Army Welfare Education Society WAT 2012

Army Welfare Education Society (AWES) WAT 2012 Notification Written Admission Test 2012
1. B.Ed programme (one year, full time, NCTE recognized)
2. Army centre of education (ACE)
3. Army college of Dental Sciences (ACDS)
4. Army college of Nursing (ACN)
5. Army institute of Nursing (AIN), Guwahati
6. Army institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology (AIHM and CT)
7. Army Institute of Technology (AIT):
8. Army Institute of Fashion and Design (AIFD)

Eligibility conditions
The applicants must fall into one of the following categories:

wards of serving Army personnel with minimum 10 years continuous service in the Army

wards of ex-Army personnel granted/awarded regular pension, liberalized family pension, family pension or disability pension at the time of their superannuation, demise, discharge, release medical board/invalided medical board. This includes wards of recruits medically boarded out and granted disability pension

Wards of ex-army personnel who have taken discharge/release after ten years of service

Adopted/step children and children of remarried widows
(a) adopted child of Army personnel who completed 10 years service, adopted at least five years prior to seeking admission
(b) step children are eligible provided they are born out of a wedding where at least one parent belonged to the Army and completed 10 years service
(c) Children of Widows of Army personnel who are born as a result of second marriage with army personnel. However, children of widows of Army personnel born out of remarriage with non-army personnel would not be eligible for admission

Eligibility criteria in special cases
Eligibility criteria for wards of Ex-Army Medical corps officers/Army Dental corps officers presently serving with Indian army/Indian Air Force; wards of only those ex-army medical corps/army dental corps officers presently serving with Indian Navy or Indian Air Force who have served with the Army for 10 years

Eligibility criteria for children of APS personnel (
a) Children of APS personnel classified as ex-servicemen as per govt of India, ministry of defence letter no. 9(52)/88/D(Res) dtd 19 July, 1989
(b) Children of those APS personnel who are on deputation and who have put in 10 years of service in the army
(c) Children of APS personnel, who are directly recruited into APS who have competed 10 years of service and of those who as per their terms and conditions of service, retired from APS without reversion to P&T department after completing their minimum pensionable service of which 10 years was in the Army

Eligibility criteria for children of MNS/TA personnel
(a) Children of only those members of MNS who have 10 years service as regular Army MNS officer or are in receipt of pension from the Army
(b) Children of only those TA personnel who have completed 10 years of embodied service

Centre for WAT: (except for AIT Pune, ACDS MDS, AIL and AIFD for PG)
Pathankot, Jalandhar cantt, Ambala, Delhi, Kota, Jodhpur, Dehradun, Lucknow, Bhopal, Pune, Secunderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Guwahati, Danapur

Prospectus and application form
Read qualifications and eligibility conditions carefully before applying.
To obtain prospectus and application form, send bank draft in favour of concerned institution directly, payable at station where institution is located.
Application form can also be downloaded from website of the institute
Prospectus also available at HQ AWES and HQs command (AWES cell) through demand draft only in favour of institute concerned
However, submitting of application and bank draft will be through hand/post only. For further details refer prospectus of respective colleges.
Conditions given in respective prospectus apply
Final year candidates may appear provisionally
Prospectus on sale by 15th January, 2012 (AIT 01st February, 2012) onwards
Last date of receipt of application: By 15th March, 2012
ACDS (PG): 15th February, 2012
With late fee: by 25th March, 2012; ACDS (PG): 20th February 2012, AIFD (PG) 31st May, 2012, AIT 15th May, 2012
More details: click here

AWHO sets standards of low transparency

Allotment of Army Flats in Panchkula
Consumer panel sees Adarsh-like scam
Vijay Mohan/TNS Monday, January 2, 2012, Chandigarh, India
Chandigarh, January 1
Holding that the allotment of some dwelling units made by the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) in its project at Sector 20, Panchkula, was in violation of rules, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has observed that the exercise was done “presumably with a view to accommodate favourites and everything does not appear to have been done in a transparent manner.”

Ruling that the system adopted to fix the seniority of applicants was arbitrary, the Commission held that if enquired into deeply “this may again turn out to be another scam like Adarsh Society at Mumbai.”

