Indian Ex-servicemen

Important notice for Joint Entrance Examination JEE (Main) - 2013

2013-03-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Every applicants and registered candidates of JEE (Main) 2013 are intimated to log on the website www.jeemain.nic.in and fill up their roll numbers of class XII /qualifying examination. The candidates who have not entered correctly the name of the board and/or roll number can also correct this time. Pl. note that this facility will be available upto midnight on 20th of March 2013.

First 'Sainik Centre' in Ernakulam

2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Ernakulam is all set to get its first ‘Sainik Centre’ for the ex-servicemen. Sprawled over an area of around 2,000 sq ft, the new centre is located at Kizhakkambalam, Kakkanad. The centre is equipped with a conference hall which will be used for organising various training programmes for the retired army personnel. This is the fifth centre in the state, the others being in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Thrissur and Alappuzha.

The project worth Rs 95 lakh will be inaugurated in March, said K K Govindan Nair, Director, Directorate of Sainik Welfare, Vikas Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram. He said that the conference hall would be opened to the public.

Sainik centres are constructed to give accommodation facilities to ex- servicemen who go to different parts of the state for various purposes. “Such centres will be of great relief to ex-servicemen, and the accommodation provided here will be at a subsidised rate,” District Sainik Welfare officer P J Jacob said.

He said that the meagre pension of the ex-servicemen did not help them find appropriate lodging. “As the pension they get is not attractive, it would always cost the ex-servicemen dear, when it comes to their stay at a hotel or a lodge when they go to other districts. Hence this is an attempt by the government to mitigate the trouble of ex-servicemen,” he said. The conference hall which will be built at the centre is aimed at providing various training and other awareness programmes. “The conference hall is mainly intended for training programmes. The department offers various guidance programmes for them to make them think about a second career,” Jacob said. The move to launch the project soon came as a relief to the officials of the Ernakulam District Zilla Sainik Welfare Centre, Kakkanad, as the project has been moving at a snail’s pace for the past three years. The work was entrusted with the Public Works Department and the project was financed both by the Central and the State Governments, he said. via IBN Live

20 Thousand Army personnel Denied Right to Vote

2012-02-01T23:25:00.000-08:00

As published in Daily News & Analysis, more than 20,000 serving army personnel in Pune city have been deprived of their right to vote, though an Army order issued in 1995 to this effect has been backed by both the election commission and the Supreme Court. According to this provision, defence service employees are entitled to vote wherever they go with the help of a specific document signed by the local defence authority.

The Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) and Justice For Jawan, who have been jointly fighting for the franchise of servicemen, have brought the topic to the fore again on the eve of the civic elections. They have demanded that the serving personnel in Pune be permitted to cast their votes. The demand has been made by Commander (retd) RW Pathak, convenor of IESM and Col (retd) Suresh Patil of Justice For Jawan.

Colonel Abhijit Mitra, the public relations officer for Southern Command said, “The option of postal ballot is available for serving defence personnel and I have used it previously, but I cannot say anything right now. IESM had moved a query under the Right To Information (RTI) Act in this regard and the Southern Command has sent a reply to it.”

When asked about details of the reply given to the IESM, Pathak said “The Southern Command has just written to us that the query has been forwarded to army headquarters.” The Southern Command has not taken any stand on the issue and has forwarded the matter to the Army headquarters (HQ).

Pathak said the city has 20,000 people in defence service. “The IESM recently met the suburban commander of the city and submitted a memorandum to make provisions to allow serving officers to cast their votes. Our officers want to vote in the municipal, MLA and MP elections scheduled in the next two-three years,” he added.

He explained that the responsibility for this rested with the secretary of defence and since Pune has many defence institutes such as the National Defence Academy (NDA), College of Military Engineering (CME), Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Southern Command, Bombay Engineering Group (BEG) and Signal Regiment and Infantry Brigade that have a total vote bank of 20,000 that should be used.

The IESM and Justice For Jawan had filed a RTI query with the Southern Command on December 28 to ascertain reasons for failure to implement the order, but the query was forwarded by the Southern Command to the Army headquarters and till January 27, there has been no response from any office about the RTI query. via DNA

Will Fauji Factor Work?

2012-01-16T09:41:00.000-08:00

Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha (URM), a regional political outfit which was launched four months back, is likely to make a dent into the votebanks of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttarakhand. Founded by former BJP MP Lt Gen (retd) TPS Rawat, the party claims to enjoy the support base among ex-soldiers and their families in the state.

