Gallant Ex-Servicemen and Veer Naris Felicitated

'Know Your Army' draws crowd
TNN | Oct 22, 2012, 12.09PM IST
ALLAHABAD: Know Your Army, the fair to make civil population more acquainted with the Indian Army was inaugurated at the Polo Ground of the city on Saturday. The mela was inaugurated by chief justice (designate) Shiva Kirti Sinha of Allahabad High Court in presence of Major General GS Chandel, Yudh Seva Medal and General Officer Commanding of Red Eagle Division.
Know Your Army Mela, showcased the rich heritage, customs, traditions and professionalism of the Indian Army. An array of latest weaponry, guns, tanks, radars and sophisticated communication equipment were put on display for the common public. Valuable information stalls regarding various schemes initiated by the Army with respect to career opportunities and welfare of ex-servicemen were put up by the event organisers.
Detailing on the fair, the Public Relation Officer of defence, Group Captain Amit Mahajan said that the thrilling air show by helicopters, stunning equestrian and Malkhamb show, melodious band display, daring para gliding & joyous tank rides drew the crowds by the hundreds. The weapon, tanks, guns and equipment display saw the inquisitive masses trying to get a glimpse and feel about the difficult tasks that the men in uniform perform. The recruitment stall received inquires for the young who wish to join the defence services including Territorial Army.
The felicitations of gallantry Ex-Servicemen and Veer Naris made one and all nostalgic about their army tenure and daring also interacted with the ECHS staff for their medical benefits and the CDA (Pensions) for redressal of pension related issues.
The PRO further informed that the event has become the talk of the town and the number of visitors at the equipment display is likely to multiply on the concluding day on October 21, 2012.
'Know Your Army' draws crowd
State of Bihar ESM
Col Singh said the condition of ex-servicemen in Bihar is pathetic even after 50 years of Sino-India war. "Welfare work for these brave-hearts is still being denied by the Bihar government.
Plea to hand over Sainik Rest House in Danapur to Army

Cabinet Approves Pension Plan akin to OROP

Zeenews Bureau Tuesday, September 25, 2012
One Rank One Pension: Cabinet approves Rs 2,300 cr plan for ex-armed forces
New Delhi: In what can be termed good news for ex-armed forces personnel, the Cabinet on Monday approved a pension plan of Rs 2,300 crore under the ‘One Rank One Pension’ scheme.
Services personnel who have retired before January 2006, will now be entitled to pension almost equal to their counterparts who superannuated after this date.
The estimated cost of this proposal will be approx Rs 2,300 crore per annum.
The Armed forces have been agitating for One Rank One Pension scheme for quite some time now.
As per the bonanza scheme, every ex-serviceman will be eligible for the same pension at his rank, regardless of when he joined or retired.
The ‘One Rank One Pension’ was a demand of 1.3-million strong defence personnel which got partly approved today based on the recommendations of a panel set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The slew of measures taken by the Government to increase pension and pay of the armed forces included enhancement of family pension, granting of dual family pension and family pension to mentally and physically challenged wards of defence personnel even after their marriage, officials said here.
An official release said steps taken by the Government are expected to largely "meet the demands of the defence pensioners for one rank one pension (OROP)."
The committee, headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth had submitted its report on August 08, 2012.
Set up on July 13 this year on the orders of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the committee had Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Pulok Chatterjee and Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma as members, apart from secretaries of departments of expenditure, ex-servicemen's welfare, and personnel and training.
"The gap in pension of pre- and post-January 2006 retiree jawans will be bridged by determining the pension of pre- January 2006 pensioners on the basis of notional maximum for the ranks and groups across the three Services as in case of post-January 2006 retirees," the official release said.
"The pension of pre-January 2006 commissioned officer pensioners will be stepped up with reference to maximum fitment table for the ranks instead of minimum pay band," it said.
The decision would be implemented from a prospective date, Defence Ministry officials said.
As per the present system, personnel retiring under the 6th pay commission get more pension than their counterparts who have retired under previous pay commissions.
The Cabinet also accepted the enhancement of family pension for the families of serving and retired defence personnel who have lost their lives.
"The pension of pre-January 2006 family pensioners including officers, Junior Commissioned Officers and other ranks will be stepped up based on the minimum of the fitment table instead of the minimum pay band," the release said.
The government also allowed the Dual Family Pension which means that the pensioner would be allowed to draw both military and civil employment pensions.
It also agreed to the demand of granting family pension to mentally and physically challenged children of defence forces personnel even after their marriage.
This pension was so far granted to them only till their marriage.
Commenting on the virtual acceptance of the OROP demand, former Army Chief Gen VK Singh said, "They have done a lot for the good of the veterans community. They should have done it long back as it was long overdue."
One Rank One Pension: Cabinet approves Rs 2,300 cr plan for ex-armed forces

