Babudom holds back pay scale upgrade for armed forces

Babudom holds back pay scale upgrade for armed forces
Ajay Banerjee/TNS
New Delhi, March 28
Away from the media spotlight, the three armed forces — the Army, the Navy and the IAF — are fighting a tough “battle” to get their personnel’s status and pay structure restored that were wrongly lowered in 2008.
The paramilitary forces and civilian officers were pegged at a higher perch than armed forces’ men. This, in government parlance, translates into lower status for the armed forces, lower allowances and a direct impact on the hierarchy with other services.
The “battle” to correct the status for the entire officer cadre, around 70,000 in the three forces, is being “fought” in files amidst mountains of paperwork that moves back and forth between the Finance Ministry, the Defence Ministry, the Cabinet Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). There have been no tangible results over the past three years.
The Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), who is the senior-most among the three Chiefs, has been sporadically reminding the government how the Prime Minister had, in December 2008, approved that the matter needed to be addressed by setting up a high-powered committee. No committee has been set up so far. The three Chiefs, who jointly command more than 15 lakh troops and officers, have been reduced to sending “reminders” to the government. The latest reminder was sent by Admiral Nirmal Verma on February 21 “requesting intervention” of Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth.
Documents accessed by The Tribune show how it all started when the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations were out in October 2008. The sequence panned out this way: The IAS in the post of Joint Secretary (JS) to the Government of India was made eligible for a grade pay of Rs 10,000 a month on completing 22 years of service. The same was extended to IPS and the Indian Foreign Services.
There was a protest from other group “A” services - paramilitary and other civilian services. The government said it could not have so many posts of Joint Secretary but allowed “non-functional scale upgradation” and placed the protesters on same scale as a Joint Secretary, but after 24 years of service. The grade pay is crucial when matters of status are to be decided. Apart from the money, it sets the status of an officer in the government.
Strangely, the Armed forces are neither classified as group “A” services nor are they termed as “central services” like the IAS or the IPS. In case of the armed forces, Colonels languish at Rs 8,700 grade pay and Brigadiers at Rs 8,900. Only Major-Generals or their equivalent in the IAF and the Navy get the grade pay of Rs 10,000. Only 3 per cent of officers reach that rank and that too after 33-34 years of service.
Status and pay structure were ‘wrongly’ lowered in 2008

In Dec 2008, the PM wanted a high-powered committee to consider the case, but nothing has happened so far.

Forces say it was affecting the morale of their personnel

Files keep on shuttling between one ministry to the other

Services chiefs reduced to sending reminders, seeking justice for their officers
Babudom holds back pay scale upgrade for armed forces

Joint Command a Myth

Joint command
Jointness in armed forces
Politics of Chief of Defence Staff
by Rakesh Datta
This refers to the article, “Jointness in armed forces” (August 26). There is no likelihood of the CDS coming up at least in the foreseeable future. First, there is no jointness; the three Services Chiefs hold divergent views. Secondly, there exists an unwarranted fear of army takeover in the mind of the politicians that is fuelled by vested interests in the bureaucracy. And thirdly, the all-powerful bureaucracy is afraid of losing its superiority.

The fear has even led to a systematic dilution of the status of the Services Chiefs. They have been brought down in precedence from their once exalted position. The million-strong Army has been virtually sidelined. It has lost its say even in the matters that directly concern it. And sadly, the Army has sheepishly allowed itself to be relegated to the inferior position. All this needs to be undone.

The government should get rid of its imaginary fear, the bureaucracy should shun its misplaced superiority complex, and the Army should assert its well-deserved importance. Give the Army its rightful due. This will be in the interest of national security.
Wg Cdr CL SEHGAL (Retd), Jalandhar

Rank mismatch: Overall deterioration of Rank and Status

Saturday, September 10, 2011
Rank mismatch: some relief!
"About the only thing that comes to us without effort is old age." - Gloria Pitzer
Since the last two years, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs – formerly known as CPOs) had been issuing advertisements for recruitment of Ex-Servicemen on a skewed rank equation. CAPFs were seeking Naib Subedars (GP 4200) to join at GP 2800 level and also Havildars (GP 2800) to join at GP 2000 level. The same was pointed out on this blog and also strongly taken up by me separately with the MHA as well as the AG’s Branch.

It seems that collective efforts have borne fruit to an extent. The CRPF is soon going to undertake a massive recruitment drive for ex-servicemen. I have been informed that a decision has been taken to rectify the rank equation as far as re-employment is concerned. Henceforth all JCOs, including Naib Subedars, would be recruited as Inspectors (GP 4600) while other ranks (including Sepoys) shall be recruited as Head Constables (GP 2400). Further, JCOs would be entitled to a handsome fixed compensation package of Rs 54000/- per month while other ranks would be entitled to a fixed package of Rs 34,000/- per month. Recruitment would be offered to those who have done courses related to explosives, field engineering and IEDs and the deployment would probably primarily be in naxal affected areas.

Goes to show that most of our problems emanate from the reason that we do not even want to try. There are people willing to listen but nothing shall move till we speak. Let us not just watch the show, let us engage ourselves with the problems that stare us in our face, and that includes the overall deterioration of our status and standing in the official hierarchy. We need to keep our eyes open, and most importantly it is the people currently in service who need to play a greater role, rather than people like us who are occupied in other professions and can at best maintain a hawk-eye but only from the side of the ring, rather than from bang in the middle of it!
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh at 5:12 AM
Rank mismatch

PBOR an acronym that spells `KALYUGA’

Respected Sirs,
PBOR: Yes! An abbreviation with an unknown, yet, not so unknown origin. Here from Acronym Attic it means:

Personnel Below Officer Rank (US DoD)

Patients Bill of Rights

Programmable Brown Out Reset (hardware)

PBOR stands for personal below officer’s ranks. A acronym that represents `KALYUGA’ in Indian Military fraternity. A word that is a matter of pride to some intelligent destructive brains. And while most soldiers are too naive to understand these petty schemes of the schemers, some of us do.