With an organisational team of ex-army officers and para-military officers, URM is hopeful of winning at least seven seats in the state. The known faces in the party include faujis such as Brig (retd) Jagmohan Rawat and Brig (retd) Raju Rawat of Garhwal Rifles and General (retd) Shailendra Raj Bahuguna of Kumaon Regiment, Bahuguna also happens to be a close relative of chief minister Maj Gen (retd) BC Khanduri. Read More...Hindustan Times

Benefit Schemes for Ex-servicemen

2012-01-12T21:39:00.000-08:00

Andhra Pradesh State government is providing several schemes for the benefit of ex servicemen and their widows, said District Sainik Welfare Officer G. Satyanandam.

Under the Prime Minister Self Employment Scheme, the government will provide loans ranging between Rs.5 lakh and Rs.25 lakh from banks.

The government will give 25 to 35 per cent subsidy on the loan and the beneficiaries should bear five per cent of the investment cost.

Interested retired Army, Navy and Airforce staff are requested to avail the opportunities, said Mr.Satyanandam.

Published in THE HINDU: Vijayawada

NDA & Naval Academy Exam (I), 2012

2012-01-03T21:16:00.000-08:00

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will hold the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination (I), 2012 on April 15, 2012, for admission to Army, Navy and Air force Wings of NDA for 129th Course and for the 91st Indian Naval Academy Course(INAC) commencing from December, 2012.

Candidates are required to apply only through online mode. No other mode is allowed for submission of application. For details regarding the eligibility conditions, syllabus and scheme of the examination, centers of examination, guidelines for filling up online application form etc. aspirants must refer to the detailed notice of the examination published in the Employment News/Rozgar Samachar dated December 31, 2011 or the UPSC website www.upsc.gov.in

Global Peace Palace a ‘monument for war heroes’

2012-01-02T02:36:00.000-08:00

ALAPPUZHA: Chief minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate Global Peace Palace, a monument for war heroes and victims of terror attacks built by AKB Kumar, an ex-service man, at Thumboli near here on January 27. The construction of the monument, a replica of Agra's Taj Mahal, started on January 28, 2008.

"I have spent Rs1.25 crore for constructing this monument dedicated to India's war heroes who sacrificed their lives for the nation," said 61-year-old Kumar at a press conference.

Kumar was a chief petty officer in the Indian Navy. He had joined the Navy at the age of 15. During his 18 years of service, he participated in the Indo-Pak war in 1971. Read more.

RS committee urges ‘one rank-one pension’ for ESM

2011-12-20T09:16:00.000-08:00

As published by The Pioneer, Rajya Sabha Committee on petitions on Monday,19th December, 2011, urged the Government to grant ‘one rank-one pension’ for ex-servicemen and said Rs 1,300 crore needed to meet this long pending demand which is not a “very big amount for a country of our size and economy”.

In its report tabled in the Upper House, the committee said, “It is not convinced with the version of the Finance Ministry that the grant of ‘one rank-one pension’ for defence personnel would eventually generate similar requests from the civilian work force under the Central and State Governments.

“It feels so because of the quite different terms and conditions of service of the two different categories of employments. The terms and conditions of the armed forces are tougher and harsher than the civilian Government employee. There are restrictions of fundamental risks to the armed forces and their family life is also non-comparable due to transfers and dislocation.”

As regards the projected financial liability of Rs 1,300 crore, the committee noted that “out of this amount Rs 1,065 crore would go to personnel below officer rank (PBOR) while the commissioned officers would be getting Rs 235 crore”.

Keeping in view this fact that officers constitute a small proportion of the entire defence forces, the Committee said, “It strongly recommends that this may be implemented so as to keep up the morale of the services.” The ex-servicemen are agitating for ‘one rank-one pension’ for the last few years and many of them returned their gallantry medals and other citations to the President as a mark of protest.

‘One rank-one pension’ implies that uniform pension be paid to the armed forces personnel retiring in the same rank with same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement and any future enhancement in the rates of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners. This means bridging the gap between the rate of pension of current pensioners and the past pensioners. Click Here to read further..

Married Daughters Entitled for Dependent Certificates: HC

2011-12-20T08:03:00.000-08:00

As per the source published in TOI on 19th of December, 2011, Punjab and Haryana high court has struck down a 'gender-biased' policy of the Haryana government which had excluded married daughters of ex-servicemen from getting dependent certificates.

