more powerful the rejection certificate. In 2009 they got a certificate which they have been throwing at us. Now they have got another one which they will utilize to bury OROP for ever.
What they must be doing in the proceedings of the Committee is evident from the Rs 2300.00 crores expenditure on our demands they have sanctioned.
Recently Koshiary Committee had worked out the expenditure on grant of full OROP as Rs 1300.00 crores. They have not given us even a fraction of OROP but want us to believe that the expenditure on what trash they have worked for us is Rs 2300.0 crores. Can the leadership ask them to explain how this figure has been worked out.
I cant say for sure till I inspect the files, but what I can make out is that they fudged the figures to brow beat the leadership into accepting their views of rejecting OROP.
As you are aware, the Govt has finally lost the case with regard to Rank Pay after a prolonged litigation. The expenditure for that is Rs 1600.00 crores with which the bureaucrats can no more fool around as it has to be paid within three months Add to that Rs 1300.00 crores for OROP, the total works out to Rs 2900.00 crores. To my mind they have clubbed the Rank Pay amount with Rs 700.00 crores of the Rs 1300.00 crores of OROP and made it Rs 2300 .00 crores. Rs 1000.00 crores more than what Koshiary Committee recommended. How clever and a half. They killed two birds with one stone. First, they have achieved their aim of denying OROP and more than that they have impressed the leadership of their generosity in giving more than their dues. In fact what they have given is a matter of disgust.
By denying the Veterans OROP the bureaucrats have not only shattered the hopes and aspirations of the veterans, but have also added salt to their injured feelings.
I therefore appeal to you to kindly scrap the recommendations of the Cabinet Secretary and grant us all that is our legitimate due before it is too late. You perhaps would recollect that your promise of 21 Feb 2010, to give us full parity with Sixth CPC rates, is yet to be fulfilled.
Further start an inquiry for making an example of the bureaucrats responsible for lying to the leadership about OROP and delaying the dispensation of justice to the officers in Rank Pay case for more than 15 years.
That is the least we expect from our Messiah who took up our cause strongly earlier.
The Hon'ble Sh AK Antony The Raksha Mantri Govt of India New Delhi 110001
Letter to Our Prime Minister- OROP of 17, July 2012

Rank Pay: Whither Equity, Justice and Welfare?

"It is worrying that since 2003 1,018 soldiers have committed suicide and that the ‘causes were domestic problems, mental discord, stress and financial problems"
Ref: A recipe for Disaster by Arun K. Singh- The writer, a vice-admiral, retired as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam
Air Cmde Raghubir Singh(Retd) writes... 28/09/2012 - 02:21pm
Had the rank pay been given during late eighties we could have perhaps seen a few more smiles and earned a hug or two of our children by buying some sports goods we could ill afford at that time.What use is the devalued money which comes 25 years later when we have reached the fag end of our journey with teething troubles, poor eye sight & old age taking the toll otherwise? Six percent interest from whatever date does not interest most of us now. But what happens to those who did this' kolavri di' to an entire generation of officers lowering even their place in the Sun? Fixing every one virtually at the lower end of PB-4 has also been outsourced from the same dirty tricks deptt? Soldiers look upto the Govt for equity, justice and care and don't like to fight cases or come on streets. May be younger generation of leadership may realize it at some point of time.
We unnecessarily became victim of the Bofors gun-undoubtedly an outstanding gun of calibre which showed its mettle in the Kargil.Bigger tragedy was that its manufacturing documents for which we had paid heavily-had been gathering dust for two decades while we were hunting all over the smaller countries of the world to get 155x52 calibre gun or so. We have all the wherewithal, technology to produce arty guns & arty rockets but lure of the foreign has always come in the way. Indian Navy has excellent development programs backed by forward thinking. One of their bright officers had planned to convert old missiles into targets by modifying to supersonic regime. Dont really know if free gift of the aircraft carrier was good decision.
click here for more
Comments
The Army has no hope...
Rahul 01 Oct 2012 - 07:07
The Army has no hope. No wise Indian will join this lousy force. The Armed Forces in India is for the unemployed or people who live below Rs. 32 a day. Let any prospective candidate ask himself a simple question? Join the army for what? Protect what? Protect whom?
click here for more

