Prisoners of War

Prisoners of War

Fifty four (54) missing defence personnel of 1965 and 1971 Wars are believed to be in the custody in Pakistan. The Government has repeatedly been taking up the matter with the Pakistan Government. However, Pakistan does not acknowledge the presence of any such personnel in its custody. A delegation of 14 relatives of missing defence personnel also visited 10 Jails in Pakistan during 1st June, 2007 - 14th June, 2007. The delegation, however, could not conclusively confirm the physical presence of any missing defence personnel.

 The families of these missing defence personnel have been given liberalized pensionary/rehabilitation benefits as per extant rules. Further, orders have been issued for compliance of judgement dated 23.12.2011 passed by Hon`ble High Court of Gujarat regarding payment of service and retirement benefits to the next of kin of the missing defence personnel believed to be in the custody in Pakistan, as if they had retired on superannuation.

 This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri A K Antony in written reply to shriS. Semmalai and Shri KuldeepBishnoi in Lok Sabha on 07-05-12

 PK/RK/NN  

EDUCATIONAL CONCESSIONS

EDUCATIONAL CONCESSIONS  for Wards of Ex-Servicemen

Wards of Ex-servicemen who are missing/disabled/killed in action are provided various educational concessions in Government/Government aided schools/educational institutes, Military/Sainik schools and other schools/colleges recognized by Central/State Governments. This facility is available upto First degree course.

 (i) The following concessions are provided in accordance with Gol letter No.6-1/2009/Edu.Concession/ll/D(Res), dated 26th October 2010:

 Tuition Fee: Full reimbursement.

 Hostel Charges: Full reimbursement of hostel charges for children studying in boarding schools and colleges.

 Cost of books/stationary: Rs.1,000/- per annum per student.

 Cost of Compulsory Uniform: Rs.1700/- maximum during 1st year and Rs.700/- for the subsequent year per student.

 Clothing: Rs.500/- for the 1st year and Rs.300/- for the subsequent years per annum per student

 (ii) Under RakshaMantri Discretionary Fund Children of Ex- servicemen up to Havaldar Rank are entitled to Education Grant of Rs.1000/- per month up to Graduation.

 (iii) Messing and accommodation is provided to the children of war widows, war disabled, attributable cases in 35 War Memorial Hostels. Recurring grant @ Rs.1350/- per month per inmate is provided to the hostel from Armed Forces Flag Day Fund. For wards of non-attributable disabled soldiers also grants are provided @ Rs.675/- per month per inmate.

 (iv) Under Prime Minister`s Scholarship Scheme, every year 4000 new scholarships are given to wards of martyrs and ex-servicemen for pursuing, various recognized Professional Degree Courses like B.Tech& MBBS etc.

 35 war memorial hostels set up in Regimental centers in different parts of the country are catering to the welfare needs of wards of martyrs and ex-servicemen

 This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr MM PallamRajuin a written reply to Dr.Mahendrasinh P. Chauhan in Lok Sabha on 07-05-2012.

 PK/NN  

Reservation for Ex-Servicemen

Reservation for Ex-Servicemen

The Central/State Government provides for the following reservation for Ex-Servicemen in the civil jobs:-

Group`C`            Group `D`

(a)Central Ministries/Departments          10%                        20%

(b)PSUs/Nationalized Banks                  14.5%                    24.5%

(ii)        10% posts of Assistant Commandants in paramilitary forces and 100% posts are reserved for ESM in Defence Security Corps.

(iii)             Most State Governments also provide reservations to ESM in State Government jobs.

Government orders already exist to carry forward unfilled vacancies for Ex-Servicemen to the next year. The reservation policy for Ex-servicemen is implemented by the concerned Government/Departments, Public Sector Undertakings and Banks. It is the responsibility of the concerned organization to implement the same. Since applying for Government jobs by Ex- Servicemen is voluntary, data in this regard is not maintained.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr MM PallamRajuin a written reply to Shri NripendraNath Roy and Shri NarahariMahato in Lok Sabha on 07-05-2012.

PK/NN

ONE RANK ONE PENSION

Government in agreement on 'one rank one pension': Army chief

PTI May 4, 2012, 05.03PM IST

MADHYA PRADESH: The Centre has given in-principle approval to the 'one rank one pension' demand of ex-servicemen, Chief of Army Staff General V K Singh said today.

"I have written twice to the central government on the issue of one rank one pension and it has agreed to it in principle," he said while addressing a rally of ex-servicemen at Mahar Regiment Centre Ground in MP.

Rehabilitation of Disabled Soldiers

Rehabilitation of Disabled Soldiers

KendriyaSainik Board provides financial assistance to run vocational Training Centres at (i) Base Hospital, Barrackpore (WB), (ii) Command Hospital (SC), Pune, (iii) Military Hospital, Agra, (iv) Military Hospital, Namkum and (v) Base Hospital, Delhi Cantt. 

The government does not have any proposal to open more such centres. This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr MM PallamRaju in written reply to Shri Varun Gandhi in Lok Sabha today. 