"A girl is as good a child of her father as the married son. Such policies of the state would offend right of equality and amounts to discriminatory treatment to a married daughter, who is without an independent source of livelihood, by depriving her of a dependent certificate to secure a job," the HC held.

As per the existing policy, only a married dependent son of ex-serviceman, who does not have independent source of livelihood, was eligible for dependent certificate but a married daughter was not.

Rejecting the Haryana government's argument that married daughter is dependent on her husband, the bench held, "In the case of dependent married son, no condition has been imposed that his wife must not be earning."

Directing the state to amend the said policy dated October 11, 2001, the bench also observed that even Hindu Succession Act, 1956, has been amended and now the daughter of a coparcener have the same rights and liabilities in the coparcenery property as she would have had she been a son.

Following the order, now married daughter of ex-servicemen who do not have independent source of livelihood will also be eligible for dependent certificate from the Rajya Sainik Boards to get a government job.

The order was passed by a division bench of the HC comprising Justice M M Kumar and Justice Rajiv Narain Raina, while hearing a petition filed by a retired Naval personnel, Jai Narain Jakhar.

The petitioner had challenged the order of October 27, 2009 passed by the Rajya Sainik Board, Haryana rejecting his application for issuance of dependent certificate to his married daughter and directions to issue her ex-serviceman dependent certificate.

Contesting the petition, the Haryana government had taken a stand that a married daughter would be dependent on her husband and not on her father, therefore, in the policy a married daughter of the ex-serviceman has not been held entitled to the dependent certificate. Source: TOINews.

Devadiga among the veterans honoured in Moodubelle

2011-12-17T22:38:00.000-08:00

Moodubelle: On December 16, 2011, being the 50th and 40th anniversaries of the Wars of Liberation of Goa and Bangladesh respectively and in order to commemorate these two momentous historical events of great significance, the Lions Club of Moodubelle under the leadership of the Founder President, MJF Ln. Commodore Jerome Castelino organized a memorial function, during which the War Memorial built by Commodore Castelino in his courtyard was inaugurated by the District Governor MJF Ln. Jayakar Shetty Indrali. Later, during the stage function held in the Lions Seva Bhavan, Moodubelle, 34 Ex-servicemen from the Udupi District who had actively participated in Goa Liberation War (1961) and Bangladesh War (1971) were honoured.

Ex-servicemen of Udupi district, who had actively participated in these two wars, were honoured on this occasion. They are Subedar Major Alex D’Almeida, Naib Subedar Achutha Rao, Wing Commander A S Bhojaraj, Sqn Ldr K L Baliga, Craftsman Bhaskar Kini, Commodore Jerome Castelino VSM, Sergant Chandrashekhar Suvarna, Subedar Clement D’Silva, Ldg Seaman Diwakar Devadiga, Corporal P Dinesh Naik, Corporal Desmond Fernandes, Master Warrant officer Frederick Noronha, Hon Capt Gopalkrishna Prabhu, Naik Gopal Shetty, Sepoy Henry Quadros, Havaldar Jagannath Bangera, Hon Subedar Major Kutty Shetty, Sapper Koragappa Kundar, Naib Subedar M K Kumar, Corporal H M Kamath, Corporal Monthu Adrian D’Souza, Hon Naib Subedar U Panduranga, Hon Subedar P Raghu Shetty, Gunner B Rama, Colonel B Ramachandra Rao, Subedar Robert D’Sa, Air Vice Marshal K Ramesh Karnik, Corporal B K Salian, Corporal Simon Piad D’Souza, Sergeant K P Talwar, Lt Col Victor F D’Souza, Hon Subedar Major Vittal Nayak, Aircraftsman Walter Rosario and Havaldar William Barboza.

Picture credits to: Bellevision.com (to see more pictures Click Here)
Ex-servicemen's names as published in: Mangalorean.com (to read full story Click Here)

Ex-CPMF to be at par in Canteen Facilities

2011-12-17T22:20:00.000-08:00

The long pending demand for Canteen facilities for about 7.5 lakh Ex-Central Para Military Force men has been approved by Government of India. As per central news released by Press Information Bureau, GOI, A Central Police Forces Canteen System (CPFCS) is being established to provide a wide range of goods to serving as well as retired personnel of the forces and their families through their unit outlets. The system is designed to take advantage of the competition in the market with a clientele of seven and a half lakh CPMF personnel and their families. The battalions would take their supplies directly from the authorized dealers/stockists of the manufacturers thereby saving on the profits of intermediaries. The system is structured to have a low operational cost and to eliminate generation of dead stocks. The CPFCS would be administered by a Common Central Administrative Committee (CAC) and Central Purchase Committee(CPC) manned by Force officers. Regional Depots will also be made functional in remote areas in due course where possibilities of distributors do not exist. The initial working capital will be provided from the welfare fund to be recouped over a period of time. The CPFCS system will be functional within a few weeks.