AWHO, the Commission observed, is an organisation created for the welfare of serving and retired defence personnel and expected to act in a transparent manner.

A resident of Sector 2, Panchkula, RK Dhingra had earlier moved the District Consumer Forum against the non-allotment of a flat in AWHO’s colony or failing which, in another similar project in Panchkula or Mohali. The forum had granted him relief following which the AWHO authorities appealed against the order before the commission, which dismissed the appeal.Dhingra’s prime grievance was that some senior officers who were much junior registrants in the scheme by virtue of their date of registration, were later placed higher in the waiting list. Dhingra, with registration number 98,248 was placed at serial number 15 in the waiting list, where as a Brigadier with registration number 1,04,727 was placed on top of the list.

The seniority in the list was to be determined on the basis of the date on the bank draft and allotment thereafter on the basis of a draw of lots.

The complainant, however, had been told by the AWHO authorities that he was the senior-most applicant on the waiting list. When he came to know that some allotments were made “illegally”, he approached the authorities and was told that his present position in the list was No. 1. He could either seek transfer or withdraw his registration as all dwelling units stood allotted and had been handed over.

On pointing out discrepancies, he was told that all but one unit had been handed over and formalities and paperwork were in process for the lone remaining unit.
AWHO: Consumer panel sees Adarsh-like scam

Can Canteen Profits be used for Welfare of Veterans?

Audit finds lapses in defence canteen operations
New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) India's audit watchdog has found lapses in financial and business operations and the pricing and quality of goods of the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) that sells household products at cheaper than market rates to armed forces personnel and their families.
The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, tabled in the Lok Sabha Friday, says the 3,600 unit-run canteens (URCs), or retail outlets, of the CSD across the country have been kept out of the "purview of parliamentary financial oversight as they are considered to be regimental institutions".
This despite the fact that these URCs get soft loans and quantitative discounts through the CSD from the Consolidated Fund of India, it says.
"Neither the budget documents nor the proforma accounts of CSD reflect the operations of the (URCs) that are also not subject to the accountability regime for operations funded by the Consolidated Fund of India," the report says.The CAG said it was denied access to the URC records by the Army Headquarters in Delhi "in spite of repeated requests".
The matter was taken up at the level of the defence minister too but to no avail.
In the interest of transparency, the operational results of the units should be disclosed in the proforma accounts of CSD after ensuring that the units follow uniform accounting principles, the CAG has recommended.
This would enable the financial statements of CSD to provide a "true and fair view of the complete operations of the organisation".
Praising the CSD for its 55 percent increase in gross turnover (Rs. 6,955 crore in 2008-09 from Rs. 4,481 crore in 2003-04), the report says the gross and net profit however had not shown commensurate increase during this period.
"This was mainly due to increase in cost of goods purchased for sale as also increase in quantitative discount given to the units."
It says that evidence indicated that grants given to various organisations of the armed forces out of CSD profits did not follow the provisions of General Financial Rules (GFR) of the government.
"Grants were given to organisations without even insisting on application for funds. Statement of accounts was never sought before sanctioning the grants. Receipt of utilisation certificates was not watched, as required under GFR. Utilisation certificates were never insisted from major recipients namely the army, navy or air force for the grants provided."
The proforma accounts prepared by the CSD did not follow the generally accepted regimen of financial reporting, it said.
During the six years from 2002-2003 to 2007-08, Rs. 883.46 crore was transferred in the form of quantitative discount from the Consolidated Fund of India to the URCs.
Evidence also indicated that benefit of quantitative discount (QD) has never been passed to the consumer.
"Such discount could not be viewed as a trade discount as units operated in a captive market with pricing determined in accordance with the existing policies. QD was in fact another way of transferring money from CFI to non-public fund without conforming to the provisions of the GFR," the report says.
Audit finds lapses in defence canteen operations
Related Reading
Forces, CAG lock horns over audit of unit run canteens
Canteen Stores Department (India) Demystified

Army College of Medical Sciences: Admission Procedure Violates Equality

“Private non-minority colleges can't have 100% reservation” The Hindu New Delhi, May 15, 2011
Private non-minority unaided veteran educational institutions can't have 100 per cent share or a right to acknowledge students of their choice from usually a sold amicable group, incompatible all other students from being deliberate for admission, a Supreme Court has held.

