1. I.A. No. 9 of 2010 in T.P. (Civil) No. 56/2007, an application for modification/ recalling of final order dated 08.03.2010 and re-hearing of the matter, filed by Union of India came up for hearing today on 15.11.2010. The aforesaid T.P. was filed by the Union of India with a prayer to transfer several writ petitions pending in the various High Courts regarding correct fixation of rank pay as recommended by the IVth Pay Commission and accepted by the Central Government, to be effected from 01.01.1986 in respect of the officers of the Armed Forces and finally decided on 08.03.2010 in favour of the officers.
2. The aforesaid I.A. was listed for hearing before the Bench of Hon’ble Justice Markandey Katju and Hon’ble Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra before Court – 6 as Item No. 4 today i.e. 15.11.2010. Some connected matters were also listed. It may be noted that the Hon’ble Supreme Court has already passed final order in the aforesaid matters on 08.03.2010 and directed the Central Government to pay the rank pay to the affected officers w.e.f. 01.01.1986 along with 6% interest. Surprisingly, instead of implementing the aforesaid directions, UOI had filed an application for modification and recalling of the order dated 08.03.2010 and for re-hearing of the matters. The respondents i.e. writ petitioners in the High Court of Kerala and Ex-servicemen organizations namely Retired Defence Officres Association, Disabled War Veterans of India, Naval Chapter and Purva Sainik Prishad were represented by Advocates, Mr. Mahabir Singh, Gp Capt Karan Singh Bhati (Retd.) and Ms Aishwarya Bhati.
3. In the connected matter, W.P. (Civil) No. 291/2010 – “Pushpawanti Versus Union of India” wherein a pension of rs. 80/- p.m. was being paid to the widow of a highly decorated Major, the Hon’ble Court has been pleased to pass detailed directions for the formation of Commission, headed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Kuldeep Singh, Retired Judge of the Supreme Court, Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.S. Sodhi, Retired Judge of Allahabad High Court, General V.P. Malik, Former Chief of Army Staff and Lt. General Vijay Oberoi (Retd.) and one member i.e. Civil Servant either serving or retired, to be nominated by the Union of India to look into and make recommendations with regard to the grievances of serving and retired Defence personnel like one rank one pension and other disparities and anomalies, without limiting the scope of reference. The matter will continue to be monitored by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.
4. The Hon’ble Court was very clear on the purpose and backdrop of the need for setting up such a Commission to provide an equitable Forum to look into and make recommendations for a fair redressal of grievances of the Men-In-Uniform, who had been at the receiving end of the Governmental/ Bureaucratic Apathy and indifference for years and decades.
5. The Hon’ble Court was extremely moved with instances of pittance being paid as pension to widows of highly decorated officers who laid down their lives for the Nation and years of indifferent and unfair policies leading to officers and men taking extreme steps of returning their gallantry medals and even burning their artificial limbs which were fixed upon loosing natural limbs in war/ action. The Hon’ble Court had specifically expressed its concern and intention on earlier occasions also when these matters were being heard and had directed the Union of India to file an affidavit on these lines, while expressing that the Commission could be formed by the court suo-moto also, however, the intention was to include the Union of India in the decision making process since such high degree of discontentment which was apparent among the personnel of Defence Forces, is not good for the country.
6. The Union of Indian had filed an additional affidavit in the aforesaid T.P. and connected matters, pursuant to the directions of this Hon’ble Court and the entire tone and tanner of the affidavit was to question the final order dated 08.03.2010 passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court for grant of rank pay with arrears and 6% interest and acting in disregard to the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court passed on 08.03.2010 and to somehow impress upon the court that all the grievances of defence personnel were being looked into by the Government. Interestingly, the Union of India, through the affidavit of under Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, only consented to referring the issue of fixation of rank pay to the proposed Commission and expressed its inability to consent to any other terms of reference.
7. During the hearing of the matter today, the Hon’ble Court termed the affidavit of the Union of India as contemptuous and disregarded the same. It was clear that the Hon’ble Court was disturbed with the attitude of the Government when the court pointed out that no law required consent from the Union of India to pass directions with regard to the setting up a Commission. The Hon’ble Court also refused to refer the issue of rank pay fixation to the Commission since it has already been settled in favour of the officers by the order of the Hon’ble Supreme court itself dated 08.03.2010 in T.P. (Civil) No. 56/2007. The Application for modification and recalling the order dated 08.03.2010 has been referred to the Chief Justice of India for placing the same before another Bench.
Lt Col BK Sharma
President, RDOA
Jan 25, 2011
ARMY OFFICER'S BENEVOLENT FUND PLATINUM GRANT AT 75 YRS AGE.