A divide is being created, and on purpose, between officers and the JCOs, NCOs and ORs. If we look at our military history, even before independence and after it both serving and retired soldiers have been referred to as officers, JCOs, NCOs and ORs. Suddenly a new term is coined. A monster is born. Not a person, just a tiny little abbreviation -- PBOR.

I clearly remember bringing this point to the foreground regarding the devaluation of JCOs, NCOs and equivalent ranks of all arms at the All India Veterans Meet organized by IESM held on Sept 30, 2009. We are all aware of the fact that JCOs are commissioned by President of India and that it is a Class II Gazetted rank. It has now been replaced by this monster of a term -- PBOR. I have asked this question in the past and I'm asking again, where did this term come from? How is it that the service chiefs have so easily accepted it? The same point has also been raised earlier by Sgt. Prabhjot Singh PIS (Retd.), President, Indian Ex-Services League, Punjab and Chandigarh and other ESM also. However there has been no action taken on ground by anyone.

Today the entrants to the forces at soldier level are more literate and aware than before. This is a result of increased awareness and availability of information to everyone. Fortunately, “BOSS IS ALWAYS RIGHT” slogan is now outdated. Today right is right and wrong is wrong, and surprisingly for many, this can be well identified by our soldiers. By way of highlighting this again, I humbly request our COAS, the other service chiefs and the rest of the top brass to wake these elements up and quit using such petty tactics to devalue JCOs, NCOs and ORs. These elements need to be stopped in order to maintain respect and discipline in the forces. Educated brains should not be compelled, forced to become rebellious.

JCOs have always been called the back bone of the forces. Although the recent developments suggest that they are a burden, an unimportant, redundant part of the the military. If that is the case, it'd be best to simply abolish these ranks instead humiliating them and thus weakening the forces. In the recent past, few other indirect humiliating actions have been observed. One such example is the placement of Honorary Ranks from pay band 3 to JCO’s Band. It is known that honorary rank is not merely a routine promotion based on seniority but is an extra ordinary promotion based on one's exemplary performance during the entire military career. It is granted by the President of India only on two prestigious national days i.e. 15th Aug and 26th Jan every year and is called “President Commission”. Thanks to IESM Chairman and some other ESM organization that raised this point seriously with COAS and QMG Br and this order was revoked. We all are thankful to CAOS who has taken serious view of this situation and revoked the order issued by QMG Br.

This monster 'PBOR' is frequently visible on signboards at places like CSD canteen, MH, ECHS and other similar places. This further reflects discriminatory attitude towards our soldiers. My heart sank when I saw a 'PBOR' board in a Unit run CSD Canteen in Delhi Canteen. The same must be the story of so many other canteens that I have not visited. It is shocking to see such rampant humiliation and that it has penetrated so deep into the system. What is even more disturbing is that no one chooses to react! Well that, sirs, has to stop and stop it must. One way or another. Boil the water long enough and the pressure cooker blasts. We all know that and its not a very pleasant thing to happen.

It is painful that instead of utilizing their brains to safeguard the nation's boundaries and safeguard the interests of their subordinates, some officers at senior posts utilize their time and energy creating a rift between the brave soldiers of this nation.

I will like to quote here the lines of a remarkable naval officer, "As I pen down my experiences of the Sixth Pay Commission, I will try to mask my contempt for those in the highest echelons for conniving with the powers in Delhi quite obviously for personal benefit." And this clearly shows how power is misused by some.

Therefore in the interest of the nation, on behalf of the JCOs, NCOs and ORs of all arms, I once again request all ESM organizations to take up the above mentioned objections with the concerned authorities and urge them to completely and comprehensively abolish the term “PBOR” from the dictionary of the forces. I thank you all in advance for this service to the nation.
JAI HIND JAI BHARAT
Warm regards,
Kameshwar Pandey
Sub/Maj Hony Lt (Veteran)
Governing Body Member
Indian ESM Movement

Army needs a changed perspective

While no major modernisation has been effected since the 1980s, the army continues to be structured to fight wars of earlier eras. As the world’s third largest army observes Army Day, which marks the 62nd anniversary of General (later Field Marshal) K.M. Cariappa taking over as the first Indian army chief, the force faces multiple challenges. The army is in dire need of a major transformation into a lean, technology intensive and networked potent force to fight 21st century wars, says former army vice chief, Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi.

ARMY NEEDS A CHANGED PERSPECTIVE
Another Army Day was flagged on Saturday. The Army Day has always been a day of reflection on the achievements and shortcomings of the past year and the plans for the ensuing year. However, this year it is not just the start of one more year for the army but the commencement of a new decade. The army therefore must look at two decades, the previous and the one ahead.

The army always has achievements to cite every year. These are well known and are always a source of inspiration and satisfaction. But it is also important to mull over the areas of weaknesses so that these are removed and the army remains both a potent and relevant force.

The major areas of concern are both internal and external. The first category includes a comprehensive transformation plan; a makeover in manpower policies; greater interaction and empathy with veterans who need to be valued as adding to the strength of the army; and finally the need to get away from the status quo and defensive mentality, which hinders progress.

