Pension enhancement to beat inflation: OROP made POOR

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012
Cabinet approval granted to pensionary part of the report of the Committee of Secretaries
The cabinet has today approved the pensionary part of the PM appointed Committee of Secretaries.
What has been accepted and promulgated is the same as was placed on this blog on 09 August 2012. Click here.
An official press release can also be accessed by clicking here.

Service pension for various ranks shall now be the following:
For Junior Commissioned Officers and Other Ranks (JCOs/OR). Add two years in the existing tables which can be accessed by clicking here. For example, to get to know the basic pension now admissible at 15 years, the amount reflected at 17 years will be reckoned now.

For Officers: The admissible basic pension for pre-2006 retirees shall be as below:
Lieut: Rs 13,500
Capt: Rs 15,350
Maj : Rs 18,205
Lt Col: Rs 26,265
Col: Rs 27,795
Brig: Rs 29,145
Maj Gen: Rs 30,350
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh at 9:50 PM
Click here for Maj Navdeep's Original Post
Related Tribune News
Govt moves closer to one rank, one pension; clears Rs 2,300-cr package

Re Employed Defence Pensioners: MSP forms part of Fixed Pay

Department of Personnel and Training (DOP&T), has considered the question of inclusion of Military Service Pay while fixing the pay of re employed defence pensioners. It is noted that as per existing orders, for pre- 2006 retirees rank pay is included as a part of pay but for post -2006 retirees, the MSP is not reckoned in the pre-retirement pay for the purposes of pay fixation on re-employment.

Therefore, the Ministry has decided that since the element of MSP is not reckoned in the pay fixation on re employment, it need not be reduced from the pension either. Hence. In respect of all those Defence officers/ personnel, whose pension contains an element of MSP, that need not be deducted from the pay fixed on re-employment.

For further details, download circular No. 3/19/2009 Estt. Pay II dated 08.11.2010: Click here

Courtesy GConnect

SCPC: Recommendations Skewed by IAS manipulators

Sixth Pay Commission comments dated Oct 2008 reproduced for the information of our Readers
Air Marshal Savur has, indeed, done eveyone of us a great service by correctly analysing and very cogently articulating the perfidious role played by Ms. Sushma Nath in skewing up the recommendations of the VI Pay Commission, aprops the Armed Forces and the Veterans, while concurrently feathering the nests of the IAS or the Indian Anomalies Service and the Indian Farce Service. Thank you, Air Marshal.

Unfortunately, in the heat of discussions and the scramble to get the wrongs righted, all of us have overlooked the root cause of all the trouble, the Armed Forces and in particular the Veterans, are now saddled with. In order to set things right and surgically lance the abscess of IAS fiddling and fudging, it is necessary to make an example of the Committee of Secretaries and Sushma Nath, in particular. Concurrently, it is also necessary to point out that, in failing to reconvene the VI Pay Commission to consider and decide upon the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries, the implemented VI Pay Commission award is legally untenable.

Logically, therefore, it appears that matters can only be set right by filing a Writ, in either the Delhi High Court or the Supreme Court and bring out the entire perfidious role played by Sushma Nath and the Committee of Secretaries (COS). Here, it wll be necessary to bring out the increases the IAS and the IFS have given themselves over and above what had been recommended by the VI Pay Commission and as approved by the Union Cabinet.

This was, very lucidly and in great detail, brought out and documented by 'Outlook India' immediately after the announcement by the PM regarding the VI Pay Commission. This will set the 'Cat among the Pegions' and then, the IAS, IFS, Sushma Nath, and the COS, will really have to scramble to effect damage control, as things start unraveling, without let or hindrance. A request will have to be made to the Court to appoint a Court Commission under a Judge of the Apex Court or the High Court to conduct an enquiry and report back for action, as deemed fit by the Court. And, that is the time to push for the Defence Services Pay Commission apart from other matters!