Retired army officers, who have completed 75 years of age, are entitled to a grant of Rs 50,000.00 from the Army Officers Benevolent Fund.Kindly share this information among the retired Army Officers in your city. In case of demise of an officer, during service or later before completing 75 years, this amount is payable to the next of kin immediately after the demise of the officer. It is also applicable to officers settled abroad). No formal application is required for claiming the platinum grant. However the retired officers are required to intimate their postal addresses and Bank Account Numbers as and when they enter their 75th year at following address for updating the records :-
Director Accounts, Ceremonial & Welfare Directorate
Adjutant General's Branch, Army Headquarters, South Block, Room No 279,
DHQ PO New Delhi – 110011
Tele No - 2337 5138
Ravindran Major majorravi@gmail.com
Director Accounts, Ceremonial & Welfare Directorate
Adjutant General's Branch, Army Headquarters, South Block, Room No 279,
DHQ PO New Delhi – 110011
Tele No - 2337 5138
Ravindran Major majorravi@gmail.com
NOTE ON APPOINTMENT OF ARMED FORCESGRIEVANCES REDRESSAL COMMISSION ANDPAYMENT OF RANK PAY TO DEFENCE OFFICERS
1. I.A. No. 9 of 2010 in T.P. (Civil) No. 56/2007, an application for modification/ recalling of final order dated 08.03.2010 and re-hearing of the matter, filed by Union of India came up for hearing today on 15.11.2010. The aforesaid T.P. was filed by the Union of India with a prayer to transfer several writ petitions pending in the various High Courts regarding correct fixation of rank pay as recommended by the IVth Pay Commission and accepted by the Central Government, to be effected from 01.01.1986 in respect of the officers of the Armed Forces and finally decided on 08.03.2010 in favour of the officers.
2. The aforesaid I.A. was listed for hearing before the Bench of Hon’ble Justice Markandey Katju and Hon’ble Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra before Court – 6 as Item No. 4 today i.e. 15.11.2010. Some connected matters were also listed. It may be noted that the Hon’ble Supreme Court has already passed final order in the aforesaid matters on 08.03.2010 and directed the Central Government to pay the rank pay to the affected officers w.e.f. 01.01.1986 along with 6% interest. Surprisingly, instead of implementing the aforesaid directions, UOI had filed an application for modification and recalling of the order dated 08.03.2010 and for re-hearing of the matters. The respondents i.e. writ petitioners in the High Court of Kerala and Ex-servicemen organizations namely Retired Defence Officres Association, Disabled War Veterans of India, Naval Chapter and Purva Sainik Prishad were represented by Advocates, Mr. Mahabir Singh, Gp Capt Karan Singh Bhati (Retd.) and Ms Aishwarya Bhati.
3. In the connected matter, W.P. (Civil) No. 291/2010 – “Pushpawanti Versus Union of India” wherein a pension of rs. 80/- p.m. was being paid to the widow of a highly decorated Major, the Hon’ble Court has been pleased to pass detailed directions for the formation of Commission, headed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Kuldeep Singh, Retired Judge of the Supreme Court, Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.S. Sodhi, Retired Judge of Allahabad High Court, General V.P. Malik, Former Chief of Army Staff and Lt. General Vijay Oberoi (Retd.) and one member i.e. Civil Servant either serving or retired, to be nominated by the Union of India to look into and make recommendations with regard to the grievances of serving and retired Defence personnel like one rank one pension and other disparities and anomalies, without limiting the scope of reference. The matter will continue to be monitored by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.
4. The Hon’ble Court was very clear on the purpose and backdrop of the need for setting up such a Commission to provide an equitable Forum to look into and make recommendations for a fair redressal of grievances of the Men-In-Uniform, who had been at the receiving end of the Governmental/ Bureaucratic Apathy and indifference for years and decades.
5. The Hon’ble Court was extremely moved with instances of pittance being paid as pension to widows of highly decorated officers who laid down their lives for the Nation and years of indifferent and unfair policies leading to officers and men taking extreme steps of returning their gallantry medals and even burning their artificial limbs which were fixed upon loosing natural limbs in war/ action. The Hon’ble Court had specifically expressed its concern and intention on earlier occasions also when these matters were being heard and had directed the Union of India to file an affidavit on these lines, while expressing that the Commission could be formed by the court suo-moto also, however, the intention was to include the Union of India in the decision making process since such high degree of discontentment which was apparent among the personnel of Defence Forces, is not good for the country.
6. The Union of Indian had filed an additional affidavit in the aforesaid T.P. and connected matters, pursuant to the directions of this Hon’ble Court and the entire tone and tanner of the affidavit was to question the final order dated 08.03.2010 passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court for grant of rank pay with arrears and 6% interest and acting in disregard to the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court passed on 08.03.2010 and to somehow impress upon the court that all the grievances of defence personnel were being looked into by the Government. Interestingly, the Union of India, through the affidavit of under Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, only consented to referring the issue of fixation of rank pay to the proposed Commission and expressed its inability to consent to any other terms of reference.
