Rs 210 crore of Army insurance funds sunk in IL

Case was taken up with AG to prematurely release Platinum grant from AOBF & Tr the lump-sum amount to AGIF to extend the EXTENDED INSURANCE beyond current stipulated period. AG fwd to AGIF which after consideration, replied Financially not feasible. This 26 yrs post retirement or 75 yrs perhaps is the current yardstick but we were deprived of it as our EI has expired much before 75/26 yrs post retirement.

Any knowledge on this, pl share.

The Army Group Insurance Fund Extended Insurance (EI) Scheme provides insurance cover to servicemen after leaving service. It provides Rs 6 lakh for officers and Rs 3 lakh for personnel below officer rank (PBOR) for a period of 26 years after retirement or 75 years of age, whichever is earlier. The amount is received by the family of the ex-serviceman in case of his death. The amount has been recently revised and is now Rs 10 lakh for officers and Rs 5 lakh for PBOR for all those who joined the scheme after January 1, 2014. For those who joined earlier, the amount will remain at the earlier rate of Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh for officers and PBOR respectively.

Disability Cover:

This concerns an individual who becomes disabled out of service prematurely due to injury or disease. The officers and JCOs/OR with 100 per cent disability will get an amount of Rs 25 lakh and Rs 12.5 lakh respectively. This amount gets proportionately reduced for lower element of disability upto 20 per cent. An ex gratia disability allowance is also granted by AGIF in case a member with 100% disability has been recommended a constant attendant.

AGIF Scholarship Scheme:

AGIF Scholarship Schemes for the sum of Rs 40,000 per annum are provided for wards of officers, JCOs and OR in 12 Army Welfare Educational Institutions (AWES) institutions.

While the Army chose to deny the earlier IANS story on how Army welfare funds may have been deployed in IL&FS bonds, saying, "It is informed that welfare funds of the Indian Army are invested only in nationalised; scheduled banks; PSUs as per existing policy. There is no investment from Army Battle Casualties Welfare Fund and Army Central Welfare Fund in IL&FS bonds as reported. This news article is rebutted for being false, infructuous and mala fide."

IANS has chosen to stick to its report. Here's how Army Group Insurance Fund (AGIF) is infected with this virus.

In its earlier story, now validated, IANS wrote: IANS learns that a few sections of the armed forces, primarily the army, have invested their corpus of funds in the once AAA-rated IL&FS bonds to secure their future. The Indian Army has three specific funds in which fellow countrymen can contribute - Army Welfare Fund Battle Casualties (set up in 2016 after the Siachen avalanche disaster and the Pathankot/Uri incidents), Army Central Welfare Fund and the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre Pune - towards the members/families of the armed forces who have made the supreme sacrifice for the nation. It is still not known whether these funds have invested in the virus-laden bonds.

The government does not fund the Army Group Insurance Fund scheme at all. A comparison of insurance cover and duration of cover provided to the generals and the jawans by the AGIF is as follows:

* Number of Generals: 350 (approximately)

* Monthly premium: Rs 5,000

* Annual premium: Rs 60,000

* Lt.-Generals insurance cover up to 60 years

* COAS insurance cover up to 62 years

* Annual contribution Rs 60,000

* Total annual contribution by the Generals is: Rs 60,000 multiplied by 350, which amounts to Rs 2 crore and 10 lakh.

Number of Jawans: 13,00,000 (approximately)

Annual contribution: Rs 30,000

Total annual contribution by jawans is: Rs 30,000 multiplied by 13,00,000, which amounts to Rs 3,900 crore.

These figures apply to just one year. The big question is: Who is tracking these funds? There are no answers to who will bear the liability if the huge amounts parked in toxic IL&FS bonds turn to junk. The first step will be taken if the army authorities begin by acknowledging there is a problem at hand..