Here below, I am extracting the details rgarding the 'Outlook India Article' ibid from the reply given by me to Shekar Gupta of Indian Express, in response to his preposterous article on the Sevice Chiefs, way back in October 2008:

Quote
"Having said my piece, out of anguish and deep hurt, it is time to bring to your kind notice the fraud that the IAS and the IFS Mandarins have perpetrated on the nation by giving themselves fat raises, not authorised by the Union Cabinet! I am furnishing herewith, a link: click here that I have taken from OUTLOOK INDIA Online which I had accessed yesterday, 04 October 2008. In addition, a copy of the contents of the link, is also separately furnished as a document and given as an Attachment. Your paper has earned a very good and well earned reputation for investigative reporting. Kindly, therefore, investigate the facts as brought out in the article in OUTLOOK INDIA and pursue the issue like a bloodhound, for inquiry by a Commission of Enquiry, headed by a Judge of the Supreme/High Court, known for his independence and professional integrity and thereafter, for such accountability, as may be necessary, under the Law of the Land. Here, it is very necesssary that, all those bureaucrats involved in the VI Pay Commission process, irrespective of their status or pre-eminent position, be made answerable, so that such a fraudulent act is never, never attempted again by any other person, howsoever high he/ she may be.

In doing this, you will be doing a great service, not only to the the country and the Armed Forces but more definitively, redeeming yourself from the wrong that has been done by your article ibid to the Services, the Veterans and the Indian Republic.
Veteran Christopher D'Silva

Comment: Now that the Anomalies Committee has been laid to rest, the IESM and all other Ex- Servicemen Organisations need to jointly expose the Fraud Committed on the Nation by the IAS Predators though the Judicial and Legal route confirming to the rules of the land. The opportune time has also come for activating the Military Pay Commission immediately to address all the anomalies created by the SCPC in respect of Pension for the Veterans

SCPC: Indian Military downgrades MNS Pay Band

Dear Colonel,
Let me express my heart felt thanks to you, for publishing the articles submitted by my team members. We the MNS Veterans, have also started a blog, the title is 'Indian Army Military Nursing Service'. The URL is mnscorps.blogspot.com

The reason for starting this forum is to spread awareness among the armed forces personnel about the 'Military Nursing Services' in India as well as abroad. Due to the general lack of understanding about 'army nurses', there is always a reluctance from the authorities side, for any progressive change to our Nursing Services.

Any attempt for the upliftment of the Nursing Services are being projected as an attempt by the Nursing Officers to claim equality with the AMC Doctors. Let me borrow the words of an anonymous reader, "There is no such thing as 'Nurse-Doctor equality'. It exists only in the 'wildest imaginations of some AMC Doctors'. The only real issue is the 'integration of Military Nursing Service as a Corps of regular Army'; not imaginably equating Nurses with the Doctors". It is being made out that the army nurses are plotting to take over the Armed Forces Medical Services. But on our part, we just want to nurse our soldiers and families as we did for the past 121 years; but with a little more pride. Presently, we are nothing but aliens in the Army, being treated as mere scum on which anybody can ride over.

Just one example. The 6th Pay Commission recommended the MNS cadre the same pay band and grade pay as other officers. However, the COAS and CNS had written to the RM to reduce the MNS Officers pay. The govt. had succumbed to their pressure tactics and now we are placed on a lower grade pay and even pay band for certain rank.

There is no one in the Army who is willing to listen to our problems. They all claim that, the Nurses are given Commissioned Officer rank only in the Indian Army, no where else in the world the Nurses are Commissioned Officers! We don't want to prove anybody wrong. Our aim is let everyone knows the truth and the change will come gradually.

I request your help in educating the armed forces personnel about the Nursing Services.
Thank you, with regards
Brig Jasbeer Kaur (Retd)
MNS Blog

Question
Why should Director General Medical Services downgrade the MNS Pay Band which has been recommended by the Sixth Central Pay Commission and approved by the Government? This seems to be an self inflicted injury of the Military Services, the scars of which will remain scathed forever. ESM fighting for Pension Parity and Armed Forces Medical Services cutting their own feet. Let the Armed Forces upgrade not degrade themselves- Ajai Vikram Singh Committee recommendations in reverse gear. A sad commentary indeed!

Retired MNS Officers are ideally suited for manning ECHS Polyclinics
MNS Officers are truly dedicated, technically sound and Nursing professionals. They are the most competent to provide health care for all veterans. I am yet to see a single retired MNS officer employed by ECHS!

I feel cheated: Military Rank and Status Irrational and Arbitrary

Friday, 19 December , 2008, 12:49
My father Daroga Prasad Rai, who was Chief Minister of Bihar in 1970, motivated and encouraged me to join Sainik School Tilaiya with a view to make me join Armed Forces as an officer.

He always spoke of the Indian Armed Forces with the highest regard. At that time I was only about nine years old. At that impressionable age I became highly motivated.