A Bench of Justices B. Sudershan Reddy and S.S. Nijjar was environment aside a process of a Army College of Medical Sciences (ACMS), New Delhi, to distribute all seats to wards of stream and late Army crew and widows of Army personnel, supposing they compete in a Common Entrance Test controlled by suitable authorities for acknowledgment to medical colleges in a National Capital Territory of Delhi.
The Bench hold that a grant postulated by a Delhi supervision permitting a ACMS to fill 100 per cent seats with wards of Army crew “violates a simple beliefs of approved governance.”
Justice Reddy, essay a judgment, said: “It is now a well-settled component of a inherent jurisprudence that Article 14 does not merely aspires to yield for a adults small grave equality, though also equivalence of standing and of opportunity. The goals of a nation-state are a securing for all adults a companionship assuring a grace of a sold and a togetherness of a nation. If a publicly offering use follows a sold order that achieves a same or identical consequences as a restricted discrimination, and tends to continue a effects of such discrimination, afterwards it would violate a component of concrete equality.”

The Bench said:
“In a box of admissions to colleges, it is an concurred fact that a basement of supposed comprehensive abilities, we would finish adult selecting some-more students from improved amicable and educational backgrounds, thereby foreclosing or almost truncating a probability of people in such disadvantaged groups from being means to benefit entrance to a critical component of complicated life that grants grace to a individuals, and thereby to a organisation as a whole, both in this generation, and in destiny generations.
“If a immeasurable infancy of a youngsters, generally those belonging to disadvantaged groups, is denied entrance in a aloft educational institutions in a private sector, it would meant that a immeasurable infancy of youngsters, notwithstanding a naturally equal placement of talent and ability, belonging to disadvantaged groups, would be left but entrance to aloft preparation during all. That would consecrate a state of amicable puncture with a intensity for flame that would be on an unthinkable scale. The fact that non-minority unaided educational institutions insist on ‘social disadvantages blind’ acknowledgment policies is explanation that they are not recognising a loyal purpose of preparation as an occupation.”

‘Illegal, ultra vires’
The Supreme Court said: “The acknowledgment procedures devised by a Army College of Medical Sciences, Delhi Cantonment, for revelation students to a initial year MBBS march from a pre-defined source, forged out by itself and a primogenitor society, are bootleg and ultra vires a Delhi Act 80 of 2007.”
It destined a authorities to acknowledge a command petitioners to a initial year of MBBS march in ACMS “if a command petitioners still so desire, for they have been deprived of their legitimate right of acknowledgment to a march for no error of theirs, notwithstanding a arrange cumulative by them in a CET by formulating supernumerary seats. However, we make it transparent that a admissions already done by a Army College of Medical Sciences are saved and shall not be influenced in any demeanour whatsoever.”
The Indian Medical Association and some students challenged a acknowledgment process of a ACMS. After a Delhi High Court inspected a policy, appeals and command petitions were filed in a Supreme Court doubt a policy.
“Private non-minority colleges cannot have 100% reservation”
Read comments by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh

Do Military Welfare Organisations come under the ambit of Consumer Protection Act?

Impact of Consumer Protection Act becoming Perceptible: Prof. Thomas
Thursday, December 23, 2010 17:33 IST
The impact of Consumer Protection Act is now perceptible in the operations of providers of goods and services. This was stated by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution while inaugurating the National Consumer Day function here today.

The Minister said “In the Government and Public Sector we now see several Regulators, Ombudsman and grievance redressal mechanism in place, we can also discern the operation of consumer grievance redressal system in the private sector. This, to my view, is due to the proactive approach adopted in the Consumer Protection Act, by bringing the consumer rights in the forefront.”