The external areas are modernisation, joint endeavours, reductions in internal security commitments, an assertive stand in core areas where no dilution should be acceptable, and halting and then reversing the trend of diluting the status of the army.

Transformation needs to be speeded up, as without it the army would continue to wallow in old and inefficient structures that are out of sync with the present and future battlefield environment and the rapidly changing methodologies of waging war. The army has not seen any major structural changes since the mid-80s and essentially it is still structured to fight wars of earlier eras. We need to change or upgrade our doctrines and concepts, restructure the field force, efficiently manage internal conflicts, upgrade human resources, streamline logistics, and modernise the training methodology. Our aim must be to transform the army into a lean, technology intensive, networked and joint entity.

Manpower policies are not merely promotion policies, but include recruitment and in-service management, especially grooming for higher ranks. For officers, recruitment and training policies are fairly comprehensive. However, we continue to be a generalist army, with no specialisation. There is no sectoral or geographical specialisation, no continuity in specific appointments like those in information technology that require long tenures, and little language proficiency.

Command appointments for officers are a must, resulting in shorter and shorter command tenures to accommodate everyone. The compulsion on commanders to "show" themselves in these truncated tenures, results in their riding roughshod on their commands! As regards promotion of officers, the seniority of passing out of training academies remains throughout one's service. This has resulted in many bright officers losing out. The need is for a reassessment of each officer's caliber at least at 10 years intervals and re-fixing seniority in accordance with the officers' changed abilities and performance.

In the case of jawans, there is a mismatch between imbibing technology and educational qualifications. In non-technical arms, which also handle the latest weapons and equipment, intake qualification continues to be class-X. In a transformation study carried out over 10 years ago, I had suggested upgrading the criteria to class-XII by 2002 and to graduation by 2005, but we continue to remain in a time warp! Secondly, though JCO'S are an essential link in the organisational structure, they all are promoted from the ranks. They are of higher ages, are comparatively less fit and have the same educational qualifications as the troops. Despite discussing the issue a number of times for recruiting at least a percentage directly as graduates, we have always baulked at doing so.

Today's active soldier is tomorrow's veteran. However, there seems to be a firewall between the two categories, with different norms of treatment, emoluments, medical arrangements and other related issues. This has resulted in the veterans getting disillusioned and the bureaucrats widening the gulf even more. It is the veterans who are role models for our youth as they interact with them more than the serving personnel; they ensure that the best and motivated manpower joins the army. This has not only eroded but a very large number of veterans now speak ill of the army. The army needs to re-focus on this important issue and do away with the artificial division that is increasingly disillusioning the veterans. The veterans must again start feeling that the army chief is their chief too! Although a Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare is in existence for the last six years, it has done virtually nothing for the veterans. How can it, when it is exclusively manned by the bureaucracy?

Coming to the last two areas of internal concern, status quo is no doubt a safe option, but no organisation can prosper if it loses its ability to change as the environment demands. As regards the defensive syndrome, no country has won by being on the defensive, which even in military teachings is a temporary phase.

The external areas of concern are much better known and need not be amplified. Modernisation has been a crying need for the last at least two decades. It is a great pity that neither does the army receive a sufficiently large budget, nor does the procurement wing of the Ministry of Defence and other ministries concerned, especially that of finance, see any urgency in modernising the army. Lack of modernisation has substantially reduced the fighting capability of the army and if this continues, the army is unlikely to be the deterrent force it ought to be.

War is a joint endeavour. The complexity of modern war is likely to increase in the future on account of increased and sophisticated technology; the nature of modern war; new threats and challenges; and the reality of nuclear weapons in our neighbourhood. Consequently, a joint force, which acts in an integrated manner, is not just desirable but imperative. Most professional militaries have adopted jointmanship but the Indian military is unfortunately an exception. While everyone endorses the need for jointmanship, it eventually turns out to be merely lip service. This must change. Appointing a CDS and an integrated ministry of defence would be the first steps. We would then be able to generate the necessary synergy, so essential for winning conflicts, battles and wars.

The involvement of the Army against insurgents has been extensive. Despite the ever-increasing central police forces that should be conducting such operations, there is no reduction in the commitments of the army. We have unfortunately reached a stage where the army, instead of being the last option, is often the first recourse! The heavy commitments of the army have undoubtedly been at the expense of its war-readiness, as well as the desired quality of life. Even In situations where the employment of troops becomes essential, they should be withdrawn at the earliest opportunity.

The apolitical stance of the army is correct, but should not translate into meekly accepting whatever orders the bureaucracy relays. Unfortunately, our political leaders are shy of dealing with the army directly, preferring to do so through the bureaucracy. This has resulted in a skewed arrangement whereby gradually the services chiefs appear to have lost their power of dissent even when they find any dispensation that reduces the status, power, emoluments or morale of their command. This needs to stop. It is nobody's case that the chiefs should be confrontationists, but when it comes to their authority being usurped by the bureaucracy, they must hold their ground and get the best for their men.