I do not deny that I was thrilled by the prospect of joining the most noble profession, where one gets a chance to make the supreme sacrifice for his country.

Accordingly I competed and joined Sainik School Tilaiya. But I did not want to leave any stone unturned in my ambition to become an Army Officer. When I came to know about Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun (RIMC), which was considered to be the best, I competed and joined the RIMC in January 1973.

Even though my initial enthusiasm had not waned, by the time I reached 11th standard, with whatever understanding I had, I started enquiring about a career in the Armed Forces.

My seniors who were at the Indian Military Academy by then, fed me some comparisons. First, they showed me that all the Class-I Services officers (including IAS and IPS) started their career at a basic salary of Rs 700/- per month, whereas in the case of Armed Forces officers it was Rs 750/- per month. (I later came to know that this extra Rs 50/- was special disturbance allowance, which was merged with basic pay by the Third Pay Commission).

Second, they also showed me the orders where a Major was equated with an IAS Officer with not less than 12 years of service. The obvious conclusion, which will be drawn by any 16 or 17-year-old boy, would be that the Army as a career was almost equal to the IAS, and certainly better than the IPS or other Class-I central services.

Having convinced myself, I put in my best in the NDA exam, and ranked eighth in the final merit list. After successfully completing my training at NDA Khadakwasla and IMA, Dehradun, I was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in June 1981 in the 7th Battalion the Sikh Regiment, on my own choice i.e., after exactly 11 years of hard training and spartan living. But due to an injury, attributable to Military Service, I was placed in a permanent low medical category. Consequently, I was transferred to the Army Ordnance Corps in 1988 i.e., after seven years of regimental service in Infantry. On transfer I was posted to the Ordnance Depot, Shakurbasti, Delhi. It was here I learnt that whatever I had been thinking about the career in the Indian Army was wrong.

In the Ordnance Depot, I discovered that the JCOs who are Gazetted Officers (I have seen the Gazette Notification of JCOs) are equated with non-gazetted civilian employees and that too of Class-III i.e., Group-C. The point has only been made to emphasise the arbitrariness and irrationality of orders regarding the relativity of ranks. And as the de facto equation stands today, there cannot be any service with worse career prospects than the Army except some Group-B services.

But is this the result of a “steep pyramidal hierarchy” as is often claimed? No. It is the result of a conscious effort by the bureaucracy to degrade the services ever since independence. To undo this, i.e., if the Government is sincere, the solution is to revert to the pre-A V Singh Committee implementation stage and reintroduce the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, and to offer one-rank one-pay scale in the standard pay scales as was applicable to all the Organised Central Group-A Civil Services ( erstwhile allied services).

Till recently, the Warrant of Precedence stated that a Major is equal to an IAS Officer with not less than 12 years of service and a Superintendent of Police with not less than 15 years of service.

The status of Army officers was further degraded as per the underlying thrust of the Sixth Pay Commission, at the behest of bureaucracy. Why are these facts not disseminated to the young aspirants to the Armed Forces? If bureaucrats and policemen are higher in rank and status, then why are Army officers debarred from taking the IAS and IPS exams? I do not think that anyone today, if he is aware of of these facts, would join the Army, except to earn hsi bread. As for myself, had I known this, forget the Sainik School or RIMC, I would have never joined the Army. The relativity in rank and status is irrational and arbitrary, against the letter and spirit of the Constitution and violates my fundamental rights.
By Lt Col A K Rai (Retd)
An alumnus of Sainik School Tilaiya, Rashtriya Indian Military College, Deharadun, NDA, Khadakwasla, the author was commissioned into the Sikh Regiment in Jun 1981. he was transferred to the AOC in 1988. He took premature retirement after serving the mandatory period, he now works as the Chief Administrative Officer of a 150-bed hospital in Patna.
Why Do I Feel Cheated?
Cheated yes: Answers with Proof of Relative Pay Tables?

After Lt Cols, govt approves higher pay for Lt Gens

Three days after implementing higher pay for Lt Cols, the government on Friday night approved of higher wages for lieutenant generals under the Sixth Pay Commission putting them at par with director generals of police, a key demand of the armed forces.

The defence ministry conveyed the government's decision to the Armed Forces headquarters in a letter which comes nearly seven months after the union cabinet approved the Sixth Pay Commission implementation in August last year, sources in the services' headquarters told PTI here.