The CPMF personnel have been demanding Canteen facilities similar to the CSD system of the Ministry of Defence for a very long time. The demand becomes more relevant in the present scenario of intense involvement of CPMF personnel for anti-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations away from their homes and families and civic amenities for prolonged spells. Not only do they have to bear the burden of maintaining two establishments, but also survive intense hardship on account of deployment under stress-full conditions where basic requirements also may not be easy to get. With firm commitment to provide better working conditions to all the para-military personnel, the Home Minister had directed that a scheme be introduced for providing the requirement of CPF personnel through a common canteen system. Source: Press Information Bureau, GOI.

10% of Group ‘B’ Posts in Paramilitary for Ex-Servicemen

2011-12-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

Government Aggressively Pursuing Measures for Welfare of Ex-Servicemen : Antony

Ministry of Home Affairs has consented to fill 10 percent of the Group ‘B’ posts in Central Paramilitary Forces from Indian Ex-Servicemen lot. This has been announced at the meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee associated to his ministry here on 15th Dec 2011. Shri AK Antony, the Defence Minister said efforts are now being made to persuade public sector undertakings and the private sector to tap this invaluable reservoir of talented and disciplined Ex-Servicemen.

As per news released in GOI's website, Press Information Buereau, Shri Antony said the Government is taking ‘aggressive measures’ for the all-round welfare and well-being of Ex-Servicemen. He said the health of the Ex-Servicemen and their dependents is a prime concern for the government. Giving details of the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) which has been operating since April 2003, Shri Antony said, presently the scheme caters to 38 lakh beneficiaries including 12 lakh Ex-Servicemen and over 26 lakh dependents. Initially, 227 polyclinics had been approved by the Cabinet.Later, in 2008 another 199 polyclinics were sanctioned, out of which 20 are functional and 179 polyclinics are in various stages of implementation. This scheme is currently being implemented through 247 polyclinics. Shri Antony said the reach and coverage of the scheme can be easily appreciated from the fact that during 2010-11, a total of 89 lakh patients attended the polyclinics. He hoped that with the commissioning of all the sanctioned polyclinics the entire fraternity of Ex-Servicemen would be covered comprehensively.

Cutting across party lines the Members of Parliament wholeheartedly appreciated the contribution of the Armed Forces personnel in ensuring the security and territorial integrity of the country as also their contribution in providing relief during natural calamities. They wanted to know the latest status as far as the demand for ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) is concerned. The members also suggested that seats for the children of serving Armed Forces personnel and Ex-Servicemen should be reserved in all medical and dental colleges. Some members felt that there should be periodic inspection of the ECHS facilities so that the quality of service rendered by these units are kept high at all times. There was also a suggestion that the few surviving veterans of Second World War and war-widows should be given higher pension for dignified livelihood. Other suggestions were that the government should take urgent measures to build a suitable National Memorial for martyrs in the national capital and inclusion of the Members of Parliament in the ZilaSainik Board meetings. Please click here to read further.

Cars through CSD to the Serving and Ex-servicemen Stopped

2011-12-15T10:41:00.000-08:00

Purchasing car through CSD canteen with discount (minus taxes) was made available to all ranks recently (01st of Jan 2009). This facilitity was not continued to make available for long, infact not even for 2.5 year. Well, I was lucky to grab this opportunity in 2009...

On April 15, 2011 the quartermaster general branch (QMG) of the army had issued a circular by which the sale of cars through CSD to the serving and retired soldiers was stopped. At the time of imposing a blanket ban on sale, all the command headquarters were informed that the ban would be reviwed after 30th of June, 2011.

Now, it has been nearly six moths and there is no conclusions made in this regard. Due this delay in decision, nearly 40,000 ex-servicemen are affected. Please Click Here to read further.

Centre rejects site for CSD in Una

2011-12-14T09:44:00.000-08:00

SHIMLA: Poor selection of site by the state government is going to deprive lakhs of soldiers, ex-servicemen and their families of a canteen stores depot (CSD) in the state, as the Union defence ministry has rejected 188 kanals of land in Una after finding it prone to floods. The ministry has made it clear that even if another site is selected, the proposal will be considered depending upon availability of budget and manpower.