Army pays Fake Encounter victim's family Rs 10 Lakhs

1997 CUSTODIAL DISAPPEARANCE CASE
Army approaches HC with compensation money for victim’s family
Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, October 9, 2012
Complying with the court directions in a 1997 custodial disappearance case, the Army has approached the High Court Registry with a cheque of Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the victim’s family.
Azizi Begum (63), the mother of Mushtaq Ahmad Dar of the Bemina Boatman Colony in Srinagar, had alleged that her son was taken into custody by 20 Grenadiers Unit of the Army in April, 1997, and was not seen thereafter. She had approached the High Court and filed a habeas corpus petition which was finally disposed of in her favour on March 25, 2011. Holding 20 Grenadiers of the Army responsible for the “enforced disappearance” of Mushtaq, the High court had directed the Union Defence Secretary to pay her a compensation of Rs 10 lakh.
However, as the Defence Ministry failed to comply with the HC orders and did not pay the compensation amount, Azizi Begum approached the High Court with a contempt petition in December, 2011. Subsequently, the court on August 23 this year directed the Defense Ministry to deposit the said amount along with the interest in five weeks.
“On September 29, we approached the High Court Registry with a cheque of Rs 10 lakh plus the interest amount for depositing it with the bank,” the standing counsel for the Union of India, Karnail Singh Wazir, told The Tribune. “However, we were directed by the registry to file an application with the High Court for depositing the money as according to the registry, the due date for depositing the money was September 28,” he said, adding that afterwards, an application had been filed before the High Court, which was listed this week.
The court verdict, a first of its kind in any disappearance case, was based on an inquiry into the incident conducted by the Additional Sessions Judge, Srinagar, which had held the Army responsible for the “enforced disappearance” of Dar.
2011 COURT ORDERS: Holding 20 Grenadiers of the Army responsible for the “enforced disappearance” of Mushtaq Ahmad Dar, the High court had directed the Union Defense Secretary to pay the victim’s mother, Azizi Begum, a compensation of Rs 10 lakh.
Army approaches HC with compensation money for victim’s family

Can P Chidambaram keep GDP at pace with Inflation?