HC refers service matters of armed forces to AFT

Saturday, September 22, 2012, Chandigarh, India
Saurabh Malik/TNS Chandigarh, September 21, 2012
The Punjab and Haryana High Court, by passing a single order, has referred “all service matters concerning members of the armed forces” to the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). The “matters” involve pension and other retirement benefits pending before the HC.
The significance of the order can be gauged from the fact that the HC has disposed of, through the order, nothing less than 31 writ petitions filed by Army personnel “pertaining to the disability pension, dismissal from service, etc.”
The bunch comprised writ petitions against the orders passed by the CAT and Regular Second Appeals against the judgments and decrees of the courts below.
Taking up the petitions by Naik Prem Singh and other petitioners against the Union of India and other respondents, a Division Bench of the HC asserted the petitions pertaining to the disability pension, dismissal from service, etc. of Army personnel fell within the definition of “service matters” as defined in Section 3(O) of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007.
The bench added: “At the outset, counsel for the respondents have raised a preliminary objection by placing reliance on Section 34 read with Section 14 and 3(O) of the Act. A conjoint reading of these Sections would show that all service matters concerning the members of Armed Forces, involving pension and other retiral benefits, pending before this court are required to be transferred to the AFT, Chandigarh Bench, which is constituted for this jurisdiction”.
HC refers service matters of armed forces to AFT

Indian Army launches campaign for ex-servicemen

Indian Army launches campaign for ex-servicemen
Lucknow: The Indian Army on Tuesday launched a campaign aimed at deepening its respect for aged and retired soldiers.

The army's Central Command launched the "Year of the Veteran" campaign in the presence of several ex-army men and serving officers.
They were drawn from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, an army official said. Lt Gen Anil Chait opened the event.
With over 300,000 ex-servicemen, the officer said two pilot projects had been taken up.
So far 911 complaints regarding issues like housing and pension have been registered with the army.
In the first phase, an officer said that army teams had fanned out in villages to obtain data about the problems faced by ex-servicemen.
Indian Army launches campaign for ex-servicemen

OROP: Raising hopes will the PM take the bite?

Will the PM make the military happy on August 15, 2012
Written by Nitin Gokhale NDTV| Updated: July 19, 2012 21:05 IST
New Delhi: Will the Prime Minister bite the bullet and grant a long-standing and just demand of 21 lakh ex-servicemen to implement the principle of One-Rank-One-Pension? Developments in recent days have raised their hopes as never before.
On Wednesday, the three service chiefs, led by Admiral Nirmal Verma, Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) met with a high-powered Committee of Secretaries constituted by the Prime Minister to resolve anomalies in the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission award for the Armed Forces.
Although a total of 39 anomalies have been identified by the three services since 2008, they have decided to concentrate on some core issues that directly affect both serving and retired armed forces personnel.
The issues are:

Fixing common pay scales for all JCOs and ORs

Grant of NFU (non-functional upgradation) status to commissioned officers

Correcting difference in rank pay of commissioned officers

Extending the HAG+ (Higher administrative Grade Plus) scale to all three star officers

Granting One-Rank-One-Pension to retired personnel There have been strong demands from ex-servicemen and from acting servicemen for One-Rank-One-Pay. And to push for their demands further, the three Service chiefs, led by Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, Naval chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, along with his colleagues, Chief of Air Staff ACM, NAK Browne and Army Chief General Bikram Singh gave a detailed presentation to the Committee of Secretaries on Wednesday.
The six-member committee, comprising the Cabinet Secretary with the Defence Secretary, Secretary Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Secretary DoPT, Expenditure Secretary and Principal Secretary to PM, as members was set up by the Prime Minister after a Rajya Sabha panel last year recommended granting One Rank One Pension to the retired defence personnel. The government has asked the committee to submit its report by August 8, 2012.
There is a buzz in the corridors of power that the Prime Minister wants to make a grand announcement from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15 and therefore the deadline of August 8!
For the uninitiated, the One-Rank-One-Pay scheme implies that uniform pension be paid to the armed forces personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement, and any future enhancement in the rates of pension be automatically passed on to past pensioners.
But the issue that has upset and angered serving defence personnel is NFU.
For those not in uniform it needs a bit of an explanation.
Buckling under pressure from Group A organised Services under the Central Government like Border Roads Organisation, Military Engineering Services, Postal Services, the Sixth Pay Commission gave them a special concession.
It allowed the officers in these services to be placed in a grade pay scale equivalent to an IAS officer two years behind that particular IAS batch. For example if the 1992 batch of the IAS officer got placed in the Joint Secretary grade in 2012, all Group A organised officers of the 1990 batch would automatically get the pay and allowance equivalent to the 1992 IAS batch, irrespective of the post and place they are serving in. That is the upgradation will be done on a 'non-functional' basis.
This has brought in huge functional problems in day-to-day affairs when military officers have to work in close coordination with MES Civil Officers, BRO Civil Officers, IPS Officers in BSF, CRPF, ITBP, Defence Accts (IDAS), Test Audit (IA&AS), Ordnance Factory Board etc, with whom Defence forces officers interact regularly, will now get the salary and grade pay of Joint Secretary/Major General (Grade Pay Rs. 10000/-) after 22 years of service, and will draw the pay of Additional Secretary to Government of India which is equal to a Lieutenant General (Grade Pay Rs. 12000/-) in 32 years of service whereas military officers senior to them in rank and service will get less grade pay at the same level of service thereby creating a functional disparity giving rise to insubordination and subtle non-compliance.
Military officials have pointed out that this has adversely affected organisational command and control in multi cadre environment. It also led to lowering the status of Armed Forces Officials vis-a-vis organized Group A officers and IPS Officers. Organised Group A and IPS Officers reach HAG (Higher Administrative Grade) Scale at 32 years while only 0.2 per cent of Armed Forces Officers can ever reach that level.
With over 97 per cent Armed Forces Officers retiring in the Grade Pay of 8700, their exclusion from the NFU is seen as grossly unfair. This differential not only disturbs financial parity, it pushes down the Defence services in status as even direct recruit officers of Group B services attain a better pay and promotional avenue and manage to reach the level of Joint Secretary/Major General before retiring. Both the OROP and granting the NFU status to Armed Forces officials is not going to be expensive either.
According to calculations done by the military, the annual outgo for granting One -Rank-One-Pension to the approximately 21 lakh ex-servicemen would not be more than Rs. 1300 crore. Similarly the NFU status, if granted, will cost the exchequer a mere Rs. 70 crore annually but will go a long way in restoring the pride and status of the armed forces' officers.
The other core issues are minor in comparison but important nevertheless.
Can the Prime Minister show sagacity and wisdom in agreeing to these basic demands of the armed forces and restore dignity to the men in uniform at a time when the military has been buffeted from all sides?
In taking this decision, the technocrat Prime Minister will have to rise above his usual bureaucratic approach.
He may as well recall what good old Chanakya said about how the state should treat the soldiers, ages ago:
"He (the soldier) is thus the VERY BASIS and silent, barely visible CORNERSTONE of our fame, culture, physical well-being and prosperity; in short, of the entire nation building activity. He DOES NOT perform any of these chores himself directly: he ENABLES the rest of us to perform these without let, hindrance or worry ('nirbhheek and nishchinta').
Our military sinews, on the other hand, lend credibility to our pronouncements of adherence to good Dharma, our goodwill, amiability and peaceful intentions towards all our neighbour nations ('sarve bhavantu sukhinaha, sarve santu niramayaha...') as also those far away and beyond. These also serve as a powerful deterrent against military misadventure by any one of them against us."
My roots as a fauji son say the PM will take the correct decision and not let down the soldier; the journalist in me (and now I have been a journalist longer than I have been a fauji child) does not agree.
Will the PM make the military happy on August 15, 2012