Nearly 50 three-star officers, who are Lt Gens in the Army, Air Marshals in the IAF and Vice Admirals in the Navy, would benefit from the government move to place them in the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG) Plus scales.

About 33 per cent of the total number of Lt Gen-rank officers would be receiving the new pay scales at par with the DGPs of state police and central paramilitary forces.

There are approximately about 150 Lt Gen-rank officers in the three services. Among them, the Army, Navy and Air Force Commanders, who are chiefs of the Service's Commands, and vice chiefs of the respective forces are already in a special category of pay scales equivalent to secretaries in the civilian services. The HAG Plus scales would be for Lt Gens who are not Commanders or Vice Chiefs.

"The armed forces are extremely happy with the government's decision to accord the HAG Plus pay scales to Lt Gens. With this, the government has restored the three-star rank officers' their status. This will surely help in resolving the seniority issue in areas where officers from the armed forces and the civilian services work jointly," a senior armed forces officer said.

By accepting this demand, the government has resolved three of the four "core issues" raised by the armed forces with Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh soon after the government approved the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations last year.

Other issues already solved to the satisfaction of the Services included according Pay Band-4 scales to 15,000-odd Lieutenant Colonel-rank officers, who form the backbone of the armed forces' fighting units and restoring 70 per cent weightage in pensionary benefits for the over a million-strong jawans.

While the government has already notified the amended pay order in the case of Lt Cols, the notifications for the Lt Gens and the jawans are yet to come, sources said.
After Lt Cols, govt approves higher pay for Lt Gens
Related Reading
Armed forces want cabinet to consider pay revision

Wages down the ages: A comparative analysis of Army and Indian Forest Service

A lot has been said on this blog at Wages down the ages, comparative analysis and elsewhere on the Indian Police Service and the Army. As remarked here earlier by a retired flag officer of the Indian Navy, the 6th CPC has been less than honest while visiting history. The historical tables on Page 73 have faced much flak here and elsewhere. Other than IPS, another service having close links with the military has been the Indian Forest Service (IFS) which forms the triumvirate of ‘All India Services’ alongwith the IAS and IPS. Military and Forest Service Officers have enjoyed close and cordial ties through the ages, maybe it has something to do with the close proximity of the IMA and FRI, I don’t know :-). But here is how the salaries and pensions have compared through the Pay Coms with reference to the rank of Lt Col :

III CPC
BASIC PAY SCALE
Selection Grade of IFS: Rs 1650- 1800
Lt Col: Rs 1750– 1950
BASIC PENSION
Selection Grade of IFS: Rs 825
Lt Col: Rs 875

IV CPC
BASIC PAY SCALE
Selection Grade of IFS: Rs 4100- 5300
Lt Col: Rs 4700-5900
BASIC PENSION
Selection Grade of IFS: Rs 2050
Lt Col : Rs 2350

V CPC
BASIC PAY SCALE
Selection Grade of IFS: Rs 14300-18300
Lt Col: Rs 15100-18700
BASIC PENSION
Selection Grade of IFS: Rs 7150
Lt Col: Rs 7550

VI CPC
BASIC PAY SCALE
Selection Grade of IFS: Rs 37400- 67000 + Grade Pay Rs 8700
Lt Col : Rs 15600-39100 + Grade Pay Rs 7600
BASIC PENSION
Selection Grade of IFS: Rs 23050
Lt Col: Rs 17063
(Note IFS is Indian Forest Service not Indian foreign Service)

Guess these were the tables that were required to be placed in the 6th CPC for a better idea of history! Now these tables will be recorded for prosterity making it a record of sorts.

Posted by Navdeep/ Maj Navdeep Singh (TA)

Comment: Thanks to maj Navdeep to bring out the sordid state of Pay Parity. What is the AHQ Pay Cell doing? Pushing files- no brains!.....Is the Pay cell bugged? We need to disband this cell and reduce the defence budget.

In defence of the military

Tuesday, October,7 2008 (New Delhi).

Let me begin this piece by stating emphatically that it is written in defence of the Indian military. I believe that it is an institution worth defending, warts and follies notwithstanding. And that is why this piece.

Of late, the Indian military leadership has come under a lot of motivated and ill-informed criticism for doing what any self-respecting commander-in-chief would do.

In taking up the issue of pay and parity between the armed forces and their civilian counterparts, all that the three chiefs have done is to bring to the notice of the highest political authority in the country the four core issues that affect the services. And they did it in the most dignified manner possible.

