Govt Doles Out Rs.2,200 Crore Benefits to Ex-Servicemen in Three Years
The Government has initiated several steps in the last three years in its commitment
to improve the welfare of the Ex-Servicemen (ESM). This entails granting direct benefits
amounting to an additional Rupees 2,200 crores annually.
Significant improvements in pension for Armed Forces personnel were made over and
above the benefits that accrued out of implementation of the Sixth Central Pay Commission.
Following the acceptance of the 6th CPC recommendations, a Committee
was set up under the chairmanship of no less than the Cabinet Secretary to
look specifically into the pension and other matters related exclusively to the
Armed Forces. The Committee submitted its report on June 30, 2009. Seven
major recommendations of the committee were implemented by the Government
with a financial implication of Rupees 2,200 Crores per annum. A major share of this
amounting to Rs. 1,636 crores went towards further improving the pension of the
Personnel Below Officer Ranks (PBORs), based on the recommendations of the
Group of Ministers in the year 2006.
Conceding to a longstanding demand of the ESM population the Government
also earmarked another Rs. 470.66 crores by bringing about parity between
pre- and post-1997 PBOR pensioners. The other welfare measures recommended
by the Cabinet Secretary Committee that were approved by the Government with
benefits accruing since January 1, 2006 include removal of linkage of full pension
with 33 years, inclusion of classification allowance for PBORs, revision of Lt. General
pension after carving out a separate Pay Scale for them, broad-banding of percentage
of disability/war injury pension for pre- January 1, 2006 disability / war injury pensioners
and removal of cap on war injury element of pension in the case of disabled pensioners
belonging to Category "E".
For the convenience of Ex- Servicemen a user-friendly software called "Suvigya" has
been launched since last year on the website of CGDA (Controller General of Defence
Accounts) i.e. www.cfida.nic.in which facilitates the pensioner to himself calculate and
verify his pension. Discrepancies if any may be brought to the notice of the concerned
PCDA and can also be resolved at the special camps organized by the Department of
Ex-Servicemen Welfare (ESW) at the ZilaSainik Boards. A soon-to-be-launched
website of the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare will further keep in touch online
with the ESM population and promptly resolve their grievances.
Apart from the direct monetary benefits accruing out of higher pension, the Department
of ESW, now headed by a Secretary-level officer, under the Ministry of Defence, has
approved other significant welfare measures. An ex-gratia of Rs. 9 lakhs w.e.f. April 1, 2011
was granted to invalided out Armed Forces Personnel with 100 percent disability.
For lesser disability between 20 percent to 99 percent this amount would be reduced
proportionately. Grant of family pension to childless widow of Armed Forces personnel
including both officers and PBORs who died prior to January 1, 2006, which was
discontinued on her remarriage, was restored retrospectively from the same date subject to
certain conditions.
The Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) has been a model success
of the Department of ESW, reaching out elementary healthcare and specialized treatment
to the vast ESM population and their dependents to every remote nook and corner of the
country. About 39 lakh number of ESM and their dependants are benefited by the ECHS
healthcare facilities.
Bolstered by the ECHS success story, the Government sanctioned 199 additional
ECHS polyclinics in October, 2010 to expand medical facilities to the ESM, in addition
to the existing 227 polyclinics. Out of these 199, 61 polyclinics have become functional
upto March 31, 2012.
In another fillip to the ECHS Scheme, the Government decided in January this year to
extend the ECHS facility to Nepal, considering the large number of ESM population of
Nepal origin settled there. This will benefit more than two-and-a-half lakh Nepal domiciled
Gorkhas (NDG) Ex-Servicemen members including dependants.
In other major welfare measures the Government substantially raised since October, 2011
the War Memorial Hostels Grant from Rs. 900 to Rs. 1,350 per inmate for wards of
War Widows, War Disabled and Attributable Disability Cases. For Non-Attributable
Disability Cases grant revised from Rs. 450/- to Rs. 675/-. Financial assistance
provided under RakshaMantri`s Discretionary Fund (RMDF) was also revised
as follows:
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(Release ID :84342) |
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