Prof. Thomas said, “In India it is not the legislative measures that are lacking in providing the consumer with the mechanism or the enabling environment for protecting their rights. The challenge is in the strengthening of the administrative mechanism in implementing such measures. This can be achieved by striking a balance between the health of the economy and that of the consumers.” He said, the responsibility lies on the stakeholders, in particular the government and VCOs to crate awareness about the existence of the redressal mechanism and laws protecting consumer interests. This will not only empower the consumers, but also smoothen the process of policy implementation, the Minister stressed.

On the consumer responsibility which is this year’s theme of National Consumer Day, The Minister said that introduction of consumer responsibility should have a salutary impact on the growing market economy in India as well as on its environment. Prof. Thomas asked the higher income groups to work towards environment protection as they are in a good position to influence the other sections of the population.

Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Shri Rajiv Agarwal in his address stressed on the need for concerted efforts by all the stakeholders for educating the consumers. He said, Government has taken up a number of activities and schemes for creating consumer awareness in the country. The ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ slogan is now well known for informing the common man of his rights as consumer.

President, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Mr. Justice Ashok Bhan, in his key note address, said that it is possible to bring down the pendency of consumer dispute cases to zero level if proper infrastructure and logistical support is provided to dispute redressal machinery. MP:SB:CP: consumer day (23.12.2010)
Impact of Consumer Protection Act becoming Perceptible: Prof. Thomas
Question: Do Military Welfare Organisations (like AWHO, AWES, CSD, AWWA etc) come under the purview of Consumer Protection Act?

Two defence welfare societies under cloud

Sandeep Ashar, TNN, Dec 8, 2010, 05.12am IST
MUMBAI: Even as the CBI probes the role of retired generals and politicians in the Adarsh housing society scam, two more complexes set up originally for the welfare of defence personnel and war widows in Navi Mumbai have now courted controversy.

The two societies- Raghunath Vihar Army Welfare Society (RVAWS), which has 534 flats in 13 multi-storey buildings in Kharghar's Sector 14; and the Army Welfare Society (AWS) Dara Enclave, which has 518 flats in 11 buildings and 38 row houses in Nerul's Sector 9—are housed on Cidco plots allotted at concessional rates. Their occupation certificates were granted in 2002 and 1995, respectively.

The Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) —a Delhi-based welfare society formed by serving defence personnel which constructed the complexes to provide low-cost housing to servicemen and war widows— has served legal notices on the managing committees of the two societies, asking them to refrain from violating regulations laid down by AWHO at the time of allotment.

The bone of contention is the transfer of land and ownership of the plots. The AWHO has opposed steps taken by the societies to register themselves under the Maharashtra Cooperative Housing Society Act, 1960 (MCHSA, 1960). The move is being seen as an attempt to acquire conveyance of the plots. While AWS has already processed an application to be registered as a cooperative housing society (CHS) with the registrar of societies after getting a go-ahead from Cidco, the general body of RVAWS has also approved a proposal along similar lines.

AWHO advocate A K Tewari has threatened legal action against the societies.
In a legal notice, Tewari has said these were already registered as welfare societies under the Society Registration Act XXI, 1860, and therefore could not be re-registered under the MCHSA, 1960. The notice was sent to RVAWS on November 22, 2010; it was issued to AWS on September 30. Colonel P R Sirohi, secretary for managing director of the AWHO, has also written to the registrar of societies, asking it to refuse any registration request from the societies. The societies, though, insist the CHS formation was vital to overcome "practical difficulties in the day-to-day maintenance of the complexes". Both have decided to oppose the notice.

Umesh Sharma, chairman, AWS, said their current registration— that of a welfare society under the Bombay Public Trusts Act— did not permit maintenance of housing societies.

Even colonel (retd) Shashidharan, secretary, RVAWS, said no specific rules were laid out for housing maintenance in the case of a welfare society. Refuting this, a senior AWHO official said, "Tasks pertaining to maintenance of a society and its development could easily be performed using provisions of the 1860 Act." A few members of both the societies hold this opinion too. Col (retd) T S Tanwar, a resident of AWS, said the original transfer deed stated that the society was completely owned by AWHO and that society members could only maintain it. "No transfer of interest can take place."

A RVAWS member alleged the re-registration was aimed at acquiring rights to sell additional FSI and TDR rights to private developers, a charge refuted by office bearers of both societies.