But their action has kicked up a furious debate in the media and depending on who you speak with, there are two views on the issue. Most non-military viewpoints are alarmists, to say the least. A few inspired leaks by the stung bureaucracy has led to a spate of articles and opinion pieces alluding to a breach of discipline and a show of "defiance" by the service chiefs. Some commentators have even gone to the extent of saying that the three chiefs have set a dangerous precedent that does not augur well for Indian democracy! Others have said the chiefs were left with no choice. And unlike any other time, I will be a subjective observer in this.

As someone who has been in the thick of reporting on the pay panel recommendations and the subsequent developments, I must point out without reservation: The three chiefs have never ever defied the government. A quarter century interaction with the armed forces has convinced me that the Indian military is not capable of indulging in politics, leave alone usurping anyone's authority as perceived by some. And even in this case, the three chiefs have simply taken recourse to the best possible method that was available to them. And by appointing a three-member ministerial committee to look into what clearly are genuine grievances of the armed forces, the political executive has shown the sagacity of recognising the seriousness of the issue. Unfortunately, the top bureaucracy has not shown the same level of maturity in dealing with the situation.

Allow me to go back in time a little to understand the context in which the three service chiefs have been forced to do what they have done. After the 6th Pay panel submitted its report, a committee of secretaries was set up to look into various anomalies that were brought to the notice of the government. The service headquarters had reasoned with the ministry that since the armed forces make up for 30 per cent of the government employees, they should have a representative on the committee. But their request was not heeded. Instead, the service chiefs were told their concerns would be addressed without prejudice and with sympathy.

This assurance was taken at face value but when no communication was received from the committee of secretaries, Adm. Sureesh Mehta, in his capacity as chairman of the chiefs of staff committee, asked for the details of the decisions taken in the committee. He wanted to see that the armed forces' concerns were adequately taken care of. But the Committee of Secretaries did not deem it fit to respond to the admiral's plea. So when the cabinet approved the amended sixth pay panel report, it was assumed all the pending issues were taken care of. But to the great consternation of the service headquarters, not only were their major grievances not addressed, three more anomalies, indeed, glaring discrepancies, were introduced by the committee of secretaries in the final cabinet notification.

For the armed forces, this was the last straw. This was worse than the aftermath of the 5th pay commission a decade ago when 48 anomalies were pointed out by the armed forces but only eight were resolved over a 10 year period till the 6th Pay Commission was notified!

It took some time for the reality to sink in but when the anomalies were noticed, all the three chiefs decided to take up their case with defence minister AK Antony. After the meeting, Antony was convinced of the logic presented by the three chiefs. So he apparently asked his ministry officials to prepare a detailed note in support of the services' demand to resolve the core issues and send that communication to the Finance Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office for necessary action.

The core issues, the three service chiefs felt, would affect command and control functions in the field especially between the Army and para-military forces and the navy and the coast guard, to cite just two examples. Having taken their case to the defence minister, the three chiefs felt they would at last get justice. Shockingly however, the finance ministry and the PMO were presented a completely diluted case. Left with no other alternative, the chiefs then took up their case with the Prime Minister himself who too agreed that their concerns were genuine and should be resolved favourably. The only catch was: the MoD had not sent the requisite supporting documents!!

In the meantime, neither the Prime Minister nor the Defence minister could meet because of their pre-scheduled foreign visit. That's when the three service chiefs decided that they would delay the implementation of the flawed 6th Pay panel report. And decided to communicate this decision to their men down the chain of command. The internal communication by all three chiefs in fact spoke about the need for not falling prey to rumours and speculation. For instance, the Naval chief's communication dated September 24, said:

"In recent times there have been several speculative media reports and disinformation on the final outcome of the sixth pay commission recommendations. The service headquarters have maintained continuous interaction with all authorities concerned and our concerns have been highlighted at the highest levels time and again.

Whilst some of our concerns have been addressed we have been constrained to delay payment of arrears and new pay scales to officers and men in view of some serious disparities that have been introduced which disturb the extant parities between defence officers and those from other central services as also adversely affect pensionary benefits of pbor. We are in the process of resolving all pending issues and this may take a little longer than we had earlier expected.

Let me assure each one of you that I will spare no effort to bring our genuine concerns to the notice of our country's leadership with the final aim of giving our personnel their rightful due. In the meanwhile I am certain that one and all will display maturity and patience and not be swayed by hearsay or speculative reports from any quarter. Shano Varuna and Jai Hind."