There is no depot in the state and government has been pursuing the issue vigorously with the Centre over the past one year. In May, chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had even written a letter to Union defence minister A K Antony on the issue. The state has 1,20,200 serving soldiers, 1,02,739 ex-servicemen, 1,057 war widows, 27,367 other widows and 7,50,804 other dependents of ex-servicemen and serving soldiers.

At present CSD supplies come from depots located in Punjab and Haryana. "Representatives of ex-servicemen and military commanders had been repeatedly raising the issue of setting up a depot in the state and it was proposed that it be located in Una since the area was well connected with broad gauge railway line," sources said.

Identification of 188 kanals at Baned, in Una district, had cleared the path for opening a CSD bulk supply store, a first in this region. The proposed bulk supply store was estimated to cost around Rs 40 crore and was likely to cater to 50 CSD canteens in the region.

But the hope was dashed on Monday, when the Union defence minister informed Parliament that land offered by the state government was not found to be suitable, since it also included rivulets and nullahs which are prone to flooding during the rainy season. The minister gave the information while replying to a query of Virender Kashyap, MP from Himachal, in Lok Sabha.

"It is not possible at this stage to anticipate the time likely to be taken for setting up the depot at Una in view of the fact that the Himachal Pradesh government is yet to identify another piece of suitable land. Once a suitable alternate land is offered by the state government the proposal will be considered depending upon availability of budget and manpower," he informed. Source: TOI News.

Ex-servicemen to be Employed as Guides

2011-12-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

KOCHI: Ex-servicemen who are skilled at languages like English, French and Hindi will have an oportunity to restart their career in future.

The Kochi corporation is planning to employ them as guides for tourists at Fort Kochi. In contrast, the bigger idea is to have them keep an eye on the security of these tourists.
District collector P I Sheik Pareeth told TOI on Tuesday that the plan was among the many efforts under consideration to make Fort Kochi tourist friendly.

"It has come to our notice that French and North Indian tourists find it difficult to locate hotels and shops as per their budget, due to language issues. Complaints like swindling affect the business prospects of hotels. So we are considering recruiting former policemen and armymen who are fluent in these languages and who can also contribute to the overall security of the area. I have proposed the idea to the government and a positive response is expected soon," the district collector said. "At the moment police patrolling is not enough for an extensive tourist spot like Fort Kochi,'' M P Sivadathan, president of Kerala Homestay and Tourism Society, said.

"Even visitors from the state face verbal harassment at times. This creates a bad image for us. If retired armymen are entrusted with the task of protecting tourists, it will considerably help. The Kochi corporation should launch the initiative immediately as tourists flood to this area in December," Sivadathan said.

Of the foreign tourists, most of are from France and they miss cherecterising the real essence and history of the place. If the service of retired army and police men are employed it would be tremendous boost for the tourism of the location, he said. Source: TOI News.

Ex-servicemen to check documents prior to extending support

2011-12-13T08:11:00.001-08:00

PATIALA: While political parties don't have any particular criteria to allot party tickets, ex-servicemen of Punjab have fixed conditions for all politicians, who want to get their votes in the forthcoming assembly elections.

The conditions were revealed on Saturday evening after a meeting of ex-servicemen, who had converged here under the banner of Ex-Soldiers Sailors and Airmen Association (ESSAA).

Having faced betrayals by politicians in the past, the ex-servicemen are in no mood to offer their support to any party this time without checking the credentials of candidates, said ESSAA president, Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal.
They have also decided to secure written assurances from candidates, whom they finally support.

ESSAA has formed a special team under the supervision of Chhatwal to check credentials of candidates of all parties.

After detailed screening of candidates, ESSAA will finalize names of candidates but will make a final decision to support only after getting written assurances from them about fulfilling the ex-servicemen's demands.

"We would exercise voting right judiciously this time to press the demands of ex-servicemen. We have also decided to support candidates on merit instead of supporting any single party in the state," said Gurjant Singh, an ex-servicemen.

The organization will take into consideration qualities of candidates like accessibility, ability (educational) integrity, adaptability, accountability, status, past performance in the party and the present agenda of the party.

Candidates with defense background fulfilling all criteria would get preference.
To get proper feedback and take the best decision, the association has authorized its district presidents to recommend candidates of their constituency keeping in view the guidelines formulated by the state body.

"We don't want to face more betrayals by politicians. Written assurances are needed so that we can expose the winners after elections, if they fail to fulfill the commitments they made before elections," said Chhatwal. Source: TOI.