7. During the hearing of the matter today, the Hon’ble Court termed the affidavit of the Union of India as contemptuous and disregarded the same. It was clear that the Hon’ble Court was disturbed with the attitude of the Government when the court pointed out that no law required consent from the Union of India to pass directions with regard to the setting up a Commission. The Hon’ble Court also refused to refer the issue of rank pay fixation to the Commission since it has already been settled in favour of the officers by the order of the Hon’ble Supreme court itself dated 08.03.2010 in T.P. (Civil) No. 56/2007. The Application for modification and recalling the order dated 08.03.2010 has been referred to the Chief Justice of India for placing the same before another Bench.
Lt Col BK Sharma
President, RDOA
15/11/10, RDOA India
rdoaindia@gmail.com
2. The aforesaid I.A. was listed for hearing before the Bench of Hon’ble Justice Markandey Katju and Hon’ble Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra before Court – 6 as Item No. 4 today i.e. 15.11.2010. Some connected matters were also listed. It may be noted that the Hon’ble Supreme Court has already passed final order in the aforesaid matters on 08.03.2010 and directed the Central Government to pay the rank pay to the affected officers w.e.f. 01.01.1986 along with 6% interest. Surprisingly, instead of implementing the aforesaid directions, UOI had filed an application for modification and recalling of the order dated 08.03.2010 and for re-hearing of the matters. The respondents i.e. writ petitioners in the High Court of Kerala and Ex-servicemen organizations namely Retired Defence Officres Association, Disabled War Veterans of India, Naval Chapter and Purva Sainik Prishad were represented by Advocates, Mr. Mahabir Singh, Gp Capt Karan Singh Bhati (Retd.) and Ms Aishwarya Bhati.
3. In the connected matter, W.P. (Civil) No. 291/2010 – “Pushpawanti Versus Union of India” wherein a pension of rs. 80/- p.m. was being paid to the widow of a highly decorated Major, the Hon’ble Court has been pleased to pass detailed directions for the formation of Commission, headed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Kuldeep Singh, Retired Judge of the Supreme Court, Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.S. Sodhi, Retired Judge of Allahabad High Court, General V.P. Malik, Former Chief of Army Staff and Lt. General Vijay Oberoi (Retd.) and one member i.e. Civil Servant either serving or retired, to be nominated by the Union of India to look into and make recommendations with regard to the grievances of serving and retired Defence personnel like one rank one pension and other disparities and anomalies, without limiting the scope of reference. The matter will continue to be monitored by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.
4. The Hon’ble Court was very clear on the purpose and backdrop of the need for setting up such a Commission to provide an equitable Forum to look into and make recommendations for a fair redressal of grievances of the Men-In-Uniform, who had been at the receiving end of the Governmental/ Bureaucratic Apathy and indifference for years and decades.
5. The Hon’ble Court was extremely moved with instances of pittance being paid as pension to widows of highly decorated officers who laid down their lives for the Nation and years of indifferent and unfair policies leading to officers and men taking extreme steps of returning their gallantry medals and even burning their artificial limbs which were fixed upon loosing natural limbs in war/ action. The Hon’ble Court had specifically expressed its concern and intention on earlier occasions also when these matters were being heard and had directed the Union of India to file an affidavit on these lines, while expressing that the Commission could be formed by the court suo-moto also, however, the intention was to include the Union of India in the decision making process since such high degree of discontentment which was apparent among the personnel of Defence Forces, is not good for the country.
6. The Union of Indian had filed an additional affidavit in the aforesaid T.P. and connected matters, pursuant to the directions of this Hon’ble Court and the entire tone and tanner of the affidavit was to question the final order dated 08.03.2010 passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court for grant of rank pay with arrears and 6% interest and acting in disregard to the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court passed on 08.03.2010 and to somehow impress upon the court that all the grievances of defence personnel were being looked into by the Government. Interestingly, the Union of India, through the affidavit of under Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, only consented to referring the issue of fixation of rank pay to the proposed Commission and expressed its inability to consent to any other terms of reference.
7. During the hearing of the matter today, the Hon’ble Court termed the affidavit of the Union of India as contemptuous and disregarded the same. It was clear that the Hon’ble Court was disturbed with the attitude of the Government when the court pointed out that no law required consent from the Union of India to pass directions with regard to the setting up a Commission. The Hon’ble Court also refused to refer the issue of rank pay fixation to the Commission since it has already been settled in favour of the officers by the order of the Hon’ble Supreme court itself dated 08.03.2010 in T.P. (Civil) No. 56/2007. The Application for modification and recalling the order dated 08.03.2010 has been referred to the Chief Justice of India for placing the same before another Bench.