The military has been and will continue to be the most potent instrument that is used for the most difficult tasks, when every other instrument has failed or given up. This cannot be done by a meek military. We need to educate our political leaders the correct meaning of civil control and supremacy in a democracy.
ARMY NEEDS A CHANGED PERSPECTIVE

Soldiers lost in the babu maze

Deccan Chronicle September 15th, 2010 Soldiers lost in the babu maze by S.K. Sinha

Since 1947, career prospects in the armed forces, compared to the civil services, have become phenomenally worse. Wholesale proliferation of higher ranks in the civil services since 1947 has resulted in India having the most top-heavy civil administration. This only undermines efficient functioning. In a state there used to be one chief secretary, but now there are dozens of super chief secretaries with higher rank and pay. Similarly, instead of one inspector general of police in a state, we have dozens of DGPs, ADGPs and numerous IGPs. There used to be only four levels of civil servants in the Central Secretariat, from undersecretary to secretary. That has now increased to seven levels, to principal secretary. In the police a new zonal level of functioning has been introduced in many states to supervise the supervisors. Almost all IAS officers end up as secretary or additional secretary, and all IPS officers as DG or additional DG. In the Army, the majority of officers cannot go beyond colonel. The shortage of several thousand officers in the Army underscores that the Army is now a very unattractive career.

The protocol status of the Army in the table of precedence has also been successively downgraded with every revision of the table. After Independence, the Army Chief was initially ranked with the judges of the Supreme Court but above the secretary-general (this appointment was abolished after a while and in 1963 the appointment of Cabinet Secretary introduced). The Army Chief was now placed below Cabinet Secretary, and thereafter to many others. Today he ranks below members of the Union Public Service Commission.

This persistent downgrading of the Army applies to all officer ranks in the Army. In 1972 we had proposed that the Field Marshal should get his full pay as he is not supposed to retire and be ranked with Bharat Ratna holders, that is, just below Cabinet ministers. This was not accepted and he was ranked along with the service chiefs, that is, below Cabinet Secretary. As for salary, Manekshaw was given arrears amounting to `1.2 crores after 33 years, a few weeks before he died. Imagine. Such shabby treatment of India’s first Field Marshal who led Indian arms to a great victory. A minister of state represented the Indian government at his funeral.

The cause of the neglect of the Army in India is our irrational higher defence organisation on which the bureaucracy has a stranglehold, isolating the Army from decision-making. This does not happen in any other democracy. Unless this is set right, the Army will remain neglected.

- The author, a retired lieutenant-general, was Vice-Chief of Army Staff and has served as governor of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.
Extracted: Click Link for full article
Soldiers lost in the babu maze

NDTV OROP: The backstage story and its significance

Ref: NDTV OROP SHOW- THE BACKSTAGE STORY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

The NDTV Programme of 12 Sep 10, on OROP. “Rajeev speaks for One Rank, One Pension on "We The People" programme on NDTV - September 12, 2010 - Watch video clips below. Total duration 49 minutes.









I watched the programme with great expectations and they were not belied.
Kameshwar Sahib has given a very good account of what happened before the show and the long term benefits of preparation of an audience which is not exposed to the Services.
I have also had interaction with civilians who had watched the show and found that they were aghast at the injustice meted out to soldiers.
I must say that we were lucky that we had MPs Rajeev Chandershekhar and Manvendra Singh to support us. They will be a great help when the Parliament discusses the matter.
Now as regards our servicemen's contribution, I felt there was a deficiency. Had it not been for Capt Sidhu's and Hony Lt Kameshwar Pandey's forceful contributions the impact would have been minimal. Sidhu's assertion brought tears to my wife's and my eyes. While Pandey Sahib's threat and warning that if the govt thinks that it can divide officers, JCOs and men the result could be drastic, was potent. Also that the soldiers will not brook delay any longer.
I regret the senior officers present acted as gentlemen to a fault. This has been the bane of the Services and the bureaucrats have ridden roughshod over us for all these years. Its time we put our gloves on and vehemently expose lies and subterfuges of the govt/ bureaucarcy.
Why didnt we expose the way every civil service has upgraded its appointments and ours have been downgraded? How a Chief Secretary who was junior to a Brig is now senior to an Army Cdr in his own state. The senior most police officer in a state, who used to get less pay than a brig now gets a salary equivalent to an Army Cdr.
Have the IAS and IPS done something special to deserve this special treatment? This is how honour is affected! In fact the IAS & IPS are responsible for keeping the Army and all the paramilitary forces busy during peacetime, due to bad governance on their part.
I presume a TV programme has time limitations but we should have brain stormed and identified our bullet points for emphasis. Such opportunities do not come our way very often. Anyway, there hopefully will be an another occasion soon as other TV cahnnels will be wanting to have a similar programme.
I hope I have not trod on too many toes and my opinion is taken in the correct spirit.
Bahri (Lt Gen SK Bahri)

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The Bureaucrats- Judiciary cycle takes the Veterans for a ride

Click on links below to comprehend the time delaying tactics adopted to appease the Military Forces: Net result a big zero on Rank Pay denied since 1986...
Eigteen months ago
NEW DELHI 02 Jan 2009: With the armed forces complaining of being handed out step-motherly treatment by successive pay commissions, which they feel are dominated by civil service interests, PMO has decided that the three services will have a dedicated panel to decide salary issues.
The PMO, however, has declared it will set up a high powered committee to review the command and control functions, and the status of the armed forces vis-a-vis that of their civilian and paramilitary counterparts.
Form separate Pay Commission for armed forces- PMO to Bureaucrats
Today: PTI 07:09 PM,Sep 08,2010
Form separate Pay Commission for armed forces: Judiciary- Supreme Court to govt

Cabinet nod to cadre restructuring of Military Nursing Service

Cabinet nod to cadre restructuring of Military Nursing Service
Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, August 26, 2010
Cabinet on Thursday approved the cadre restructuring of the Military Nursing Service (MNS) officers, aiming to reduce stagnation and providing adequate career opportunities to officers. "The decision will reduce stagnation in the various ranks of MNS by increasing the number of select appointments
and will also help in retaining competent and qualified officers in service by providing adequate opportunities for career progression," a government release said.