Increase in Tax Relief by MCD for Ex-sevicemen

2011-12-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has proposed to increase property tax rebates given to ex-servicemen from 20% to 30%. The rebates may encourage more property owners to pay taxes on time. The proposal will be sent to the Delhi government for approval as the Delhi Municipal Act 1957, which governs the civic body, does not have a clause allowing rebates, say senior MCD officials.

"The present rebates are not validated by the DMC Act 1957, but they are given. With the new proposal, the MCD has decided that there is a need to take the government's approval and incorporate the rebates in the Act," said another MCD official.

According to the proposal, ex-servicemen would be entitled to more rebate. And, if possible, the rebates would be extended to senior citizens. The proposal will come up for approval at the MCD's Standing Committee meeting in the next week.

With the municipal elections just four months away, the MCD has been giving a lot of rebates in terms of property tax. A special settlement scheme has been launched, under which 100% rebate on interest on arrears are being offered to property owners who pay taxes before December 31. Source: HT News.

One Rank-One Pension

2011-12-13T07:16:00.000-08:00

The gap between past pensioners and their youger equivalents retiring from the armed forces does not necessarily keeps widening with every successive pay commission. Over the years several improvements have been made in pension of past pensioners. The pension of past pensioners have revised in accordance with recommendation of each successive Pay Commission, as accepted by the Government. The Sixth Pay Commission had recommended fitment formula and modified parity for past pensioners, in order to reduce the gaps, which were accepted by the Government.

Pension Improvement is an ongoing process and considerable improvements have been made in the pensions of armed forces personnel. The Group of Ministers (GoM) had in 2005 improved the pensionary benefits of PBORs. On the recommendations of PMO, a Committee was set up under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary in June, 2009 to look into the issue of 'One Rank One Pension and other related matters. After considering all aspects of the matter, the Committee keeping in mind the spirit of the demand, suggested several measures to substantially improve pensionary benefits of Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR) and Commissioned Officers, which have been accepted by the Government and orders for implementation of all the recommendations have been issued. These are available at www.pcdapension.nic.in.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM PallamRaju in a written reply to Dr.RajanSushantand others in LokSabha today. Source: Press Information Bureau, GOI

Ex-servicemen refuse to accept Gangman job of Railways

2011-12-03T08:12:00.001-08:00

Lucknow: Earlier porters, now it is the turn of the ex-servicemen who refuse the job of gangmen. The “A journey by a large group to escape from a hostile environment” has once again made the Railway authorities to search for solution on filling vacancies of gangmen, who perform a very vital task of track maintenance under "not an easy times".

North-Central Railway (NCR) officials say while efforts were being made to accommodate those ex-servicemen not wanting to take up the task of the gangmen at other equivalent posts, the fact remained that not all of them can be taken. An official said the reluctance on the part of the ex-servicemen to take up the task of gangmen was also a “perception” issue, as they felt the job was low in status.

In 2008, the then Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had launched a scheme of porters being brought to use as gangmen. But the porters’ enthusiasm drawn off soon after as they actually had tough working conditions with less pay. Later, the Railways had to give back the licences to a most of porters.

About five months back, nearly 1,400 ex-servicemen were registered as employees by the NCR in the entire zone, including Allahabad, Jhansi and Agra divisions.

“They were recruited for group ‘D’ jobs and, because the maximum vacancies and requirement were for gangmen, nearly 60 per cent were offered these posts. But, now they have given applications that they do not want to take up the job,” said a senior Railway official.

Divisional Personnel Officer (DPO), Allahabad Division, Sanjeev Kumar, said of the 1,400 ex-servicemen recruited, 700 were allocated jobs in the Allahabad division.
“Of these 700, at least 400 ex-servicemen were made gangmen. Nearly 250 of them joined the duty. But now, almost all of them are demanding they be accommodated in other departments,” said Kumar.

Other than the fact, the gangmen have to live away from their families and live most of the time in tents, their task becomes with a great degree of stress.

“Even big stretches where there used to be 40 gangmen earlier now barely have a dozen gangmen. Also, the density of the trains on the tracks has increased tremendously making the job even more stressful,” said General Secretary, NCR Men’s Union, R D Yadav.
A group of nearly 150 ex-servicemen had recently requested him seeking change to other departments.

Yadav said many ex-servicemen are above the 40-45 age group and had retired from supervisory posts. “Gangman’s task is a tough field job and, obviously, people have who have reached a certain age would not be able to perform it properly,” said Yadav.