OROP twists, turns and twirls

MOD PRESENTATI​ON ON OROP AND LATEST ACTIVITIES- AIEWA
Inderjit Singh letter dated Jun 2, 2012 (1 day ago) to Satbir SM- IESM
Dear Gen Satbir Sir,
To begin with I must apologize for not responding to your fascinating mail educating me about the definition of OROP You know it is not even funny you guiding the author of OROP about what he has been fighting for for the last 30 years. Even if late i will try to salvage the OROP from the damage you people have done to the very cause of the VETERANS and OROP by your great deeds you have indulged in for achieving your political ambitions. Any way I must congratulate you for achieving great successes towards your political ambitions. You managed to get Congress defeated in Punjab and elected in Utrakhand. If OROP goes to Hell who cares. Now I must tell you it is not me who is messing up the matter, on the contrary it is your team of worldly wise friends who messed up the matter three years ago, by meddling into OROP without being able to comprehend what it actually is and continue to do so even now.
Definition of OROP
I am glad that you have repeated the definition of OROP. The OROP means same pension for same rank for same length of service irrespective of date of retirement. This also covers the perpetuity aspect which means that any future increases in pension are automatically passed on to the past pensioners, a matter that you have been misinterpreting as annual increments in Pensions.This is what my definition also says with add ons to ensure that the bureaucrats are not in a position to have our submissions rejected summarily on account of the bloated figures of expenditure involved on account of these issues. These add ons have evolved over a period of time to respond to every new invention of the bureaucrats in their attempts to have our submissions rejected.
This however does not cover your desperate desire to get us annual increments on pensions as per the annual increments of salary given to the serving soldier of the same rank, Nor does it cover increase in pension of a Maj Gen or for that matter any rank even if the present is getting less than an individual of lower rank.
It means that first we achieve the objective of same rank same pension irrespective of date of retirement and irrespective of what he is getting. Whether it is less than lower rank or more is not the concern yet. Once OROP is achieved then we see whether what we got is right or it needs a change for the better. Not before that.
As you well understand, I hope, that the pensions are dependent upon the salary and unless the salaries are increased the pensions can not be increased. Getting the salaries increased does not fall within the domain of Veterans, whosoever it may be and whatever rank he may have held. This is the prerogative of the Chiefs to take it up and not that of the Veterans. You people have assumed unto yourself the duties of a serving Chief under the pretext of OROP. Please leave something for them to do also.
The first thing you have gone wrong is that you have exceeded your brief as a Veteran. Please do course correction expeditiously and before you do any more damage. Talk only about same rank same pension and not increase in the pension of a major general because it effects you personally. I do however appreciate your hurt feelings for getting less pension than a Brigadier. I assure you that we have got tis point on our agenda and will work to sort your problem out too, but after we have got you all OROP. OK? My humble request please do not confuse the matter for now.
Click here for the complete article Lt Col (Retd) Inderjit Singh
Chairman
All India Ex-services Welfare Association