Under this, the number of vacancies in senior ranks in the service have been increased by the government.

"74 posts of Lieutenant Colonels (time scale) have been upgraded to Lt Col (Select) and above. Now, there will be two Major Generals, 18 Brigadiers, 58 Colonels and 157 Colonels (Select) in MNS," the release said.

After this decision, the number of officers under selection grade has been increased from 161 to 309 in the 3,860 officer-strong cadre to further improve the quality of leadership in the service.

"To retain qualified and trained nursing officers, it was considered necessary to improve promotional avenues at all levels to mitigate the hardship of nursing officers by increasing the number of posts in select grade appointments within the overall strength of cadre," the statement said.

The time scale promotion of MNS officers up to the rank of Lt Cols has also been reviewed; as an officer will become a Captain from Lieutenant after three years of service from existing five years, become Major after eight years and a Lt Col (time scale) in 16 years from the present 20 years.

The qualifying service for Lt Col (Select) rank by the Selection Board has also been revised from the existing 18 years to 14 years. The last cadre review of Military Nursing Service was carried out in 1986.
Cabinet nod to cadre restructuring of Military Nursing Service
Press Trust Of India

Ex-servicemen submit memo to President on One Rank, One Pension

Ex-Servicemen protesting against the non acceptance of their demands in New Delhi on Sunday. The protesters deposited their medals to be returned to President Pratibha Patil demanding better pension. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt
THE HINDU, NEW DELHI, August 22, 2010
Ex-servicemen submit memo to President on One Rank, One Pension
‘Grant of unequal pay in the same rank is a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution'
Highlighting the plight of ex-servicemen, especially wives of deceased personnel, several hundreds former soldiers and officers on Sunday collected medals and submitted a memorandum to the President seeking ‘One Rank, One Pension (OROP)'.
Under the Chairmanship of Lt. Gen. (retd.) Raj Kadyan of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), former soldiers and over 300 women assembled at Jantar Mantar here in support of the demand.
“Some 6,000 medals have been collected to be returned to the President of India, the supreme commander of the Armed Forces, and we submitted a memorandum containing 1.25 lakh signatures in blood at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday,” IESM vice-chairman Major General (retd.) Satbir Singh told The Hindu.
Plight of women
Expressing anguish over the plight of wives of deceased jawans who have not got the benefits of an earlier raise given by the government, he asked how a woman can take care of the needs of a family with a pension of Rs.3,500.
He said the IESM Chairman had sought personal audience from the President to meet a delegation on Sunday; but since that did not happen, it was decided to hand over the memorandum at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and not the boxes of medals.
Gen. Satbir Singh said the ex-servicemen are also hurt that despite the recommendation by the Parliamentary Defence Standing Committee in May 2010, asking the government to consider afresh the OROP issue, nothing has been done.
On the other hand, he said, reports suggest the government is considering raising further the salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament in the light of recommendations of a Joint Parliamentary Committee, all in a matter of few days.
Congress MP from Punjab Pratap Singh Bajwa told The Hindu that he had raised the issue in the Lok Sabha last week stating that unequal pension exists even after the “so-called parity” in pension to Personnel Below Officers Rank.
Inequality
He said a soldier who retired before December 31, 2005, with parity in pension with effect from January 1, 2006 gets Rs.5,523 a month while a solider who retired after January 1, 2006 with same length of service gets Rs.8,700 a month.
Citing the Babu Ram Dhiman versus Union of India case, he said the Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal ruled that the grant of unequal pay in the same rank was a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution and that the State cannot lay down different criteria for grant of pension for same rank of officers on the basis of the cut-off date of retirement.
He urged the Defence Minister to reconsider the OROP issue and not compare them to civilian counterparts since their terms of service and risk the armed forces personnel face, in discharge of their duties with pride and honour, are different.
Ex-servicemen submit memo to President on One Rank, One Pension

Can decline of Indian Military be reversed?

Letter addressed to Smt Sonia Gandhi
I am writing to you on a matter concerning the career profile of the armed forces. There is a deep sense of disquiet and unease verging on to a visible simmer of discontent and turmoil in the armed forces. This is now becoming a matter of national concern and needs urgent looking into.

Since India’s independence, Yudhisthira (the armed forces), have all along fallen prey to a one sided unethical game of dice wherein they have been denied their rightful entitlements in the matter of pay, position, status or dignity. Both Bhisma and Drona, worthy political masters, have so far acquiesced in these earlier misdemeanors and still appear unconcerned. The Pandava’s after 13 years of banishment finally awoke to ask, plead and eventually fight for their rights but present day Yudhisthira, after six decades, still remains seeped in impotent patience and forbearance.

The Yudhisthira’s have so far found no present day Krsna who can pull them out of this deep dungeon of humiliation and trespass.

It is baffling as to why our leaders both political and bureaucratic are overlooking the gravity of the situation. On the one hand we are spending tens of thousands of crores in the purchase of the latest military weapons and equipment and on the other we have gone out of the way in demotivating the very personnel who are to man these sophisticated machines by preying upon their morale and welfare and making their career prospects so dismal that they cease to attract the kind of military leaders and men the country seeks and needs. One has now started questioning as to the reasons behind this perversity. It is probably due to an unfounded counter productive seed of fear, uppermost in the mind of the politician, of a likely military take over. This idea appears to trigger a continuous psychosis and a perverse response that has spread over the last 60 years. After every military victory, with outside threats having subsided, the internal fears of the politician take deeper root and he unethically pushes the nation’s military deeper into the quagmire of despondency and frustration and makes the career profile equation between the armed forces and their peers in civil central government services, unbearably invidious.

