India's Space Quest Moon Impactor a grand success

In a historic event, the Indian space programme achieved a unique feat today (November 14, 2008) with the placing of Indian tricolour on the Moon’s surface on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday. The Indian flag was painted on the sides of Moon Impact Probe (MIP), one of the 11 payloads of Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, that successfully hit the lunar surface today at 20:31 hrs (8:31 pm) IST. This is the first Indian built object to reach the surface of the moon. The point of MIP’s impact was near the Moon’s South Polar Region. It may be recalled that the modern Indian space programme was initiated in 1962 when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister of India.

Weighing 34 kg at the time of its launch onboard Chandrayaan-1, the box shaped MIP carried three instruments – a video imaging system, a radar altimeter and a mass spectrometer. The video imaging system was intended to take the pictures of the moon’s surface as MIP approached it. The radar altimeter was included to measure the rate of descent of the probe to the lunar surface. Such instruments are necessary for future lunar soft landing missions. And, the mass spectrometer was for studying the extremely thin lunar atmosphere.

MIP’s 25 minute journey to the lunar surface began with its separation from Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft at 20:06 hrs (8:06 pm) IST. This was followed by a series of automatic operations that began with the firing of its spin up rockets after achieving a safe distance of separation from Chandrayaan-1. Later, the probe slowed down with the firing of its retro rocket and started its rapid descent towards the moon’s surface. Information from the its instruments was radioed to Chandrayaan-1 by MIP. The spacecraft recorded this in its onboard memory for later readout. Finally, the probe had a hard landing on the lunar surface that terminated its functioning.

Thus, India’s very first attempt to send a probe to the moon’s surface from its spacecraft orbiting the moon has been successfully concluded.

With the switching ON of two of Chandrayaan-1’s payloads– Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) and Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM)– on its journey to moon and with MIP’s successful impact on the lunar surface today, it is planned to switch ON and test the remaining eight payloads of the spacecraft in the coming few days.

It may be recalled that Chandrayaan-1 was successfully launched by PSLV-C11 on October 22, 2008 from India’s spaceport at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota into its intended initial elliptical orbit around the Earth. Following this, the spacecraft’s orbit was raised in steps and it was made to pass near the moon by repeatedly firing its 440 Newton liquid engine. After Chandrayaan-1’s entry into its planned lunar orbit on November 8, 2008, the orbital height was reduced in steps to its intended operational altitude of 100 km from the lunar surface.

Since its launch, the health and orbit of Chandrayaan-1 is being continuously monitored from the Spacecraft Control Centre of ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore with critical support from antennas of Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu. IDSN antennas have also received the images and scientific information gathered by TMC, RADOM, and more recently, by MIP.
Indian Tricolour Placed on the Moon on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s Birthday

Ex- Servicemen fratenity and the Armed Forces personnel congratulate the team of Scientists, Engineers and Staff who have taken the first giant step in the conquest of SPACE. Kudos and keep up the fantastic team work.

SCPC: Revised Pension for the Armed Forces

Dear Friends,
Jai Hind.
Vide Government of India, Ministry of Defence, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, New Delhi- 110011, letter No No 17(4)/2008(1)/D(Pen/Policy), dated 11-11-2008 addressed to the three Services Chiefs, the Government decision on the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission– Revision of Pension of Pre 2006 Armed Forces Pensioners/ Family Pensioners has been issued.

Kind courtesy Cdr KK Punchhi, I have received a copy of the letter. The letter is a PDF file of 95 pages (484 KB) is given as link below. I also reproduce below an email received from Lt Gen Kadyan, which will help you calculate your pension as on date.

Dear colleagues,
The pension notification for all of us has been issued a short while ago. The known details for pre 2006 pensioners as of now are:
New pension= Your old pension x 2.26 + Rs 3,000.00 + 16% DA on the total.
The only concession given to defence personnel is that they have been given notional advantage of the MSP for all ranks, including Maj Gen & Lt Gen. That is how Rs 3000 gets added because that is half of MSP. For PBOR it would be an addition of Rs 1,000. More details would follow as these emerge.

Best regards,
Lt Gen Raj Kadyan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd)
Chairman IESM

Based on the email from Lt Gen Raj Kadyan, I have also prepared a table for pension of the officers, which is reproduced below for your perusal. I will also work out the year wise table of arrears and forward the same to you as soon as possible.
TABLE OF PENSION OFFICERSThose of you receiving different amount of pension than mentioned in the table above, should use the formula given by Gen Kadyan in his email above.

For PBORs: I am sorry I do not have the data for the pension as on 1-1-1996. I will try and get the data if possible and work out the table of pension for PBOR as on date.

On behalf of YOU ALL, "i" thank Lt Gen Raj Kadyan and Cdr KK Punchhi for sending the information to us.