Declining standards of medical treatment for Veterans

Ex-servicemen’s families in Ahmedabad share their problems
Published: Monday, Apr 2, 2012, 15:50 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
A seminar was held at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel memorial, Shahibaug, in the city on Sunday to address the issues of ex-army officials and their families. The seminar, titled 'Ex-servicemen welfare seminar' discussed issues and problems faced by families of defence personnel. National convenor of Defence cell, General NS Malik who was the chief guest at the seminar, heard and addressed the issues of several army families present at the event.
Speaking to DNA, General Malik said that protection of the nation is a burning issue presently, which needs to be handled at the earliest. "For this, every citizen is equally responsible and needs to be informed about country's defense." He further said that awareness programmes have been planned for the country's youth as part of which activities like talks, lectures will be held.
Various issues and problems of defence personnel were discussed at length during the session. Stating their problems, Mann Singh Tomar, a resident of the city, said, "My father was in army. After his death, my mother and I had to struggle a lot to receive the pension." He further complained to Malik that to start receiving pension one has to submit documents at the regiment office to which the deceased belongs. "In our case, my father belonged to Kumaon regiment and we had to go to Uttarakhand thrice for pension," added Tomar.
Tomar suggested that every state should have an office of the regiments, so that army families after transfer in different states do not have to face much problem for pensions. Malik replied that such an office is being planned in every state.
Others complained about issues of land allotment by the government and irregular medical treatment.
Ex-servicemen’s families in Ahmedabad share their problems

Veteran Welfare Neglected Issues

Dear Veterans,
In the resent past major veteran issues have come up in the blogs concerning the Armed Forces Personnel and the Veterans.
A few of them are:
1 Non Functional Up gradation (NFU) to officers.
2. Amending the Pension Regulations of the Armed Forces.
3. Non Implementation of Judgments of AFTs (aboutg 2000).
4. Payment of 100% pension to the Veterans up to the age of 60 years (age for superannuation for central Govt employees) and payment of OROP.
5. Separate Ministry or a Defense Board (like that of Railway) for Armed Forces Personnel.
6. Cadre Review (being done every 5 years in other Departments).
7. Abnormal Difference of pension between two immediate Ranks to the tune of Rs.11,000/-PM
8. Withdrawal of existing Rank Pay by 6th CPC (replacing with grade pay to give additional emoluments to civilian employees and also to create an equation of imbalance between civ and Military.)
9. Majors with more than 15 years of service equated with cadets and Hony Lt's (PB-3).
10. A meaningful resettlement of Armed Forces Veterans.
11. Dignity (Izzath) of the personnel in uniform/ Protocol/ precedence vis a vis the civilian counterparts.
The above are some of the major issues that are being reflected in emails and blogs nowadays. The blame is palmed on to the babus of MOD and the Politicians. But one must think honestly - Are they fully responsible for these omissions. What is the role of the Service HQs?
click here for more

OROP in a time warp

Dear Mr Rajeev,
On behalf of the Navy Foundation, whose members are all retired officers of the Indian Navy, I would like to express our heartfelt thanks and our great admiration for your frank letter of 25th August to the Prime Minister on the subject of Salary hike for MPs and the issue of ‘one rank one pension’ or OROP for ex-servicemen.
If I may be permitted to say so, that the letter was a brilliant piece of analysis of decision making by the government. You have put forth in such a logical and succinct manner the double standards being followed. The recourse to refer any issue to a committee of bureaucrats when the government does not want to take a decision is what is affecting many issues of governance including OROP for ex-servicemen. As you have so rightly summed up ‘the bureaucrats have acquired great abilities for obstructive conduct’.
We are grateful to you, Sir, for repeatedly taking up with the Prime Minister and at other fora the injustices to ex-servicemen and denial of OROP. Your decision to forego your salary hike as an MP till OROP is resolved has won our hearts and deepest gratitude. It is heartening to know that there is at least one MP, who has the welfare of those who have silently and selflessly served the nation in peace and in war and who now appear to have been conveniently forgotten. We believe in the power of one and even though you are an Independent, you are on so many Standing and Consultative Committees of the Parliament and we repose full faith in you..
We once again thank you for taking up our cause and salute you for your ideals and principles in fighting the obvious double standards in governance. There are not many like you in the country.
With warmest and heartfelt regards,
Vice Admiral Harinder Singh (Retd)
click here to read more Veterans Comments