If the above signal, as the communication is called in military parlance, is defiance then no military chief will ever be able to give assurances to and take his men in confidence. Anyone who has dealt with the armed forces will tell you that there is not an iota of truth in the canard that is being spread about the three chiefs "defying" the civil authorities. Yes, they questioned the bureaucracy's attempts to wittingly or unwittingly introduce pay and status disparities between the armed forces and their civilian counterparts. Yes, they took the matter to the Prime Minister but in no way did they defy the government.

The question here is: Does civilian control of the military mean control by civil bureaucrats? Or should it in reality mean that military be subservient to the elected government and by extension to the Parliament and in the larger sense the people of India? This is the question that needs to be debated thoroughly for correct civil-military interaction and cohesiveness in decision-making in spheres of national security in the future.

What the three current chiefs have done is unprecedented in India's short history as an independent nation and therefore a surprise to many. But they have done their uniform proud by standing up for their men, a trait most essential in any leader but an absolute must for a military leader.

Nitin Gokhale
Senior Editor, Defence and Strategic Affairs, NDTV
In defence of the military

Related Reading:
This is not defiance
Armed Forces gun for the Babus: The Big Chief: Navy Chief lashes out at Indian Express: Why the outcry against Shekar Gupta's column

SCPC: Antony favours armed forces, wants anomalies sorted out

New Delhi, Sep 19: Defence Minister A K Antony has strongly favoured sorting out of “anomalies” in the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC) notification raised by the three services chiefs in their representation to the government.

In his latest letter to Finance Minister P Chidambaram this week, Antony raised the issues, including the ones relating to Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBORs), top Defence Ministry sources said in New Delhi on Friday.

“Yes, the Defence Minister has written a letter to the Finance Minister in which he has raised certain issues relating to the disparities that has crept into the pay commission notification,” the sources confirmed.

Among the issues raised by Antony was the one relating to the “extant pensionary weightage” and sought that it be restored till the time the proposal for lateral entry for them into paramilitary and central police forces was approved and implemented.

Under the Sixth CPC proposal, the PBORs are to be given an opportunity for lateral entry into the paramilitary and central police forces, but they would forego 50 per cent of their pension calculated on the basis of their last drawn pay at retirement.

But the government is yet to approve the proposal for lateral entry, which has led to a situation where the PBORs lose out both on re-employment and pension fronts.

Most PBORs retire at a relatively young age of about 35 years, after putting in about 15 to 17 years of service in the armed forces, a move aimed at keeping the fighting force young. (ANI)
Antony favours armed forces, wants anomalies in Sixth CPC sorted out

Incorrect fixing of grade pay of officers raised

Retention of pensionary weightage sought
Antony: remove pay anomalies for armed forces

SCPC: Marshal Arjan Singh Laments

New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Earlier every girl wanted to marry a fighter pilot but now nobody wants to, thanks to the pathetic pay package and lack of respect for the armed forces and their service conditions, laments Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh.

Talking about the defence forces being shortchanged in the Sixth Pay Commission, Singh said that the morale of the force has to be maintained.

"Bureaucrats work close to ministers and hence are able to influence them. The people in the armed forces are suffering vis-a-vis the bureaucrats. Lowering their pay and rank will affect their morale," Singh told IANS here.
Read more: Now no girl wants to marry a fighter pilot thanks to low pay, laments Marshal Arjan Singh
Air Force Pictures by Bharat Rakshak

Armed Forces want Cabinet to consider pay revision

After lobbying for 400% pay increases, now Defence Forces are battling for Parity with Bureaucracy and Parmilitary Forces
New Delhi, Sep 4: Contending that dilution of parity with the bureaucracy and paramilitary forces will hinder their operations, the armed forces want the cabinet, rather than the anomalies committee, to consider their demands over the pay panel report.
Armed forces want cabinet to consider pay revision

SCPC: New Pay Scales for the Armed Forces

The Ministry of Defence has notified the new paybands along with grade-pay and Military Service Pay for Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR) of the Armed Forces following the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission.
New Pay Scales for PBORs of the Armed Forces

The Ministry of Defence has notified the new paybands along with grade-pay and Military Service Pay for Military Nursing Service (MNS) Officers following the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission.
New Pay Scales for MNS Officers

The Ministry of Defence has notified the new paybands along with grade-pay and Military Service Pay for Defence Forces Officers following the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission
New Pay Scales of Defence Forces Officers