Today a Brig (29 yrs service) stands equated, pay and precedence wise, with a DIG, (IPS – 14 yrs service); Director, (IAS - 14 yrs service); Scientist F, ((DRDO -17 yrs service); DIG BSF (20 yrs service). This ill conceived and illogical equation runs right across the full rank structure. Similarly the promotion profile is as dismal. Against posted strength, the posts of Lt-Gens is 0.16 percent of the officer cadre while in the police DGP/ADGP it is 5.34 percent, Maj Gens is 0.4 percent as against 11.54 percent IGs in the police. The army at the same proportion as the police would be entitled to 2403 posts of Lt Gens as against the sanctioned strength of 63, and 5193 posts of Maj Gens as against the sanctioned strength of 218. Similar perverse equations exist between the other civil services and the armed forces. In matters of pay, at 17 years service an IAS officer gains an edge of 12.9 percent higher emoluments over an army officer with same length of service and at 25 years the gap increases to 17.3 percent and at 31 years, it jumps to 23.6 percent. Then there is proportionate cumulative effect of these differentials of pay, on allowance, pension and other monetary benefits. This when compounded over the full length of service, worked out to over Rs 30 lakhs at the time the Fifth Pay Commission submitted its report to the Government of India. This tantamounts to most central government officers drawing an average of Rs 8000/- per month more in their service span of 30 years, over and above their peer’s in the armed forces. These are startling and regrettable revelations and show how, without any qualms of conscience, the armed forces have been cheated of their rightful pay and position in the nation’s mainstream. The armed forces laudable character trait not to form unions or to take recourse to agitation, in self interest, has been exploited by the system to their total disadvantage. It has now become a noticeable cause of concern within the armed forces leaders as the gross invidiousness between them and the civil services, is liable to seriously affect their rank and file, and bode ill for the nations’ security.

Winston Churchill had this to say “Indian Army is not so much an arm of the executive branch as it is of the Indian people. Military professionals have the duty and obligation to ensure that the people and political leaders are counseled and alerted to the needs and necessities of military life. This cannot be done by adhering to notion of the military profession as silent order of monks isolated from the political realm.” Obviously, the top brass over the last 60 decades must bear full responsibility for forsaking a sacred trust and allowing this deep downward slide. Churchill further went on to say “The Armed forces are not like a limited company to be reconstructed from time to time as the money fluctuates. ------ It is a living thing. If it is bullied, it sulks, if it is unhappy it pines, if harried it gets feverish, if sufficiently disturbed it will wither and dwindle and almost die, and when it comes to this last, serious condition, it is only revived by lots of time and lots of money.” How far are the Indian Armed forces from this last serious condition!
Stephen Peter Rosen, professor at Harvard, in his book, ‘Societies and Military Power; India and her armies’ argues, that even in the case of the British, their successes against armies of India did not lay in their superior technology because Indian guns, muskets and swords were better. Philip Mason, ICS in his book, ‘A Matter of Honour’ lays the blame for this long record of military defeats at the door of politics and the type of governments that had grown up in India. The British addressed this failing, by giving military both honour and emoluments, which in turn drew the right leadership. The Indian army came to be counted amongst the very best and enabled them to expand their Empire and protect it for over a hundred years.
We forget that during the Second World War, the US President had Gen Marshall as his chief confidante and advisor. He was the genius who espoused the ‘Marshall’ plan to revive the economic wealth of America’s erstwhile enemies. Similarly, Churchill had Field Marshal Alexander as his prime confidante and advisor. If India aspires to become a nation to reckon with in the 21 Century then it must build up, train and nurse its future military leaders and not tie a lodestone of suspicion around their necks and push them deeper into the quagmire of despondency.
In 1947, an officer of the rank of Lt Gen was placed above an ICS secretary to Government of India, which was then the highest post for an ICS officer, Maj Gen above Chief Secretary of States and a Brig ranked above an IG of police and drew a higher pension than that of a secretary. This was in spite of the fact the ICS then was accorded a special status because, there were at that time, no elected political leaders. The present day bureaucrat, forgets that in his new role he is primarily and exclusively a civil servant executing policy decisions of the politically elected leaders, he has ingeniously usurped the politicians’ prerogative and has accorded himself a distorted inter-se precedence vis a vis the armed forces. From the preceding paragraphs it is abundantly clear that all this has come about largely because of a ‘You scratch my back I scratch your back’ collusive arrangement.

All this not withstanding, internal political squabbles have kept the politician much too preoccupied to apply his mind and attention to the dark and threatening clouds that have already cast their ominous shadows of the turbulent decades ahead. Our political arena is in the doldrums, cleaving and clawing. To our west, Pakistan is in turmoil and on the verge of a breakup. The terrorists, breeding and sprouting in a cascading pattern there, are menacingly positioned to strike eastwards after finding sanctuaries in J&K and lastly, an emerging unstructured nuclear threat from that country is very much on the cards. This aside, India is unquestionably vulnerable to the numerous termites flourishing within--- the Maos and Naxals spreading from Nepal to Chattisgarh; The ULFA and the other insurgents, weakening our Seven Sisters to the East; The numerous sleeping cells of the Al Qaeda; well dispersed, biding their time; Poverty and corruption seeping deep into our guts; And the law of the jungle pattern of existence competing with ‘organized chaos’ style of governance. Each of these is evolving its own menacingly alarming portrait of Satan.