86-yr-old WW II veteran wins pension

Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Hindustan Times
Chandigarh, February 20, 2012
Providing succor to 86-year-old World War II veteran, Chandigarh bench of Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) allowed his petition and granted him pension.
Ishar Singh, a resident of Yamunanagar, joined signal regiment of Royal Indian Army on December 27, 1942. For serving the nation, he was awarded War Medal and Indian Independence Medal.
Ishar retired on April 12, 1948 as he was declared medically unfit to serve further. He was suffering from osteoarthritis of the spine.
The 86-year-old was granted disability pension at Rs 6 per month. It was stopped on April 12, 1950 as his disability had fallen below 20%.
Ishar made efforts and made representations to Army authorities for continuing his pension but in vain. He was brought before a re-survey medical board in 1989 which also ruled that his disability was lesser than 20%.
He had no source of income as he was illiterate. He was sustaining on agriculture in his village. His service element was not given as he had served for less than 10 years as per the rules when he retired.
"In March 2011, he approached All India Ex-servicemen Welfare Association (AIEWA), which took up its case through its legal aid scheme. In October 2011, the petition was filed. A notice was issued to union government. In its reply, the government replied that there was no record available of the World War II veteran as the same had been destroyed," said Bhim Sen Sehgal, Chairman of AIEWA, who represented Ishar Singh in the court.
He added, "As per the change in the policies in 1968 and then in 1973, invalided soldiers should get service element. And later Supreme Court judgments also put a stamp on it, which removed the cut off dates."
The court took the documents-service record, pension book and certificate issued by re-survey medical board, submitted by Ishar Singh as evidence in the case.
The bench comprising justice NP Gupta and Air Marshal SC Mukul (retd) allowed the service element of disability pension but restricted the arrears to three years from the date of filing the petition in AFT.
86-yr-old WW II veteran wins pension

Forces Law Gazette

Sunday, March 11, 2012
Forces Law Gazette : Issue No 2 (March 2012) now available on www.lawgazette.net
As promised, the second issue of the FORCES LAW GAZETTE (FLG) is out and now available for free download at www.lawgazette.net
The download link is placed on a verified host and is virus-free.
For those who joined us late, the FLG is a free, non-commercial quarterly newsletter on law and allied issues related to uniformed forces. The gazette covers not just India but other democracies as well. FLG is available for free download and distribution. The current issue covers legal and other topical subjects till March 2012.
Through this post, I would also like to thank everyone for the positive feedback on the first issue. The stupendous number of downloads shows that our efforts did not go waste.
Contributions in the form of articles are welcome and may be sent to me through email for publication in future issues.
Readers can also click here to directly download the current issue of the gazette without visiting the FLG website.
The next issue is due for June 2012.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh

ESM News: Welfare Measures

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:43:07 GMT
India vows to step up welfare schemes for Indian ex-servicemen
From Shirish B Pradhan
Kathmandu, Jan 22 (PTI) India today underlined its commitment to welfare of its ex-servicemen living in Nepal as the two countries reviewed various projects for them in the country.
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad said India is spending large amounts of money for carrying out various welfare activities for the benefit of its ex-servicemen in Nepal.
It is the concern of the government of India to make the life of the pensioners better and comfortable, he said in an address at the 22nd Annual General Meeting of Indian Ex-servicemen Welfare Organization in Nepal (IEWON).
Working under the aegis of the Embassy of India, IEWON is responsible for the welfare of nearly 90,000 Nepal Domiciled Indian pensioners from the armed forces.
The meeting was attended by senior Nepalese officials led by Defence Secretary Navin Kumar Ghimire, and a delegation from India led by secretary of the Ex-Servicemen Welfare (ESW) Samirendra Chatterjee.
The meeting aims to review welfare projects being executed for the benefit of former Indian servicemen and holding consultation on wide range of welfare issues with senior officials of Nepal.
The Indian government has been looking after the welfare activities of these veterans since 1952.
India is implementing 1,033 drinking water projects, medical welfare, educational and infrastuctural programmes for the welfare of ex-servicemen and their families residing in various parts of the country.
This year alone 16 such projects are being implemented with a total expenditure of NPR 3.64 crore.
People living in 17 villages across the country have benefitted from the various solar-electrification projects being implemented by India under the ex-servicemen welfare scheme initiated in 2002, the Indian envoy said.
More than Rs 4.62 crore have been spent by India in these projects, he added.
The Indian delegation is scheduled to address ex-servicemen rallies at Pokhara and will interact with the veterans, disabled soldiers and war widows, according to an Indian Embassy press release
click here: India vows to step up welfare schemes

Schemes for benefit of ex-servicemen: Vijayawada
January 12, 2012 admin Employment / Jobs, Government Initiatives / Support, News
The State government is providing several schemes for the benefit of ex servicemen and their widows, said District Sainik Welfare Officer G. Satyanandam.
Under the Prime Minister Self Employment Scheme, the government will provide loans ranging between Rs.5 lakh and Rs.25 lakh from banks.
The government will give 25 to 35 per cent subsidy on the loan and the beneficiaries should bear five per cent of the investment cost.
‘PAAVALA VADDI’
The government was giving ‘paavala vaddi’ (25 paise interest) loans to ex-servicemen for the last two years. Beneficiaries intending to do agriculture, launch Small Scale Industries can get Rs.5 lakh loan at 25 paise interest.
Interested retired Army, Navy and Airforce staff are requested to avail the opportunities, said Mr.Satyanandam.
Loans for ESM