October 9, 2012, 2:35 PM IST
IMF Cuts India Growth Forecast to 4.9%
In a speech last month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India’s economic growth could “collapse” to about 5% per year if the country can’t break free of a “policy logjam” and make advances in everything from manufacturing output to infrastructure development to agricultural growth.
Well, by that definition, the International Monetary Fund has just said India is in the process of collapsing. The IMF’s “World Economic Outlook,” released Tuesday, forecast 4.9% gross domestic product expansion in India in 2012, a downward revision of 1.3 percentage points from the July forecast — the worst mid-year recast by the IMF for any major economy.
The report said: “India’s activity suffered from waning business confidence amid slow approvals for new projects, sluggish structural reforms, policy rate hikes designed to rein in inflation, and flagging external demand.”
The government’s outlook, not surprisingly, is more bullish. Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told reporters Monday that he expected growth to rebound from the April-June level of 5.5% in coming quarters. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Chidambaram said he expects that India’s moves to allow greater foreign participation in a range of sectors from retail to aviation to insurance will buoy the economy, along with coming fiscal belt-tightening measures.
Indeed, the IMF does see the recent round of reforms having some impact – but it will take some time. “Improvements in external conditions and confidence––helped by a variety of reforms announced very recently––are projected to raise real GDP growth to about 6 percent in 2013,” the IMF report said.
India’s hard times aren’t out of step with the world. The IMF’s growth forecast for advanced economies including the U.S., Germany and U.K. is 1.3% for 2012; Brazil’s forecast of 1.5% represents a one percentage point downward revision.
But sub-5% growth in India has some very perilous implications for the country. Indeed, anything below 6% growth can lead to rising unemployment in a nation where millions of young people are joining the workforce each year. The Kelkar Committee, an expert panel that recently submitted recommendations to the finance ministry on fiscal policy, said growth of 6% could translate into 2.4% employment growth, too slow to keep up with 2.5% labor force growth.
Mr. Singh in his recent remarks to a Planning Commission meeting made it clear how high the stakes are. In making a case that policymakers need to break out of their state of gridlock, he said: “If this continues for any length of time, vicious cycles begin to set in and growth could easily collapse to about 5 percent per annum, with very poor outcomes on inclusion. I urge everyone interested in the country’s future to understand fully the implications of this scenario. They will quickly come to an agreement that the people of India deserve better than this.”
Amol Sharma is an India Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.
IMF Cuts India Growth Forecast to 4.9%
About P Chidambaram
His grand uncles and grand father were the Co-founders of Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, United India Insurance and Annamalai University. He is married to Nalini Chidambaram, daughter of Justice (Retd.) Kailasam, Supreme Court, and Mrs. Soundra Kailasam, a renowned Tamil Poet and author, who is a Senior Advocate and a tax lawyer practicing in the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court, primarily in litigation related to the Central Excise department of the Government of India. He has a son, Karti P. Chidambaram, who graduated with a BBA degree from the University of Texas, and a Bachelors in Law from Cambridge University. His son is also a politician in the Congress party and consultant and CEO of many companies. Chidambaram is an atheist. Click here for more...
Tail piece: Chidambaram as FM only sees $$ in FDI's... He is Master of Mathematics, Money and Magic!

NDA: Declining Contribution of Sainik Schools

Sainik schools decline in discipline and contribution to forces
The Tribune Chandigarh, September 30, 2012 by Vijay Mohan.
Set up to serve as feeder institutes to the National Defence Academy (NDA), Sainik Schools are now under the scanner for more than one reason. A general decline in the percentage of its students joining the NDA, increasing dropout rate and a sudden spurt in disciplinary and ragging cases are among the issues that have brought these institutes into focus.
The contribution of Sainik Schools towards the intake into the NDA has gone down from 30.75 per cent in 2008 to 25.18 per cent in 2011. According to figures listed in the report of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence released last month, these figures were 29.23 per cent in 2009 and 26.17 per cent in 2010.
While there has been a consistent improvement in the schools’ academic performance, a comparative analysis also revealed that on an average, only about 20 per cent of Sainik School students join the NDA whereas in the case of the Rashtriya Indian Military College – which has a similar charter to that of Sainik Schools – the figure was 76 per cent.
One reason for the low intake from Sainik Schools put forward by the Defence Ministry is that students leave the school after their class XII examinations. As they are not under the supervision of the schools, they could have less inclination to write the NDA entrance exam or to appear for the selection interview. Candidates need to pass class XII to join the NDA.
Conceived in 1961 and managed by the Sainik Schools Society, whose board of governors is chaired by the Minister of Defence, the objective of Sainik Schools is to motivate and prepare students to join the armed forces as officers by focusing on moulding and developing their overall personality.
There are 24 Sainik Schools located in 21 states across the country and they are funded jointly by the central and respective state governments. Funding is another issue plaguing these schools with many state governments failing to give due budgetary support.
The dropout rate of students in these schools – having a strength of over 12,000 – has also been fluctuating, moving from 885 in 2008-09 to 843 in 2009-10 and 1,009 in 2010-11. The biggest chunk of dropouts is due to parental requests, which has witnessed a consistent increase, with the figures being 544, 564 and 689 for the aforementioned three sessions.
More significantly, the number of dropouts on grounds of indiscipline saw a spurt from seven and six cases to 60 cases for these sessions. In the past three years, 13 students were expelled and 15 were suspended for ragging. -via The Tribune
Sainik schools decline in discipline and contribution to forces