The DPO said many of the ex-servicemen who retired from the rank of Hawildars or Subedars and higher, so this job of Gangman is rearded to be below their dignity. Source: http://www.expressindia.com/

Pension for Ex-Servicemen of Pre-Independence Era

2011-11-28T09:40:00.001-08:00

Ex-servicemen with service less than 15 years as PBOR and less than 20 years as Commissioned Officers are not entitled to pension as minimum qualifying service is a mandatory requirement to earn pension.

Minimum qualifying service is an essential criterion for earning pension in the Armed Forces as per the existing Army, Navy & Air Force Pension Regulations.

There is no proposal under consideration of the government to grant pension to a large number of armed forces personnel who retired during pre-independence period but are still alive and not entitled to any pensionary benefits.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju in written reply to Shri G.M. Siddeshwara in Lok Sabha on 28 Nov. Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=77660

Army weapons to be exhibited to attribute 'Army Mela'

2011-11-28T09:15:00.001-08:00

Display of weapons and army equipment including artillery guns and fly past by fighter jets and helicopters as well as various cultural events will mark the ‘Army Mela’ here on December 10 under aegis of the Southern Army Command.

The Southern Command of the Army chose this town as the venue of this year’s ‘Army Mela’ to showcase modern military weapons and equipment as part of allowing the public to see the Army’s facilities and capabilities as also to create awareness among ex-service personnel on various welfare schemes being implemented for them, Defence Security Corps (DSC) Centre Deputy Commandant V.U. Manoj said at a press meet here on Monday.
Apart from the display of the weapons and equipment, the mela would also include a military pageant and facilities for ex-service persons to redress their grievances and to get assistance, he informed. A stall would be opened for those interested in participating in the Army’s recruitment drive.

The pageant to be held at the Jawahar Stadium on December 10 would be inaugurated by Defence Minister A.K. Antony. The spectacle would start with the fly past by fighter aircrafts including Dornier light transport aircraft and helicopters of the Indian Air Force, Lt. Col. Manoj said. The show would also include para motoring, sky diving, hot air balloon, daring feats of the Army’s Dare Devil motor cycle riders, horse show and dog show and band display, among others.

An exhibition showcasing the weapons would begin at the Police Maidan at 8.30 a.m. The exhibition featuring an array of weapons possessed by the Army would include T-72 tanks, armoured personnel carriers, BrahMos missiles, anti-tank guided missiles, rocket launchers, various improvised explosive devices, and nuclear, biological and chemical warfare suit, artillery guns and bridging equipment. Maj. Gen. A.K. Pradhan, General Officer Commanding (Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area) would formally open the exhibition at 8.30 a.m. Both the exhibition and the pageant would be open to the public, Lt. Col. Manoj said. A full dress rehearsal of the Army Mela programmes would be held on December 8 would also be open to the public, he added.

He also informed that ex-servicemen grievance/help stalls would be opened by various regiments and corps and also by the Sailors Bureau and the IAF to address grievances of ex-servicemen. A free medical camp would also be organised for the retired jawans, he added. He said that the district administration, the Kannur municipality and the police had extended their co-operation for holding the event. The ‘mela’ would culminate with a cultural event and fireworks. Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article2668027.ece

Ex-servicemen Join OROP Campaign in Delhi

2011-11-27T09:25:00.001-08:00

Pune: Joining the nationwide campaign for One Rank One Pension, members of Indian Ex Servicemen Movement (IESM) from the city participated in a rally in New Delhi on Saturday 12th of Nov 2011. With signatures signed with blood and medals in their hands to be returned to the President, over 3,000 ex-servicemen reiterated their demands of One Rank One Pension (OROP), National Commission for the Armed Forces and an Independent and Exclusive Pay Commission for the Armed Forces. Over 10 members from the city had joined the campaign with a few taking part in the delegation that wanted to meet President Pratibha Patil but could not do so.

“This is a serious issue and the government has not been taking due notice of the ex-servicemens’ demands. We now plan to intensify the movement. The ideal outcome of today’s movement will be to go back to our states and build up individual rallies to generate pressure on the government,” said Brigadier (retd) Sharad Luktuke, member, IESM, speaking to Newsline from Delhi. The rally that began at 10.15 am at Jantar Mantar concluded around 3 pm.