It is AWHO's decision to allow civilians to purchase flats in the societies which is being blamed for the mess. As AWHO has collected charges for the flat transfers, its claim of being a "welfare organization functioning on no profit basis" is being questioned.
Read more: Two defence welfare societies under cloud - The Times of India
AWHO Demystified

Corruption in Armed Forces can be reduced by outsourcing its Welfare activities to the ESM Organisations

Indian Armed Forces commercial empire is generally termed as "welfare" activities and the main beneficiaries are the officer cadre as it it is solely controlled by them. Moreover, these types of welfare activities fall under the Indian Society Act enacted in 1860 which is itself an obsolete ACT but still in vogue. What are then the activities?

1. Canteen Stores Department
2. Army Welfare Housing Organisation
3. Army Wives welfare Association
4, Army Welfare Education Society

The other commercial activities include agriculture, farming, dairy, manufacturing, land/ building leasing/ rentals, wet canteens, military contracts/ builders, investment of Regimental Funds in Banks and other services/ activities. These activities has growth structure from unit/ sub unit level up to the Army Headquarters.

The Capital accrued from profits is used for the personal benefit of the military fraternity. It refers to all activities that transfer resources from the state to an individual or a group within the military. These activities do not figure in the defence budget nor are they subject to the normal accountability procedures of the state. They are either directly controlled by the AHQ or enjoy its implicit or explicit patronage. It is here that there is scope for misuse of funds, sycophancy and corruption at all levels.

CSD Canteens
Need to check default in services
CSD sans consumer protection
CSD restricts mobility of ESM
Travails and torment of ESM on procuring CSD consumer goods

AWWA
Army deserts AWWA
Welfare of troops: AWWA and AWHO?

AWHO
AWHO Demystified

AWES
Quality Education at Affordable Cost

Ex-Servicemen Population
A total of 13,95,819 ex-Servicemen and 2,56,382 widows of the Service personnel were registered with various Zila Sainik Boards in the country in June, 1997. The ex-Servicemen population is mainly concentrated in the States of Uttar Pradesh (2,45,195), Punjab (1,78,932), Haryana (1,38,898), Maharashtra (1,20,614), Kerala (1,18,967), Tamil Nadu (96,870), Rajasthan (89,666) and Himachal Pradesh (73,163).

Ex-Servicemen need to be rehabilitated in civil life after their release from the Services on account of their truncated career in the Armed Forces. About 55,000 service personnel are retired/released each year. (Sadly Armed Forces seldom employ Ex Servicemen in its own Welfare Organistions.)
Resettlement and Welfare of Ex Servicemen

Outsourcing
Outsourcing these welfare activities to Ex- Servicemen Organisations will greatly enhance and improve the Combat Effectiveness of the Armed Forces as combat personnel are relieved from welfare related activities. ESM are well trained in welfare activities and hence are capable of providing efficient services. Employing ESM is itself the greatest welfare oriented service which the Armed Forces should implement before approaching the Government for Second Career for our Sepoys, NCOs and JCOs.

Antony inaugurates Army College of Medical Sciences

Defence Minister Shri AK Antony inaugurated the Army College of Medical Sciences today at Delhi Cantt.

The College started functioning from academic year 2008-09. It offers 4½ years MBBS for the award of Degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, following one year compulsory internship. The college is affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi and approved by Medical Council of India. The annual intake of the College is 100 students. ACMS and other affiliated colleges of AWES have unique character in that candidates are from all regions, religions, castes and classes. There is no quota of any kind and no reservation on any basis. Admission is purely on merit. The students passing out of the college will be joining the Army after successful completion of the course, subject to their suitability, merit and on the vacancies available.

Chief of Army Staff mentioned that AWES is doing a yeoman service for the education of wards of Army personnel through educational institutions spread throughout the country and ensuring quality education at affordable cost.

While inaugurating the Medical College, Honourable Raksha Mantri appreciated the excellent infrastructure and state of art building of ACMS and mentioned continued support of Government of India to the Army to open more educational institutions for their wards. He also lauded the efforts of Army Welfare Education Society for spreading literacy in the country.
Defence Minister inaugurates Army College of Medical Sciences