Rank Pay: Unwinding the Bureaucratic Tangle

09 Oct 12
Dear Veterans,
Jai Hind.
I have received some important emails from Head of Pension Division of IESM. The emails are appended below for your information.
On behalf of you all I thank IESM in general and Pension Division of IESM in particular, for putting in all out efforts for the welfare of the veterans. Keep it up Gp Capt SS Phatak and all members of the Pension Division.
Regards
Chander Kamboj
MY third visit to CDA(O) Pune
From: Suhas Phatak
Dear All,
I visited office of CDA(O) Pune this afternoon to find out progress or otherwise on following pending issues:
1 Rank pay arrears after SC judgement
2 GOI letter dated 24 Sep 12 about further clarification on AI2/S/98.(Major's revised minimum guaranteed pension)
3 Enhancement of pension for officers.
Addl CDA(O) Pune was on leave today. I met Mr Agashe, Dy CDA and discussed Rank Pay case. As per him office of CDA(O) Pune is working out financial effect(burden) from whatever data is available which will be transmitted to higher authorities. By all estimates Govt will ask for some more time beyond three months.
Once Govt orders are issued CDA(O) will remit all arrears including gratuity, encashment leave salary difference if any directly to officers account submitted by him.
Action on point no 2 above will be taken suo moto by PCDA Allahabad by issue of Corr PPO.
Similarly PCDA Allahabad will action point no 3 by issue of Corr PPO.
It is now important that IESM Gov Body members at Delhi must find out about the progress on issue of Govt letters in question either from MOD or Law ministry etc. I am sending Form No 10E of Income Tax Act: Click here for submission as and when arrears are credited. Please examine this in detail and submit when you get arrears.
Regards,
Gp Capt Suhas Phatak(retd)

From: Suhas Phatak
Sent: 09 October 2012 18:20
To: cda-albd@nic.in
Cc: CGDA New Delhi-10
Subject: Govt letter dated 24 Sep 12
Dear Sir,
I have attached govt letter dated 24 Sep 12 which is now revising pension of Majors and equivalent ranks from IAF and Indian Navy authorizing them minimum guaranteed pension of Rs 25,700.00 wef 01 Jan 2006 in Pay Band -4. I was told by officers at CDA (O) Pune that your office will take suo moto action on this letter and issue Corr PPO in respect of all officers affected thus. This letter has not reached office of CAD(O) Pune as yet.
You are requested to confirm this and time frame for completion of this task. Second Addressee:- You are requested to clarify whether all those officers who have completed 15 years before 31 Dec 2005 in absorbed PSU/ Govt Dept / Ministry and who had opted for 100% commutation while joining such organization , will now be paid pension as per VIth Pay Commission at par with other officers of same rank and QS. This question has assumed importance with this letter and also decision of the Govt to enhance officers pension as per GOM's recommendations.

From: IESM Suhas Phatak
Sent: 09 October 2012 21:18
To: IESM
Cc: GB IESM
Subject: Points for GB Meeting on 15 Oct 2012
Dear all,
I may add some points.
A) check from min of Defence or min of Law about issue of all letters after PIB announcement.
B) letter to CGDA asking him not to pass the responsibility of payment of Arrears to Banks(PDA).
C) Letter to PCDA to prioritize issue of PPOs for Pre 2006 retirees in the order suggested earlier in one my e mails.
D) All CDAs must carry out special review of all F and F/BC PPOs for correctness of payment to widows.
E) Consult experts and take up with CBDT or Min of Fin for exemption of income tax while paying arrears of Rank Pay. Govt has shifted it's responsibility of paying interest from 01 Jan 86 to 01 Jan 2006, ie 20 years.
Regards,
Gp Capt Suhas Phatak(retd)
Comment: Further delay in Payment of Arrears should entail payment of arrears with interest from 1986 and not 2006. We need to approach the court again for extended delays.