In Service of Indian Military Veterans,
Brig CS Kamboj VSM (Retd)

The government has decided to grant the benefit of MSP to past retirees also which is a welcome step. But my advisory of ‘take it with a pinch of salt’ has also come into play. The addition of an MSP fitment into pension does not translate into direct benefit to all retirees since the benefit of 50% of MSP (Rs 3000 for Officers and Rs 1000 for PBOR) has not been granted for calculation of new pension as per the new 6th CPC system but only for the purposes of prescribed minima for each rank. Meaning thereby that the new pension for old retirees shall not be below 50% of the minimum of new pay band plus grade pay plus MSP (plus x group pay if admissible). Hence the new pension shall be either:

As per the new fitment scheme of the 6th CPC (that is, old basic pension x 2.26 + 16% DA as on date) or

@ 50% of minimum of new scale + x Group Pay if admissible + Grade Pay + MSP
whichever of the two is higher.

Example:
Pension of a Full Colonel who retired on any date prior to 1-1-2006 would be granted @ 50% of minimum of new scale (Rs 37400) plus Grade Pay (Rs 8700) plus MSP (Rs 6000) which would come to 50% of Rs 52100, that is Rs 26050 (plus the applicable DA of course). The said pension would also be admissible to Lt Colonels who retired prior to 1-1-2006 in case Pay Band-4 is accepted for Lt Colonels.

An across the board fitment @50% of MSP for all retirees has not yet been granted.

This paragraph from Govt of India Letter No 17(4)/2008(1)/D(Pen/Policy) dated 11 Nov 2008 may throw more light on the issue:
“The consolidation of pension will further be subject to the provision that the consolidated pension, in no case shall be lower than fifty percent of the minimum of the pay in the pay band plus the grade pay corresponding to the pre revised scale from which the pensioner had retired/discharged including Military Service Pay and ‘X’ Group pay where applicable. For example, if a pensioner had retired in the pre-revised scale of pay of 6600 – 170 – 9320, the corresponding pay band being 9300 - 34800 and the corresponding grade pay and Military Service Pay being Rs. 4,600/- and Rs. 2,000/- respectively, his minimum guaranteed pension would be 50% of Rs 9300 + Rs 4600 + Rs 2000 i.e. Rs 7,950....”

Maj Navdeep Singh TA
Better news for pre 1-1-2006 (and pre 1-9-2008) pensioners in the offing : MSP fitment may be granted to all retirees

Dear Friends,
The official communication regarding pension has been received. While I am still trying to analyze the maze of figures, I have just one word to describe this dispensation: it is grotesque.
Our 'movement' has been given a short shrift, and the sensibilities of the past pensioners have received a severe blow. However, as a die hard optimist, I am sanguine that something will be done to remedy the situation.

With best wishes.
Maj Gen Surjit Singh (Retd)
PS: Those who are in a hurry may just turn to Annexure II and Table 2 on page 92-93.

Please click link for the 95 pages of pension tables. Give it an extra few seconds for the 450kb pdf file to load. Bingo you have the pension literally scratched on the moon surface for grabs!
Implementation of government decision on the recommendations of SCPC- Revision of Pension Pre 2006 Armed Forces Pensioners/ Family Pensioners.
Alternate CGDA link:
Pension Orders Pre 2006
SCPC: Post 2006 Pension Scales

ESM: Pension Tables a critical evaluation

Comparison of PensionsI am attaching the pension table shown above. It has been prepared by some one who knows all the nuances of the subject and is based on the assumption that the recommendations of the Pay Commission are ipso facto applied to the military pensioners. The figures for the period 1996- 2005 are approximate, since they vary with each passing year and the post 2006 amounts are the pensions admissible for those who retire in early 2006. For the subsequent retirees, these will increase due to the 3% increments (the first one due in July 2006) and promotions.

Please note:

At the two apex levels, viz, the Cabinet Secretary/ Service Chiefs and the Secretary/ Army Commanders it is "OROP", per se.

For HAG Plus, which has no equivalent in the military so far, it is almost OROP. It is more than a coincidence that an overwhelming majority of the best paid government employees who have been granted this liberal dispensation are civil servants. A fairly large proportion of the IAS and the IPS officers rise to the HAG plus and higher levels while the number of Army Commanders (and equivalents) can be counted on finger tips.

Very few of our veteran analysts have studied the effect of the recommendations of this pay commission on the pension of PBOR. It would be noticed that for the Sepoys and the NCOs the difference is fairly large. It is my belief that if the government is so unwise as to extend the civilian pay rule to the pre- 2006 military pensioners then our Jawans stand to loose on every count. It is cold logic that a soldier retiring in Dec 2005 should not be given two thirds the pension of his comrade-in-arms who hangs up his uniform just a month later.

Maj Gen Surjit Singh (Retd)

We thank Maj Gen Surjit Singh for the critical evaluation of Pension anomalies for the ESM. The grant of OROP is the only logical solution to remedy the lopsided and confusing Pension Tables in vogue. The PBORs and widows are the ones who are victims of the injustice so created by Bureaucrats which ultimately do not benefit the most deserving Jawans in their twilight years.