We have already forgotten that for eleven long centuries our lands were continuously under rapacious foreign rule. No other region in the world with an odd exception perhaps can claim heritage to such a deep destroying humiliation and curse. Within 60 years of gaining independence, our conduct across the board has ripened this region for being plucked once again.

It is laudable to view the 21st Century as India’s century but we must not overlook the fact that at one time in the past, ours was the richest region in the world. Today we stand as vulnerable to our new found ‘Kohinoors’, and ‘Peacock Thrones’, and the ‘Som Nath Temples’ being plundered once again, as happened historically in the past, if we fail once again to sufficiently and adequately nourish and safeguard the intrinsic interests of the prime protectors of our sovereignty. It took the British a couple of hundred years to build a military might with Indian manpower, by virtue of which they expanded their Empire and kept it intact. We need no lessons to tell us as to what should be the State of our Armed Forces and how best we can speedily rectify the earlier harm caused so as to prepare and motivate them sufficiently to tackle the threats that lie ahead.
I am attaching as an appendix to this letter a short note on aspects that merit specific consideration.
With kindest regards,
Yours Sincerely,
Maj Gen NC Khanna (Retd)

How Rank Pay was denied to the Military?

Lt Gen SK Sinha, who had served in Army Headquarters in every rank, authored the Fourth Pay Commission and knew every bureaucratic trick of the trade, was superseded as COAS as the Government thought he would be a difficult customer. Gen Sinha resigned. The Government notification for part of the Fifth Pay Commission award was signed by Defence Secretary Ajit Kumar even as COAS Gen Ved Malik had put his objections in writing. The same drama was witnessed last year when the three Service Chiefs collectively refused to accept the piecemeal award of the Sixth Pay Commission, insisting the anomalies be addressed first. One newspaper editor called it “unprecedented military dissent” but conveniently omitted the word ‘legitimate’.
Give military autonomy by Ashok K Mehta

Re- Employment for retired Brigadiers' in the Armed Forces

Retd Brigadiers’ to be reinducted
Express news service
Posted: Wed May 12 2010, 02:12 hrs
New Delhi:

With an aim to meet the shortage of officers in the army, the government has approved the re-employment of Brigadiers who have retired from service in staff and instructional posts. The re-employment scheme will now give Brigadier rank officers in the army an opportunity to seek an extra term of two years, taking up their retirement age to 58. At present, the Army is short of more than 200 officers of the rank of Brigadier.
Retd Brigadiers’ to be re inducted
Grant of Re-employment-Revised Procedure

Does this imply that the army is not short of Maj Gens and Lt Gens and stand no chance of re- employment after retirement? Is age the only criteria and not the possession of skill- sets?

Shortage of Officers in Army: Is it likely to improve in the forseeable future?

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 Ministry of Defence 16:25 IST
The sanctioned strength of officers is 46614 in Army, 9,293 in Navy and 12,212 in Air Force. The present strength of officers in Army is 35,158 and around 11,500 posts are vacant.

One Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai is already functional. The Government has approved setting up of a second OTA at Gaya, Bihar. Necessary steps have been initiated to make the Academy functional.

A number of steps have been taken to attract the talented youth to join the Armed Forces. All officers including those in Short Service Commission (SSC) are now eligible to hold substantive rank of Captain, Major and Lieutenant Colonel after 2, 6 and 13 years of reckonable service respectively. The tenure of SSC officers has been increased from 10 years to 14 years. A total number of 750 posts of Lt. Colonel have been upgraded to Colonel towards implementation of AV Singh Committee Report (Phase-I). Further, 1896 additional posts in the ranks of Colonel, Brigadier, Major General and Lieutenant General and their equivalents in the other two Services have been upgraded towards implementation of AV Singh Committee Report (Phase-II). The implementation of recommendations of the VI Central Pay Commission with substantial improvement in the pay structure of officers of Armed Forces, is expected to make the Services more attractive.

The Armed Forces have also undertaken sustained image projection and publicity campaign to create awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging and satisfying career. Awareness campaigns, participation in career fairs and exhibitions, advertisements in print and electronic media, motivational lectures in schools, colleges are also some of the other measures in this direction.

This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written reply to Shri in Shadi Lal Batra Rajya Sabha today. PK / RAJ
Shortage of Officers in Army

Comments: Neither Implementation of AV Singh Committee recommendations nor Sixth Pay Commission enhanced pay scales are likely to improve the shortage of Officers in the Armed Forces in the foreseeable future. The main reasons are that the rank and honour is totally degraded and Officer status is being reduced and diminished progressively. This is aptly apparent from the number of Judicial Rulings in favour of the Military that are being flouted by the Bureaucrats and the Government with scant regard for the welfare of the Ex- Servicemen.
Only method to offset the shortage is to ensure all bureaucrats including IPS Officers being inducted do at least a 3- year stint in the Armed Forces before they are sent to their respective cadres.

A Dying Tradition

Following an erosion of status and respect for the armed forces, officers want their children to look for greener pastures. SHOBHITA NAITHANI reports

Photo: AP
WHEN RAHUL Srivastava (name changed) was commissioned into the Indian Army in December 2000, he was overjoyed to be following in his father’s and brother’s footsteps. Money, Srivastava was clear, was not his priority. The army, he knew, was the wrong place for it anyway. “As army officers, our primary role is to prepare for a war. And I was ready to sweat it out for the nation,” he says. Seven years later, he had quit the service, discontented and ready for a corporate job.

“I was doing the job of a police officer,” Srivastava says, looking back at what led to his personal tipping point of opting out. “The moment a situation got beyond what the police could handle (as happens in most cases), we were called in. I was caught up in flood relief and riot control. And, worse, my efforts weren’t even recognised.” The 32-year-old father of a four-year-old says he will never encourage his son to take up his former career.