Government have given careful consideration to the recommendations of the Commission relating to these matters in respect of Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR) of the Armed Forces and have decided that the recommendations of the Commission on the matters aforementioned in respect of these categories of employees shall be accepted without any material change as a package with the following modifications:-

(i) Implementation of the revised pay structure of pay bands and grade pay, as well as pension, with effect from 01.01.2006 and revised rates of allowances (except Dearness Allowance/relief) with effect from 01.09.2008;
(ii) Fitment in pay bands based on multiplication factor of 1.86 instead of 1.74 recommended by the Sixth Central Pay Commission.
(iii) Payment of 40% of arrears in cash in the year 2008-09 and the remaining 60% in the year 2009-10.
(iv) Increase in the rate of annual increment from 2.5% to 3%;
(v) Removal of Campus restriction for grant of Transport Allowance;
(vi) Increase in Transport Allowance at the lowest level to Rs. 600 (from Rs. 400 in A-l/A class cities) and Rs. 400 (from Rs. 300 in other cities);
(vii) Grade pay to determine seniority of posts only within a cadre's hierarchy and not between various cadres;
(viii) Increase in Military Service Pay (MSP) of Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBORs) from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 2000 pm;
(ix) Grant of 3 ACP upgradation after 8, 16 and 24 years of service to PBORs;
(x) The rates of Special Forces Allowance for Army and Air Force to be equated with Navy's Marine Commando Allowance.

The recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission relating to lateral shift of Defence Personnel to Central Para Military forces would be examined separately.

The Government have not accepted the recommendations of Sixth CPC regarding following issues:-

(a) Liberal 'severance package' for employees who want to leave service without pension with more than 15 years but less than 20 years service.
(b) There should only be three closed holidays for Government employees.
(c) Flexi-hours for women employees and flexi-weeks for employees with disabilities.

General principles of fixation of initial pay in the revised pay structure as on 1.1.2006, fixation of pay of employees recruited on or after 1.1.2006, rate of increment in the revised pay structure and date of increment will be as in the Government of India Notification No. GSR 622(E) dated 29th August, 2008.
Notification for PBOR

The three chiefs of the Armed Forces, in an unprecedented move, have written to Defence Minister A K Antony that implementation for officer ranks be “held in abeyance” until their objections are addressed. More details at:
We have objections, put pay hike on hold: 3 service chiefs again

Indian Officers to get salary hike

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- India's army chief said he is hopeful of securing a salary hike for his officers, whose meager wages are blamed for a massive shortage of midlevel commanders in the world's fourth largest army.

"We are hopeful that we will get a fairly decent package for the military personnel to make the armed forces an attractive career for the youth of the country," Gen. Deepak Kapoor told The Associated Press Monday during an official visit to Malaysia.
Army chiefs and Defense Minister A.K. Antony have asked the government to increase officers' salaries and the government is expected to soon announce its new wages for state employees, including defense personnel.
"We have made some recommendations that should make the services fairly attractive. I am quite hopeful," he said.
The 1.23 million-member Indian army needs about 47,000 officers, but currently has only about 36,000, according to official figures.
The shortfall is critical with the army on constant alert along the borders with Pakistan, China and Bangladesh, while also fighting a host of domestic insurgencies in Kashmir and northeastern states.
India has fought three wars with Pakistan and one with China.
While soldiers' wages are on par with low-paid blue collar jobs in civilian life, officers' salaries have remained stagnant as India's economic boom has created well-paying jobs elsewhere.
A lieutenant colonel, a rank attained after 10 years of service, earns a basic monthly salary of 12,000 rupees (US$300; €200), according to government figures. A fresh graduate working in a call center typically earns 25,000 rupees (US$400).
Officers are increasingly being drawn to better-paid jobs in the private sector and high school graduates are reluctant to join the National Defense Academy, India's prestigious military training school, Kapoor said.
"When he (a high school graduate) finds that the armed forces is the least attractive, he is obviously not going to join," Kapoor said.
"Of course there is that aspect of nationalism and motivation. But aside from that, as a youngster, he is looking at what kind of package he is going to get," he said.
During his talks with Malaysia's army chief, Kapoor discussed cooperation between the two armies in counterterrorism efforts, peacekeeping operations and disaster management, he said.

VIJAY JOSHI, AP
Tuesday, February 5, 2008