KATHMANDU, JAN 22, 2012: demand for Pension Paying Office
Thousands of ex-Indian army men living in the western and far western regions of Nepal have demanded that a Pension Paying Office (PPO) be set up in Butwal.
“We have been forced to travel to Kathmandu only to receive pension as we have no such office here. It is really a painful affair for some of the pensioners who are above 85 years old,” said a pensioner requesting anonymity. “We have been waiting for almost eight years for a PPO in Butwal, but no progress has been made so far,” he added.
The Indian team mostly visits the city at the interval of six months to distribute pension. Of the around 124,000 ex-Indian army, paramilitary and civilian pensioners in Nepal, around 40,000 are living in Butwal and adjoining areas. Currently, two PPOs—based in Pokhara and Dharan—and 22 soldier boards are distributing pensions to the Indian army pensioners across the country.
Nepal government had agreed to provide land for the PPO in Butwal in 2004. However, two government entities—Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence—have been blaming each other for not cooperating to set up the office.
“The nature of the proposed PPO in Butwal is like a permanent office and the government had allocated more than 8 bighas of land in Butwal municipality. But it has become a political issue now,” said a senior government official. He said that they also need an approval from the Forest Ministry as some part of the land allocated to the PPO is covered by forest.
The issue was also raised as a prime agenda during the 22nd annual welfare meeting of the Indian Army Ex-servicemen Welfare Organisation in Nepal held in Kathmandu on Sunday. The meeting was attended by Defence Secretary Navin Kumar Ghimire and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Jyanta Prasad, among others.
Addressing the demand forwarded by the ex-servicemen in the program, Defence Secretary Ghimire said the issue will be addressed after discussion with concerned government authorities.
Ex-Indian army men demand pension office in Butwal

DESW issues Pension Regulations

So there you have it, the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (sic) (DESW), on 06 Jan 2012, has issued Pension Regulations for the Army (2008), purportedly approved by the ‘Raksha Mantri’.
These Regulations supposedly supercede the Pension Regulations of 1961. Though the Regulations have been issued on 06 Jan 2012 and only apply to those who were released after 2008, these have not incorporated the drastic pensionary changes made by the 6th CPC which according to the DESW would be included in the form of ‘insertions’ to be decided by the office of the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions). These Regulations of 2008 have been jointly drafted by the office of the CGDA and PCDA(P). It seems illogical that these Regulations of ‘2008’ have been issued in 2012 and that too without incorporating changes introduced by the 6th CPC w.e.f 01-01-2006. What was the tearing hurry? Preliminarily speaking, even otherwise, rather than entrusting such an important policy-work to policy makers and experts at the govt level, the DESW has gone by the drafting submitted by defence accountants. But strictly speaking, are these Regulations even valid or legal?
These are not 'Regulations' but the imposition of the will of a couple of accountants whose limited understanding, drafting and thought-process has been thrust upon pensioners forcibly.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh
Read more
Comment: Is DESW an legal entity to regulate pensions or are they a bunch of number crunchers?

Expected DA from Jan 2012

Expected DA from Jan 2012
Perhaps it is very early to calculate the status of additional Dearness allowance from January, 2012 for Central Government employees and Pensioners, before releasing the AICPIN for the balance of three months. We can assume that the AICPIN will certainly go up, because of the essential commodities prices are going high with non stop. Anyway we can assume the additional Dearness allowance from January 2012 will be minimum 7%. The existing Dearness allowance is 58%, it will become as 58% + 7% = 65%.
Expected DA from Jan 2012

Pension Adalat Udaipur

1. The PCDA (P) Allahabad will hold Defence Pension Adalat at Udaipur Rajasthan in Dec 2011.The proposed dates by them are 22 and 23 Dec 2011,
2. The place and month were finalised by MoD/ CGDA and IHQ of MoD (Army) had issued instrs in Aug 2011 to controlling Fmns for issue of detailed instrs to lodger fmn at Mil Stn Udaipur for Adm and Lgs Bandobast. The final dates are yet to be confirmed by the controlling fmns.
3. All Military (Army,Navy & AF) and Civ pensioners paid from defence estimates are covered by such adalats who establish camp office and entertain complaints from the aggrieved pensioners.
4. A large number of senior officers from MoD, three service HQs, CGDA, PCDA (P), Def Accts Dept, officials from Banks, Soldier Boards and Record offices will attend the Adalat.
5. The pensioners are advised to register themselves in advance through post or E- Mail as per format and details given at the web site of PCDA P. The same can be seen by clicking at the link below- http://www.pcdapension.nic.in/pa/default.htm
6. The grievances are attended during the camp and face to face solutions are found in most of the cases by staff on ground. The proposed rally at Udaipur can be attended by all pensioners for whom it is convenient to travel to this part of Rajasthan especially from adjoining states of Gujarat, MP & UP in addition to the pensioners from Rajasthan.
7. This information may please be widely circulated to all Mil and Civ defence pensioners especially those from Rajasthan, Haryana, MP, UP and Gujarat. It is expected that the lodger fmn at Mil Stn Udaipur will make suitable bandobast for Veterans and def civ pensioners.
8. The pensioners will be required to make advance travel plans to visit Udaipur during the dates as finalised by authorities since December is a busy tourist month as well as very cold during X mus/ New Year Eve.
Wg Cdr CK Sharma (Retd)
Treasurer, IESM

