NEW DA FROM JAN 2012

CABINET APPROVES 7% HIKE IN DEARNESS ALLOWANCE...

UNION CABINET APPROVED A PROPOSAL TO HIKE ADDITIONAL DEARNESS ALLOWANCE BY 7% FOR CENTRAL STAFF AND CENTRAL GOV. PENSIONERS. THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT ON FRIDAY APPROVED A SEVEN PER CENT HIKE IN DEARNESS ALLOWANCE TO CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AND PENSIONERS, THIS HIKE IS TO BE EFFECTIVE RETROSPECTIVELY FROM JAN 2012.

THE DEARNESS ALLOWANCE AND DEARNESS RELIEF FOR CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SERVING EMPLOYEES AND PENSIONERS WILL INCREASE FROM 58% PER CENT OF BASIC EMOLUMENTS TO 65% PER CENT WITH EFFECT FROM 1.1.2012.

INTERIM ANTICIPATORYBAIL TO FORMER VICE CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF

Ex-army vice chief gets interim anticipatory bail

Asseem Shaikh.

The court of special judge D R Mahajan on Wednesday granted an ad interim anticipatory bail to former vice chief of army staff Lt Gen Noble Thamburaj, till March 28, in the case pertaining to his alleged involvement in a defence land lease case. The bail order states that Thamburaj, in the event of his arrest, shall be released on a personal bond and surety bond of Rs 30,000 with one or two sureties of the like amount. The court has directed Thamburaj not to leave Pune and cooperate with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) whenever he is called for questioning. The CBI, Pune unit, is being served a court notice seeking its written submission on Thamburaj’s bail plea, which is to be heard next on March 28. On January 30, the Army Headquarters, New Delhi, had registered a complaint with the CBI alleging that Thamburaj, who was then General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Command in Pune, and former defence estates officer S R Nayyar extended undue favour to a construction firm, Kalpataru Builders, in the matter of leasing a bungalow on a prime defence land in the Pune cantonment.

The matter relates to a 0.96 acre piece of land at bungalow no 8-A, survey no. 241-A, Lothian road, in the Pune cantonment. The land was leased to the construction firm. The CBI complaint stated that in doing so, Thamburaj and Nayyar ignored the existing rules and policies and violated the terms of lease. The Army Headquarters sought registration of offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct in the matter. On January 31, CBI teams had carried out searches at the residences of Thamburaj and Nayyar and the office of Kalpataru Builders in Koregaon Park. Thamburaj moved the court on Wednesday for an anticipatory bail in the matter through his counsel, Sudhir Shah. The court passed the ad interim anticipatory bail order in an ex-parte hearing process.

Army jawan’s widow wins battle

Army jawan’s widow wins battle that he couldn’t

About 49 years after her husband was discharged from the Army and nine years after he passed away, the widow of an Army jawan has been sanctioned familypension even though her husband never got his post-retirement benefits.

It was only after the death of Sep Gurdayal, an Army Ordnance Corps reservist from Gurdaspur, in 2003, that his widow Piaro, took up the case afresh with the Army authorities and the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions) for the grant of reservist and family pension. Gurdayal had taken up the case for his pension earlier, but to no avail.

The sanction of pension came without the family members having to seek judicial intervention. It was largely through the efforts of a serving colonel posted in the Western Sector, who assisted the family with paperwork and procedural matters, that the widow got her benefits.

Besides getting a pension of Rs 6,000 per month in accordance with current Pay Commission rates, she has also got arrears of pension since 1963, when her husband was discharged. The reservist pension at that time was just Rs 10 per month.

According to a letter written by the Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) Record to the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts, Gurdayal was enrolled in the AOC in June 1947, when he was only 15 years old.

His service with the Regular AOC was extended till July 1958, following which he was transferred to the reservist establishment.

In 1963, he was invalided out of service on medical grounds.

His total service, including boy service when he did not complete 16 years of age, worked out to be 15 years and 213 days. According to Defence Ministry regulations issued in 2002, boy service is to be counted towards fixing pensionary benefits.

THE FIGHT AFTER SERVICE

* Sep Gurdayal, Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) reservist from Gurdaspur, was enrolled in the AOC Record in June 1947 at the age of 15 years.
* His service with the Regular AOC was extended till July 1958.
* He was later transferred to the reservist establishment
* In 1963, he was rendered invalid on medical grounds
* He applied for pension, but to no avail
* After his death in 2003, his widow took up the case afresh
* She has been sanctioned a pension of Rs 6,000 pm, besides arrears since 1963

-via Tribune India

NEW BUDGET 2012 FOR DEFENCE

Defence budget shoots up 17%

MOST OF TODAY’S PAY AND ALLOWANCES CONSTITUTE TOMORROW’S DEFENCE PENSIONS

Military spending has gone up by 17 per cent, or Rs 28,992 crore, to Rs 1,93,407 crore in the Budget. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said this allocation was based on the needs projected by the defence ministry.

For 2011-12, the spend was pegged at Rs 1,64,415 crore, an increase of 11 per cent over the previous year. However the three services together returned around Rs 3,000 crore of unspent money. The difference between the Budget Estimate for 2011-12 and the Revised Estimate for the same year was around Rs 3,000 crore.

The capital expenditure of the armed forces — which goes into the purchase of equipment — was set at Rs 79,579 crore, a 15.7 per cent increase from last year’s capital allocation of Rs 69,199 crore. As much as 70 per cent of this amount will go into servicing contracts already signed.

The revenue component of the defence budget amounts to Rs 108,369 crore. This part of the Budget, that goes into paying salaries, was Rs 90,767 crore in the Budget Estimate, but was Rs 99,762 in the Revised Estimate.

Commenting on the ballooning revenue under the defence budget, Laxman Behera, research fellow at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, said, “Pay and allowances are obligatory in nature and the government has little control over their growth, given the mandatory annual increases. Moreover, MOST OF TODAY’S PAY AND ALLOWANCES CONSTITUTE TOMORROW’S DEFENCE PENSIONS — again something over which the government has little control. The growth in these two components has implications for other aspects of the defence budget.”

On the capital side, India is on the verge of signing a $20-billion contract for 126 Rafale medium multirole combat aircraft, apart from a $600-million deal for 75 Pilatus PC-7 basic trainer for Air Force. However, the outlays indicate that the final go-ahead for this expenditure might be rolled over to the next financial year.

The Air Force, which is buying the Rafale, was allotted Rs 22,000 crore in 2011-12; the revised estimates shows it has spent just about Rs 18,000 crore. The outlay for 2012-13 is Rs 23,000 crore.

Several artillery purchases for the army are also due; for instance, the proposal to buy 145 ultra-light Howitzers from the US under a government-to-government sale.

-via Business Standard