A press release issued by IESM said, “The Defence veterans, their families and supporters have now resolved to intensify their protest movement across the country to highlight the grave injustice which the Centre is doing to them by not accepting their genuine demands in total disregard to the services rendered by the erstwhile soldiers. The graver injustice has been done to Defence widows, who are in receipt of family pension, by excluding them from the ambit of enhancement of pensions of JCOs and Other Ranks carried out in Mar 2010.” Source:http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Ex-servicemen-from-city-join-OROP-campaign-in-Delhi/874999/

Quick and Accurate Disbursement of Pension to Ex-Servicemen

2011-11-27T09:16:00.001-08:00

For information of Defence Pensioners

Government of India has taken a number of decisions to improve the benefits of defence pensioners. The most recent improvements are implementation of the 6th Central Pay Commission Report and further improvements as per Cabinet Secretary Committee’s Report.

2. In order to enable Defence pensioners to know their correct entitlement as a result of various Govt. orders, the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) has developed a software called “Suvigya”. This software requires some minimum inputs to be provided about the pensioner (e.g. date of discharge/ retirement, rank / group, qualifying service, date of birth, initial pension etc.). On the basis of this information, “Suvigya” shows the changes in pension as a result of different revisions and the latest pension entitlements. The software also provides for taking print-out of the result.

3. “Suvigya” software has been installed in the offices of Rajya / Zila Sainik Boards and Defence Pension Disbursement Offices (DPDOs) in a phased manner. Defence pensioners can approach any of these offices (irrespective of where they reside or the agency from which they draw their pension) to know their correct entitlements through “Suvigya”. In case they are not being paid their pension as per entitlement, they may take up the matter with their Pension Disbursing Agencies.Source:http://www.davp.nic.in, http://www.davp.nic.in/WriteReadData/ADS/eng_10406_1_1112b.pdf

TNEB to Recruit 75 more Ex-servicemen to Crackdown Power Theft

2011-11-27T09:03:00.001-08:00

CHENNAI: Ex-servicemen who were roped into the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) have cracked 1,004 cases of power theft in a month and levied fines worth Rs 227.73 lakh on erring consumers across the state. Impressed by their work, the TNEB has decided to recruit 75 more ex-servicemen to crackdown on power theft.

In her election manifesto, chief minister J Jayalalithaa had said ex-servicemen will be hired to curtail energy theft. Soon after, 25 teams of ex-servicemen were formed and trained from September 26 to October 1 to detect electricity theft/misuse in 25 distribution circles prone to theft.

Each team comprises five ex-servicemen. They were trained to detect power theft, the basics of electricity flow, how meters can be tampered with and other technical details. The Coimbatore and Namakkal squads have levied fines to the tune of Rs 19 lakh.

TheMadurai metro andChennai south teams have levied fines to the tune of Rs 16 lakh, and Dharmapuri and Trichy, Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, respectively. Most of these cases related to tampered meters andillegalcollections.The additional 15 squads will be formedtodetecttheftin 15distribution circles.

Theft is a major part of the state's transmission and distribution lossesthattake away 18% of all power generation. "Crores of rupees can be saved by detecting power theft.Theboard'sfinancialsituation will improve to a great extent," said a source. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/10851781.cms

Halted Projects Taken up at General House Meet

2011-11-27T08:55:00.001-08:00

Nominated councillors of the MC, on Friday, complained that proposed projects were lying incomplete. The issue was raised during the meeting of the General House. Due to the code of conduct, no development agenda items were discussed.

Nominated councillor, Brig K S Chandpuri said that he had been demanding that the quota for ex-servicemen in Class 3 and 4 posts be filled. “Even though the Centre has approved the posts, recruitment is not being done,” he said. Mayor Ravinder Pal Singh Pali stated that permission was still awaited from the Administration on the issue.

Brig Chandpuri also complained about the proposed international stadium which has seen no construction eventhough it has received approval from the MC

Councillor Dr Pam Rajput stated that the project of Mahila Bhawan should be completed at the earliest. The proposal was mooted in the beginning of this term, but no construction has been done.

Dr Pam Rajput, while recalling the past five years in the House, said that the atmosphere of acrimony that was created should be avoided in the next term. “Decisions should not be taken on party basis,” said the doctor.

With the polls due next month, accusations were hurled by elected representatives. Councillor Harjinder Kaur said that work for carpeting roads was stopped in her ward after a complaint was made due to political considerations. Chief Engineer S S Bida said that the work would be started soon.

It was decided that the MC will be starting a pilot project for garbage collection from Sector 22. The details will be worked by the Finance and Contract Committee. Source:http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Stalled-projects-taken-up-at-General-House-meet/880687/