 PK/NN  
(Release ID :82789)

ECHS POLYCLINICS

Facilities in Polyclinics

Government has approved a pilot project for online electronic bill processing at five stations, i.e. Delhi, Chandigarh, Pune, Secunderabad and Trivandrum. This will ensure prompt payment to hospitals. In order to ensure that medicines are available on demand at the polyclinics the Government is exploring various measures including outsourcing of pharmacy services to reputed pharmacy companies. This measure is expected to greatly enhance clientele satisfaction as 90% patients are treated and given medicines at the Polyclinics 

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr MM PallamRaju in written reply to Shri RajaiahSiricilla and others in Lok Sabha today. 

PK/NN 
(Release ID :82788)

CAR SALES THROUGH CSD

Fresh information on Car sales through CSD

The Deputy Directorate General Canteen Services (DDGCS) at the QMG’s branch has issued a fresh letter reiterating the ban of car sales through CSD on account of budgetary constraints.

The letter issued on 22 Feb 2012 however states that despite the ban, the directorate has been authorised to grant permission on case to case basis and for this a special ‘Car Sanction Cell’ is being established.

The Cell would be manned by a Section Officer who would be available on telephone numbers (011) 23092563 and 23093572.

Irrespective of rank, anybody who is desirous of buying a car through CSD can apply to the DDG CS with an application with the following particulars :

(a)  Date of car last purchased from CSD

(b)  Reasons for requirement of the special sanction

(c)  Make and Model of the car required

(d)  Name of depot from where the car is required

The letter reiterates that the ban would be lifted completely when the budgetary situation improves but till that happens this adhoc arrangement shall continue.

Source - indianmilitaryinfo

VAT on CSD

Hooda reduces VAT on CSD goods by 1%

A civil military liaison conference between the Haryana government and the Army was held at Western Command Headquarters, Chandimandir, on Wednesday. The meeting was co-chaired by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GoC-in-C), Western Command, Lieutenant General S R Ghosh.

Hooda announced reduction in VAT on CSD goods from 5.25 per cent to 4.25 per cent. The Army Commander said police personnel should visit Army units and establishments, which would lead to a better understanding of each other’s capability. The state government consented to nominate specific days for the defence personnel in RTO offices in other districts of Haryana as have been sanctioned at Panchkula, Ambala and Hisar. Concessions would be offered to group housing schemes of Army. The Chief Minister sanctioned additional Rs 75 lakh for the Army Industrial Training Institute located at Ambala.

Lieutenant General Ghosh sought cooperation of the state government for allocation of land in lieu of defence land acquired by the government. He made a request for land for welfare housing projects and allied facilities at subsidised rates. He also proposed that the Pinjore Flying Academy be jointly utilised by the state government and Army in view of the high capital costs involved in development of aviation infrastructure.

LATEST NEWS ONE RANK ONE PENSION FOR EX-SERVICEMEN

DEMAND FOR ONE RANK ONE PENSION FOR RETIRED ARMY PERSONNEL 

The ex-servicemen Associations have been demanding for several years grant of same pension which is granted to new pensioners with same rank and same length of service irrespective of date of retirement, popularly known as "One Rank One Pension" (OROP). The differentials in pension between the past and the new retirees arise on account of the fact that the computation of pension depends on the pay scale of the person at the time of retirement and pension undergoes change as and when the pay scales are revised.

Their requests have been considered by the Government and over the years several improvements have been made in pension of past pensioners in accordance with the recommendations of successive Pay Commissions, as accepted by the Government. The Cabinet Secretary Committee constituted by the Government of India to look into the demand of OROP and related issues gave seven recommendations to reduce the gap between past and current pensioners. All the seven recommendations were accepted and implemented which has significantly reduced the gap between the past and present pensioners and also considerably improved the pension of disabled ex-servicemen. However pension reform is a continuous process.

This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri A.K. Antony in written reply to Shri T.M. Selvaganapathi in Rajya Sabha today. 


Source : Public information bureau -Ministry of Defence dt 28 Mar 2012

HH/RK
(Release ID :81836)

Mobile Polyclinics for Ex-Servicemen

Providing Medicare to Ex-servicemen and their dependents is an ongoing process and the endeavor of the government is to continuously upgrade the quality of medicare services being provided. The Government has approved opening of additional 199 polyclinics including 17 mobile polyclinics besides the existing 227 polyclinics to improve accessibility of Ex-servicemen to medical facilities. Out of 199 polyclinics, 43 polyclinics have already been operationalised.  Opening of new polyclinics is based on the ESM population in a particular area. Mobile polyclinics are proposed for remote/hilly areas where the ESM population is less and scattered. Presently 342 districts have been covered with 426 ECHS polyclinics (270 operational & 156 proposed) including 17 mobile polyclinics. The newly sanctioned polyclinics will be operationalised across the country including Himachal Pradesh in a phased manner over a period of time.  This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju in a written reply to Shrimati Viplove Thakur in Rajya Sabha today.  HH/NN  (Release ID :81342)