ESM Welfare Thiruvananthapuram

State would favourably consider issues concerning ex-servicemen and service personnel:CM
Thiruvananthapuram 05-10-2012: Inaugurating the Civil-Military Liaison Conference, CM said that the State would favourably consider issues concerning ex-servicemen and service personnel.
He added that exemption in age criterion, weightage mark, and reservation for ex-servicemen would be considered in select posts apart from strengthening the functioning of ex-servicemen’s grievance redressal cells.
The Sainik Welfare Board should take up recruitment of kin of war heroes and those incapacitated during action to civilian posts in Defence establishments including the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) said the CM.
The State would ensure land for expansion activities of Army units stationed here, including handing over of 10 acres at Muttathara or Vithura for rehabilitation of ex-servicemen.
There are no hassles in handing over 70.40 acres near the Cochin international airport at Nedumbassery for the Coast Guard Air Enclave. The Army could prepare a consolidated list of land issues it faces, to be discussed in a separate meeting led by the Chief Secretary and the Collectors concerned, the CM said.
Civil Military liaison Conference

CPC's: Military Cheated in Fixation of Basic Pay

Ref: Army faces shortage of officers
COMMENTS:

Recently there was news that in police force there is huge shortage of officers, and now army too. In country with billions of population and unemployment among educated youth its hard to understand defence ministers logic.
from: ghanshyamGhanshyam Dwivedi Posted on: Sep 30, 2012 at 09:25 IST

As long as the bureaucracy continues to cheat the armed forces of their legitimate rights,parents will dissuade their children from joining the Force. In a judgement given on 4th Sept, the Supreme Court found fault with the implementation of the 4th CPC and ordered a payment to all affected personnel. The so- called steps towards One Rank One Pension is actually a disguised correction to a case of cheating in the 6th CPC recommendations where retired officers have lost a considerable amount in their pension fixation. To avoid paying a large amount of arrears this correction has been made prospective. Even if the case goes to the Supreme Court the UOI will try to waive of at least the interest burden. A retired Major lost over Rs.3500/-pm due to this. This coupled with Dearness Allowance has created a loss of nearly 4 Lakhs of rupees till now. Keeping these cases in mind the parents are apprehensive of their children joining the Armed Forces as they maybe cheated in future.
from: S N IYER Posted on: Sep 30, 2012 at 09:48 IST <>br>

Although pay structures in the armed forces have substantially improved in recent time, the honor & dignity associated with the uniform has taken a steep downward slide over the years.Earlier even the scions of the princely states used to deem it great honour to be officers in the armed forces -while now they all want to be in politics & why not. I do recall in the mid sixties a simple letter while commanding a unit to the District Collector could elicit favourable reply to resolve an airman's problem. Will it happen now-when feeling has gone around that one has to fight it out in the to get even rank pay after 25 years legal marathon. Govt must avoid bad publicity it is getting by ex servicemen coming on streets and improve service conditions substantially & restore the protocol as it was in the fifties. Soldiers must have their place in the society. Govt can take help of Defence Institute of Psychological Research of DRDO to find out why bright young men are avoiding career in the armed forces.
from: Air Cmde Raghubir Singh Retd Posted on: Sep 30, 2012 at 10:28 IST