Disenchantment is an emotion shared by most officers who have opted for premature retirement. Srivastava touches on some of the other reasons he no longer finds the army an attractive prospect: poor promotional avenues owing to the army’s steep pyramidal structure, zero opportunity for lateral induction into other Central services, inadequate housing for family and insufficient educational facilities for the children as army personnel move across the country. As one retired Brigadier who spoke to TEHELKA on condition of anonymity said, “If a man agrees to risk his life for the nation, the government should assure him that it will look after his backyard. Otherwise we are in for tragedy.”

The Indian Army is, at present, facing a shortage of about 11,200 officers — 24 percent of its sanctioned strength of 46,615 officers. The situation looks unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future — in 2007, 190 cadets signed up for the National Defence Academy as against the institution’s total strength of 300 seats. The Indian Military Academy (IMA) had only 86 enrolments the same year as against its allotted strength of 250. Meanwhile, as the need to tackle the acute shortage of officers becomes urgent, few miss the irony of talk of establishing a second Officers’ Training Academy, on the lines of the one in Chennai, for short-service commission officers.

Another source of the officer shortage comes from the number of premature retirements. Between the years 2003-07, there were 3,474 officers applying for premature retirement, of whom 2,076 were released. There were 387 such applicants in 2003; by 2007, this figure had more than tripled, going up to 1,130.

HARD NUMBERS
The Indian Army is facing a shortage of 11,200 officers
The Indian Navy needs 1430 more officers
The Indian Air Force has a shortfall of 1368 officers
1130 Army officers applied for premature retirement in 2007
284 Navy officers applied for premature retirement in 2007
287 Air Force officers applied for premature retirement in 2007

The hard fact the armed forces have been grappling with for years now is their diminishing appeal as a career option for the country’s young. Income issues in the services have been increasingly vocalised over the years — in February 2009, for instance, hundreds of ex-servicemen returned their medals to protest the government’s unresponsiveness to calls for pension parity among those of equal rank and length of service. While the Sixth Pay Commission last year made an unprecedented gesture at pay-scale revision, the forces’ dissatisfaction continues — the revisions have not gone far enough, they say. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s performance audit for 2008 has thrown stark highlight over the inefficiencies now systemic to the armed services — inadequacies in technology and arms capability, seemingly endless delays in delivery of indigenously-produced weapons systems and questionable procurement deals whose exposure stalls the expenditure of crores of budgetary allocations. None of these make a positive contribution to morale. Add now the rising incidence of suicide and nervous collapse among serving defence personnel and an already bleak picture of life in the forces is only further filled in.

“In our time, one joined the army for the adventure and the lifestyle. But today, all you need to be is smart and fluent in English. When a person has this kind of exposure, he turns around and says, ‘Am I mad to go serve the nation in Siachen?’” points out a retired Brigadier, who requested anonymity. “Times are changing. You’ve got to change with the times. How long can you keep flogging the slogan of naam, namak, nishan (name, loyalty and brand),” he adds.

But Major General (retired) Mrinal Suman argues that it is incorrect to claim that youth response to a career in the services is poor. “An adequate number of bright candidates still aspire for the services,” he says. “It is unfair to label them riff-raff (as some senior officers tend to do). It is our selection system that needs re-examining,” he says. Suman has been on the Union Public Service Commission’s Services Selection Board, which screens civil service aspirants, and says he has witnessed candidates for the defence services being rejected for little more than alleged angularities of personality. “A school captain of a famous public school was rejected when he stated that he disliked killing helpless animals for human consumption. The assessor thought he was soft and lacked the necessary killing instinct,” Suman says.

Colonel Malhotra (name changed) has applied for retirement but is still serving because his orders haven’t come through. “I can’t wait to quit the army. It used to be such a noble profession, especially at a time when my father was an officer. However, today there has been an erosion of status, respect and self-esteem,” he says. Roma (name changed), his wife, who is a professor at a Roorkee college, and their three children have been living in Roorkee since the birth of the youngest, a boy, now 16 years old. “Roma stayed back because she had her career and the children’s education to take care of. I’m like a stranger to my son.,” Malhotra says. The 48-year-old says he will make sure his children have nothing to do with the army. “There’s no question. I don’t want them to endure the trauma and get nothing in return,” he says.

From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 6, Issue 9, Dated Mar 07, 2009
A Dying Tradition
Statistical Analysis of Exodus of Officers from Indian Armed Forces

Lt Cols rank and status restored to Pay Band 4

Dear Friends,
Well, there is good news for Lt Cols.
ALL Lt Cols and equivalents have been placed in PB-4 barring less than 30 or so, who are on deputation to NHAI, Pawan Hans etc.
There is reason to believe that the pension of pre-96 retired Lt Col (incl TS) will be stepped up to Rs 25,700. As per my feed back, the Service Instruction is likely to be issued within this week.

Regards,
Maj Gen Surjit Singh (Retd)

Pay Band-4 orders for Lt Colonels have been issued. All Lt Cols are now placed in Pay Band-4. Only those officers who are on depuation to organisations such as NHAI, IRCON, Pawan Hans, State Govts etc would not be placed in PB-4 till they revert back to the defence services. Hence, only about 30 Lt Cols in total are expected to be kept outside the purview of PB-4. Orders on PB-4 dated 30 Jan 2009 issued by the MoD to this effect can be viewed by clicking here.

Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep
Uplifting News for Lt Cols