Resolve Ex-Servicemen Pension Grievances Quickly

Antony’s Message to Defence Accounts on Annual Day
The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony today asked senior Defence Finance officials of his Ministry to consider the satisfaction level of Ex-Servicemen (ESM) pensioners as the benchmark of their performance. Addressing the 264th Annual Day Celebration of the Defence Accounts Department (DAD) here today, Shri Antony pointed out that his office still continues to receive several pension settlement related grievances.
“True, most of these cases were a baggage from the past as a consequence of Pay Commission recommendations and Cabinet decision on pay and pension hike, yet these needed to be addressed at the shortest possible time,” Shri Antony said. “Ultimately, the taste of the pudding lies in its eating,” he quipped adding that “the veterans deserved their due as they had sacrificed the prime of their life safeguarding our borders.”
The Defence Minister hoped that the two IT projects ‘Sangam’, for pension payment, and ‘Dolphin’ related to monthly pay system for the Other Ranks (OR) in Army, will facilitate quick disbursal of dues to the serving ORs and ESM. “You must strive to provide enhanced customer satisfaction through hassle-free service and prompt and accurate payment of dues to the soldiers and their dependents.” Project ‘Sangham’ has fulfilled a long-pending demand of our ESM.
Commending the DAD for launching of its two IT projects – ‘Vishwak’ and ‘Bhawan’, Shri Antony said, “You should strive to utilise this advantage to assist the Services in achieving their goals.” Underlining the need for transparency in accounting procedures, the Defence Minister observed, “In today’s era of globalisation, accountability has acquired new connotations. Accountability is no longer restricted to quantitative techniques and financial inputs and outputs. It has become an integral part of good governance, with several aspects like integrity, transparency, responsiveness and sustainability becoming a part and parcel.”
On the occasion, the Shri Antony also presented the Raksha Mantri’s Awards for Excellence for the year 2011. The Excellence Award for Software Development was bagged by CGDA (IT Wing Team) headed by Shri S Murali Krishnan, which has developed Project ‘Suvigya’ (Pension inquiry system), Project ‘Aashraya (pension disbursement system) and Project ‘Darpan’ (Defence Accounts Receipts and Payments Analyses). CDA Secunderabad, Secunderabad team headed by Shri Y Rajareddy was awarded the Excellence Award for Project ‘Dophin’, an online PBOR Monthly Pay System. PCDA (Central Command) team headed by Shri HH Mishra also bagged the Excellence Award for launching of Monthly Pay System and its implementation on all Pay Accounts Offices.
Secretary, Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Shrimati Neelam Nath, Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) Shri Nand Kishore and Additional CGDA Ms UG Antony were among the dignitaries present at the function.
Resolve Ex-Servicemen Pension Grievances Quickly

Widows Pension is related to the deceased!

Dear Colleagues,
I have received a reply this month from the Defence Minister to my query as to why the widows have been kept out of the pension-enhancement of 2010. The response unfortunately is a mere repetition of the earlier communications from the government on this subject. It again states that since the pension is related to the last pay drawn, it cannot apply to the deceased. That is incomprehensible. The enhancement covered the pre-2006 retiree pensioners. The enhanced pension sanctioned for them after the Cabinet Secretary’s Committee recommendations, also has no relation to their last pay drawn. But then these are the ways of the bureaucracy!
The Civil Services aspirants these days have to take a filter written test before they can qualify for the competitive examination; this is apparently to cut down the number of applicants. In one of the mock question papers for this examination held in June 2011, there was a question on ‘one rank one pension’. OROP has acquired visibility.
Best regards,
Lt Gen (Emeritus) Raj Kadyan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Chairman IESM

CDA arm twists top brass for Unit Run Canteens

Dear Editor
what almost all of us know that armed forces personnel are entitled to CSD facilities. Armed forces personnel by definition are those men/women in uniforms in three services namely the Army , Air Force & Navy.
Eligibility criterion though not in black and white had since been diluted. Civilian central govt employees paid out of Defence Estimates have been allowed to draw CSD stores less liquors from the unit run canteens.
Arm twisting the top brass in the armed forces CONTROLLER OF DEFENCE ACCTS whose employees are paid out of CIVIL ESTIMATES are running 38 URCs ( UNIT RUN CANTEENS) in the govt accommodations for their employees.
Neither the central govt civilian employees (the CDA STAFF) are eligible for CSD facilities NOR controllers of defence accounts authorised to run 38 URCs (unit run canteens). Total sale from those 38 Canteens are huge. Profits from sale of CSD goods to unauthorised personnel is also very very large.
Secondly CDA STAFF/ EST is meant for audit of defence grants and its proper utilisation. By extending the facility to this watchdog has been done surely with a vested interest. Canteen Stores Department ADELPHI Navy Mumbai a solely central govt owned organisation responsible for provision of CSD stores to all the appx 3600 URCs in the three Arms OF THE Military. As a matter of rule URCs unless registered with CANTEEN STORES DEPTT Adelphi, Navy Mumbai cannot receive any CSD goods in its URCs. It is therefore obvious that 38 unauthorised CDA Establishment run URCs have been duly registered though not even eligible for CSD goods. And it obvious such compromise is being exploited by the top brass of three services. Mega scam and scandals in the Defence had therefore been very routine. Huge profits accrued from the sale of CSD goods are then clandestinely distributed amongst the CDA staff proportionate to the salary drawn (thereby giving maximum benefit to the TOP CDA officials). But Who cares!
CSD canteens abused by CDA
Posted in Publishaletter.com By :(Not Verified) haridas mandal
Letter to the Editor Sent to : OUTLOOK
Country: India
Date: APR-29-2010
Subject: CSD CANTEENS ARE MOST ABUSED by CDA