Media Cover for Ghosts and Corrupt Bureaucrats in MOD

Ref: Army HQ nod to foreign firm under scanner
India: Emergency Defense Purchase
Tue, 2012-10-09 00:38 — editor
News Comments By S.G.Vombatkere**
The front page news report of a reputed national daily on October 8, 2012, is headlined “Army HQ nod to foreign firm under scanner”. A picture of retired Gen V.K.Singh with the caption “Ex-Army chief initiated 'emergency purchase'” and the subtitle “$100 mn Tender – MoD finds Bulgarian firm not an original manufacturer; Russia complains”, clearly targets Army HQ.
The news item concerns emergency procurement of anti-aircraft gun ammunition allegedly through an irregular selection procedure.
This needs to be viewed in the context of the then Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen V.K.Singh's April 2012 letter to the Prime Minister, in which he reported that there were military hardware obsolescence’s and deficiencies of ammunition and equipment seriously affecting the battle readiness of the army.
This letter got leaked to the media. Even though Gen V.K.Singh demanded that the source of the leak be punished because it is treasonable, and the Raksha Mantri (RM) said it is a “breach of national security”, bureaucrats in MoD/PMO are soft-pedaling investigation because the ghost that caused the leak is right there amongst them.
Among the questions that need to be asked are: “Why did Army HQ initiate emergency purchase of anti-aircraft (AA) ammunition?”; “Could not Army HQ have foreseen the requirement and projected it to MoD in the normal course?”; and, “Did glitches in procurement procedures result in inordinate delay and consequent shortage of AA ammunition, creating an emergency that would have serious operational repercussions?”.
Also, if there is a military engagement with another country, can any COAS simply pack up the AA guns and tell the PM or RM, 'You have not provided the ammunition'? It is well known that defense procurement procedures are bureaucrat-controlled and corruption is indulged in by those who are in control. This is not to absolve Army HQ or COAS of responsibility but to point out that the dominant role in all defense procurement is that of the MoD bureaucracy, specifically, the Defense Secretary.
It is only the COAS who would initiate emergency purchase precisely because that is the level of responsibility for national security. But the reporter apparently has not stopped to enquire why there was an emergency. Targeting Army HQ by oblique accusation of corruption has inadvertently provided cover to corrupt officials. In any case it would have been more appropriate to paste the Defense Secretary's picture with the news report.
Gen V.K.Singh's courageous, path-breaking and openly-declared condemnation of corruption among the nexus of corrupt bureaucrats and certain retired army officers, together with the unassailable honesty of RM A.K.Antony, have discomfited the MoD bureaucracy. Hence it is necessary for them to target Army HQ and Gen V.K.Singh to divert media glare away from them.
It is unfortunate that the media has been misled by information provided by MoD bureaucrats, without asking questions on the lines mentioned above. One sincerely hopes that there is no bureaucrat-media nexus in this case.
**S.G.Vombatkere served 35 years in the Indian army and retired with the rank of major general from the post of Additional DG in charge of Discipline and Vigilance in Army HQ, New Delhi. He is presently engaged in voluntary work and is a member of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). Asian Tribune
India: Emergency Defense Purchase
Related reading
Lt Gen Bhatia to probe MI unit set up by ex-chief Gen V K Singh

Tatra Scam: Will Tejinder Singh influence the Law Ministry?

CBI to file chargesheet against Rishi
Neeraj Chauhan, TNN Oct 5, 2012, 03.40AM IST
NEW DELHI: The CBI will file a chargesheet against Ravi Rishi and others in the Tatra scam and finalize the enquiry into the alleged bribe offer to former Army chief General V K Singh within few weeks.
According to sources, investigation into the Tatra scam is over and the agency is awaiting the reply of the legal department on a recent presentation given by former BEML chief V R S Natarajan, who had claimed that it was a licence agreement and not transfer of technology.
About the alleged bribery offer to V K Singh by Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh, CBI sources said they were taking legal opinion on the evidence collected to establish a link between Tejinder and Ravi Rishi. "We will decide whether to convert the preliminary enquiry into a regular case or not very soon," said an official. Officials said they would file a charge sheet without replies from Czech Republic and Slovakia.
CBI to file chargesheet against Rishi
Comment: Will the 3 scamsters and Conmen- Rishi, Tejinder and Natarajan be ever convicted? This is likely to take the Bofors route of intrigue- the no conviction route!

