SANTHOSH TROPHY FOOT BALL WINNERS

Antony Congratulates Services Team on Lifting the Santosh Trophy

The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony has congratulated the Services Football team for lifting the coveted Santosh Trophy. In a message to the President, Services Sports Control Board, Air Marshal JN Burma, Shri Antony said it was a rare honour for the Services to have bagged the title for only the second time in more than five decades since the last win in 1961. He said this victory should inspire the sportsmen of the Services to excel in the forthcoming London Olympics and other games.  In a thrilling match played at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack yesterday Services beat Tamil Nadu 3-2 to lift the 66th Santosh Trophy.  Sitanshu Kar/NN  (Release ID :84559)

DELEGATION TO MEET ANTONY ON ONE RANK ONE PENSION

Bajwa leads delegation to meet Antony on One Rank One Pension

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Gurdaspur, May 15, 2012

A delegation of retired army officers led by Gurdaspur member of parliament Partap Singh Bajwa met union defence minister AK Antony to stress on the long-pending demand of One Rank One Pension. 
The delegation also submitted a memorandum to the minister highlighting the problems 

being faced by the military officers and jawans.

"Prior to the Third Central Pay Commission, the pension of Armed Forces personnel was regulated exclusively keeping in view the peculiarity and gravity of the service conditions which a soldier is subjected to in times of peace, and the danger to which he is exposed to during war," said Bajwa adding that, "the then government, appreciating their contribution to our motherland, decided to keep their status and living standards quite high without comparison with civilian employees but the Third Central Pay Commission reversed this trend leaving the defence personnel at a loss and the subsequent pay commissions have only made matters worse."

"We have apprised the minister of the demand of the ex-servicemen that there should be One Rank One Pension (OROP) and we have also apprised him of the decision of the Armed Forces Tribunal, Chandigarh in the cases of Babu Ram Dhiman versus Union of India and Sohan Singh versus Union of India, where in its judgment, it said that the grant of unequal pay in the same rank was a violation of the principles of equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution.

The Tribunal further added that the state could not lay down different criteria for grant of pension for same rank of officers on the basis of cut-off date of retirement," he added. 

He further said, "Considering the disparity between duties of defence personnel and their civilian counterparts, due recognition and respect is not being given to them, the demand of one rank one pension is justified and long overdue. Even the standing committee on defence has recommended the inclusion of OROP."

Members of the delegation included Brig (Retd) KS Kahlon, Brig (Retd) MPS Bajwa, Col (Retd) Dharam Singh and Col (Retd) Ajay Opal, all of whom have been fighting for issues relating to welfare of defence personnel including voicing the demand for One Rank One Pension

The other issues which were raised in the memorandum include increasing the quota for youth in armed forces from border districts particularly in Punjab, early resolving the anomalies in the sixth pay commission, establishing a National Commission for Military Veteran Affairs on the lines of the minority commission, ensuring equitable representation of ex-servicemen in all central boards, corporations and PSU's, using the skills of ex-servicemen in training and raising battalions of National Disaster Relief and Environment Protection Forces nomination of military veterans to the Rajya Sabha.

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.