Additional dearness allowance hike today

Cabinet Committee to decide on additional dearness allowance hike tomorrow, 8th September 2011
The Union Cabinet Committee tomorrow may decide on raising additional dearness allowance to central government employees, official sources said.
The Union Cabinet Committee likely to approve the second additional instalment of 7% dearness allowance for this year to Central Government employees and dearness relief to Central Government pensioners due from 1.7.2011. More than 50 lakh serving employees and 38 lakh pensioners are expecting eagerly for this announcement to compensate the price hike in essential commodities and other goods.
DA Increase July 2011

Expected Dearness Allowance from July-2011
Apart from annual increment, which falls in 1st July every year, all the Government Employees are very much excited to know the rate of Dearness Allowance from 1st July 2011. The reason for their excitement to know the D.A from July 2011 is quite simple. Though the Annual Increment also brings some adequate amount of money to their pay package, they feel no excitement in it. Because every body knows and is sure that they will get 3% of their Pay in the pay band and Grade Pay as the Increment of every year and they make it counted. But as for as D.A is concerned nobody knows what will be the rate of increase in Dearness Allowance, as the AICPI Number for the Industrial Workers for the month of June 2011 will be announced probably on 31st July 2011.The amount of increase in Dearness Allowance will make their pay packet big. Unexpected increase in salary will decrease their expected financial burdens. This is the reason many of us curiously searching for the prediction over Dearness Allowance.
AICPIN-IW for the past three months have been already announced by Labour Bureau, Department Statistics, Government of India in its Web site. According to it AICPIN-IW for the month of January 2011 is 188, Febraury 2011-185 and March 2011 is 185. AICPIN-IW for the remaining three months ie April, May and June 2011 have yet to be announced. So this is not the right time to answer correctly to the question of what will be the Dearness Allowance from July 2011? But as per the past 9 months average of monthly All India Consumer Price Index (IW) with the base year 2001=100, we can expect that the hike in Dearness Allowance from July 2011 will be around 6% to 7%.
Many of our viewers who wish to know about the rate of Dearness Allowance for the particular year from 1996 to 2011. The rates of Dearness Allowance from the year 1996 to 2011 has been given below:
After 6CPC
1st Jan 2011 – 51%
1st Jul 2010 – 45%
1st Jan 2010 – 35%
1st Jul 2009 – 27%
1st Jan 2009 – 22%
1st Jul 2008 – 16%
1st Jan 2008 – 12%
1st Jul 2007 – 9%
1st Jan 2007 – 6%
1st Jul 2006 – 2%
1st Jan 2006 – 0
Before 6CPC
1st Jan 2009
1st Jul 2008 – 54%
1st Jan 2008 – 47%
1st Jul 2007 – 41%
1st Jan 2007 – 35%
1st Jul 2006 – 29%
1st Jan 2006 – 24%
1st Jul 2005 – 21%
1st Jan 2005 – 17%
1st Jul 2004 – 14%
1st Apr 2004 - 11% (DA Merger)
1st Jan 2004 – 61%
1st Jul 2003 – 59%
1st Jan 2003 – 55%
1st Jul 2002 – 52%
1st Jan 2002 – 49%
1st Jul 2001 – 45%
1st Jan 2001 – 43%
1st Jul 2000 – 41%
1st Jan 2000 – 38%
1st Jul 1999 – 37%
1st Jan 1999 – 32%
1st Jul 1998 – 22%
1st Jan 1998 – 16%
1st Jul 1997 – 13%
1st Jan 1997 – 8%
1st Jul 1996 – 4%
1st Jan 1996 – 0%
Original Post

Government committed to welfare of armed forces: Antony

Sunday, August 14, 2011 10:33:08 AM by IANS
New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) Defence Minister A.K. Antony Sunday said the government was committed to the welfare of the armed forces and had taken steps to improve the quality of their rations, clothing and equipment.

Extending his heartiest greetings and best wishes to members of the Indian armed forces - uniformed and civilian - on the eve of the country’s 65th Independence day, the defence minister in a statement said: “On this occasion, I pay my tributes to all the martyrs who gave the supreme sacrifice for the nation.”

Antony said he has visited the frontiers in the northeast, Jammu and Kashmir, and seen the preparation in the desert and other areas.

“On these visits, I have come to know about the challenges that troops have to face. Keeping such challenges in mind, the government has taken several steps to improve the facilities. An improvement in the quantity and the quality of rations, clothing and equipment has been brought about,” he said.

“The government is committed to the all-round welfare of our jawans (troops) and will continue to provide them the best facilities and living conditions, especially for those living in inhospitable and difficult conditions,” said Antony.

“We have taken several steps for the welfare of our ex-servicemen. 199 new polyclinics and 15 new regional health centres have been started to provide better health care facilities to ex-servicemen. Besides, a pilot online automation scheme has been started to address pension related problems.”

Speaking on ex-servicemen, Antony said he had asked states to provide more employment opportunities to ex-servicemen at all levels.

The defence minister expressed confidence that the armed forces would “leave nothing to chance in defending our land, air and sea borders. Your vigil on the borders and commitment to the nation will enhance the prestige of the Forces and do the nation proud”.
Government committed to welfare of armed forces: Antony