ESM gets a new definition

[To be published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub section (i)]
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, dated the 4th October , 2012
Amendment the Ex-servicemen (Re-employment in Central Civil Services and Posts) Rules, 1979: Click here
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2012 Proactive action by the Department of Personnel & Training : Definition of ‘Ex-Serviceman’ revised, ambiguities ironed out, categories expanded, proactive decisions taken.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) functioning under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, has again proved its pro-public and proactive approach.
All ambiguities emanating from the last revision of the definition of ‘Ex-Serviceman’ (as provided in the rules of 1979 last majorly amended in 1987) have been attempted to be rectified.
The notification for redefining the term ‘Ex-Servicemen’ has been issued and can be downloaded and accessed by clicking here.
On a first glance, the following are the apparent changes:

The new notification covers aspects of all level of posts, that is, Group A, B, C and D.

Those released on reduction of establishment are also now covered.

Territorial Army pensioners of both categories, that is, those who earn pension after continuous service or in broken spells, would be covered.

All gallantry awardees covered.

Boarded out recruits in receipt of disability pension covered.

Adjustment and modalities of reservation vis-à-vis other reserved categories fully explained and specified.

Age relaxation for all levels of posts specified unambiguously including for Competitive Examinations.
Though one major apparent slip-up that appears visible from the notification is that while personnel released with ‘attributable’ disabilities have been mentioned in the notification, those released with ‘aggravated’ disabilities have not been mentioned. Although in the case of personnel of the Army Postal Service (APS), both attributable and aggravated categories have been specifically mentioned. Perhaps the Services and the Ministry of Defence need to take this up immediately with the DoPT.
An earlier post on the definition of ‘Ex-Serviceman’ through the ages can be accessed by clicking here.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh at 10:14 PM
Original Post

OROP: Chiefs presentation not once but twice is double jeopardy

Dear Friends,
We have sent the following letter to all the Chiefs for doing the needful in getting our problems solved.
I do hope that they would take appropriate action to bring home the truth to the leadership which has never been found wanting.
The anxiety of the leadership to solve our problems was obvious from the MESSIANIC manner in which our Hon'ble RM took up the matter with the Hon'ble PM and the reaction of the Hon'ble PM in promptly appointing a Committee to solve our problems. All the papers that have been sent to you earlier and given below after the letter to the Chiefs were also sent to the Chiefs.
With best wishes
Lt Col Inderjit Singh

LETTER TO CHIEFS ABOUT OUR MEETING WITH THE HON'BLE RM
I wish to apprise you about our Meeting with the Hon'ble RM on 29 Sep 2012. I am therefore attaching all the papers about the Meeting for your kind information and necessary action.
2. The entire Veterans community is shattered by what has happened and expects you the Chiefs to get us our rightful dues by projecting the truth to the benign leadership as we have tried to do. My services are available if required by you.
3. The damage was done when all our respected Chiefs went and made presentation, not once but twice, to the Committee and demanded resolution of only few of our long list of anomalies pending with the Govt. It is sad that this happened when the entire Veterans community rejected it for our non representation on it. I am sure you will agree that it showed us all in a very poor light. Your request to the Leadership after first visit, for our representation, had no meaning as the Committee had already been legitimized by your presentations.
4. Whatever has happened cannot be undone. Now it is for you to figure out how you are going to repair the damage so that we can get our rightful dues.
5. We look forward to your positive response.
With best wishes,
Lt Col Inderjit Singh

Gen Bikram Singh, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM,VSM, SM, ADC**, Chief of The Army Staff

Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne, PVSM, AVSM,VM, ADC, Chief of Air Staff

Admiral D K Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM, ADC Chief of Naval Staff

OROP: Crying like babies will not help

1. I heartily congratulate Shailesh Ranade on the Action he suggested to Get our Right Dues than crying like babies.
2. The present UPA - II Government only understands Vote Bank and desperately needs to culitivate it. We the veterans form big vote bank. If Sri Aravind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan can form a political party why can not we follow suit. Our voice can only be heard if we can go to Parliament as MPs and not kneel before these corrupt politicians pleading for toffees. When we have such large veteran population in State like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Uttarkhand, Rajasthan and UP what prevents us from sweeping the polls. The Aam Admi is fed up with corruption in every walk of life. He wants clean people to govern him. Who is cleaner than the Fauji? When Rs 60,000 crores was doled out to help out farmers in 2011-12 (did not prevent large number of farmers to commit suicide inspite of loan waiver), the babus in IAS must have taken their calculators to know how much of it can be looted.
3. Look at the gross diversion of funds from all Government schemes which are meant to help out the poor. How much does a poor man get from this? Most of it goes into pockets of these politicians and civil servants at all levels.
4. There is an urgent need for the veteran community to get out of their cozy homes and do something which Anna Hazare and others are doing to mobilise the voters. We, the veteran community can do a better job.
5. Thanks Shailesh for waking me up from my deep slumber.
Brig (Retd) CS Vidyasagar
Bombay Sappers

On Sunday, July 15, 2012 6:50:30 PM UTC+5:30, Sailesh Ranade wrote:
Dear Veterans,
1. I have been closely following the situation with regard to OROP. I feel disgusted that veterans are crying like spoilt children for some fancy toy. This Tamasha has been going on for a few years now with no end in sight. In fact, we have brought this upon ourselves.
2. Now let us come to the main point. Veterans are not children. So stop behaving like children. If you think that the government (politicians and bureaucrats) is going to listen to you, forget it. Have you noticed that the government will notice you only if you do dharnas, hunger strikes, rallies and resort to things like rasta/ rail roko. See how every other department is holding the government to ransom.
3. So what needs to be done? Get your butts off the ground and pull your finger out. Following points come to my mind readily.

Bring in a Tall and Clean Leader. Only one relevant present day ICON comes to my mind. Gen VK Singh. He has no financial historical baggage.

If you cannot muster VKS, bring in Anna Hazare.

Join Forces. Today we have all sorts of Brigadiers, Major Gen, Lt Gen and even a Major who run different types of organisation. Come together, but keep the tainted out. I used to see a lot of Generals on TV in the last 6 months. Dump them. Also dump all the military Governors and High Commissioners. They were all corrupt.

Form a Political Party. Call it the “Patriotic Front“. I guarantee, at least 100 seats in Parliament if there are clean candidates. The number of ex-servicemen and servicemen is easily close to 4 million. There is no bigger homogeneous force in the world. If you include the paramilitary, it will easily touch 10 million. When in Parliament, make your own laws. Pass any bill in favour of the veterans.

The statement that “we will play by the rules” needs to be discarded. When your future is being decided by corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and judiciary, there is simply no future. Hold rallies, strikes, rasta roko etc. I am sure Delhi and surrounding areas can easily muster more people than what Anna Hazare and Ramdev could organise. And these two gentlemen brought the government on its knees.

As military veterans, we should consider all means. All is fair in love and war. The result will be quick and the lesson will sink in once and for all.
We don’t need cry babies on TV. Act now. The mood is against the government. India desperately needs a revolution. A minor storm by military veterans will be enough.
Please pass this to all.
Regards,
S Ranade

Gen Vijay Oberoi leads the Half Marathon

Dear All,
The War Wounded Foundation had participated in the Delhi Half-Marathon on Sunday 30 September 2012. A total of three officers, 1 JCO and 12 jawans, all disabled, ran in the Great Delhi Run, as a group and completed the full race. The distance was approximately seven km. The group of war disabled personnel was lead by me.
The NDTV had covered it. Clips were shown briefly a number of times in the news segments on 01 October 12.
The Chief Minister of Delhi had met our group before the commencement of the race.
A few photographs taken during the race are as above for your viewing.
Regards.
Gen Vijay Oberoi (Retd)
Comments: The RMS team and Readers congratulate Gen Vijay Oberoi and all the War Wounded Veterans who participated in the Half Marathon Run. Other ESM Organisations should popularise such events in all Metro Cities. These media events will enhance the prestige of the Military especially the Veterans. These positive events should replace protest rallies which are a waste of time. Let us run a Marathon for "One Rank One Pension".