Lt Col BK Sharma
President, RDOA
15/11/10, RDOA India
rdoaindia@gmail.com
Oct 21, 2010
RANK PAY OFFICERS
I doubt whether you had alook at the file notings of the Defence
Secretariate file on the issue. Anyway I had a look at it. In case you
have not seen it so far, kindly go through it. If you seek
inspectionof the file under RTI Act, you will get it. Let me point out
following:
1. As per Defence Ministry's note dated 22-12-2009 the financial
implications were estimated t be Rs.433 cores without taking into
account financial implications on pensionary benefits in respect of
army and navy officers.
2. It was referredtoLegal Adviser (Def)
3. The Legal Advisor was of the opinion that review can be done on
following grounds:
(a) Discovery of new facts
(b) Mistake or errorapparenton face of ecord and
(c) Any other sufficient reason
4.It has gone to the solicitor Gemneral
5.The Joint Secretary(L) Anand Misra hadpointed out that "In view of
the huge financialimplications and importance of the case,it is
roposed to get it assessed by a High Power Committee consisting of
Defence Secretary, Secretary, Dept of Expenditure and Secreary
(Defence Finance)
6.The RM has approved consitutionof the above Committee
7. This Committee has worked out the expenditure as - Arrears on
acount of pay and pension to be around Rs.426 crores and Rs.83 crores
respectively. Interest @ 6% per annum on these arrears as ordered by
the SC to be Rs.1.114.71 crores and the total financial liaility comes
to around Rs.1,623.71 crores
8. The case was puersued purely on taking of the above
mentionedone-time financial implecation and enhanced
recuring implication.
9. In nutshell it may be seen that only the financial im0plication was
the criteria for the government to seek the review/recall and not the
merrrit of case
10 Now we should recollect following
(a) The arrears was resulted due to the misinterretation of the 4 PC
orders by the baboos
(b) The mistakes were corrected and the correction has been ratified
by the HC and SC
(c) Now the position is that the above amount is due to officers. ie.,
amount due to the employees of government. It is legally incumbant on
the employer ie., the government to pay this due to its employees.,
(d) Government cannot absolve fromthis liability on a plea that the
amount is too high.
(e) If the government is not capable of discharging its liability, it
has no choice other than declaring itself 'INSOLVANT'. After becoming
insolvant, the employees is entitled to seek their dues by REVENUE
RECOVERY.
I therefore request the concerned to bear in mind the requirement of
the government becoming INSOLVENT to escape the payment and our
entitlement to get our dues by REVENUE RECOVERY. I also request the
concerrned to impress all concerned that the intgerest of Rs.1,114.71
crores cannot be considered as the expenditure as the entitled
interest has always been morethan 6% and more than Rs.1114,71 has
already gained by government by withholding the dues from us. This is
as good as returning our DSOP deposit. This can never be considered
as an additional burden. In fact we should insist payment of interest
at market rate from 8-3-2010
Col NR Kurup (Retd)
colnrkurup@gmail.com
Secretariate file on the issue. Anyway I had a look at it. In case you
have not seen it so far, kindly go through it. If you seek
inspectionof the file under RTI Act, you will get it. Let me point out
following:
1. As per Defence Ministry's note dated 22-12-2009 the financial
implications were estimated t be Rs.433 cores without taking into
account financial implications on pensionary benefits in respect of
army and navy officers.
2. It was referredtoLegal Adviser (Def)
3. The Legal Advisor was of the opinion that review can be done on
following grounds:
(a) Discovery of new facts
(b) Mistake or errorapparenton face of ecord and
(c) Any other sufficient reason
4.It has gone to the solicitor Gemneral
5.The Joint Secretary(L) Anand Misra hadpointed out that "In view of
the huge financialimplications and importance of the case,it is
roposed to get it assessed by a High Power Committee consisting of
Defence Secretary, Secretary, Dept of Expenditure and Secreary
(Defence Finance)
6.The RM has approved consitutionof the above Committee
7. This Committee has worked out the expenditure as - Arrears on
acount of pay and pension to be around Rs.426 crores and Rs.83 crores
respectively. Interest @ 6% per annum on these arrears as ordered by
the SC to be Rs.1.114.71 crores and the total financial liaility comes
to around Rs.1,623.71 crores
8. The case was puersued purely on taking of the above
mentionedone-time financial implecation and enhanced
recuring implication.
9. In nutshell it may be seen that only the financial im0plication was
the criteria for the government to seek the review/recall and not the
merrrit of case
10 Now we should recollect following
(a) The arrears was resulted due to the misinterretation of the 4 PC
orders by the baboos
(b) The mistakes were corrected and the correction has been ratified
by the HC and SC
(c) Now the position is that the above amount is due to officers. ie.,
amount due to the employees of government. It is legally incumbant on
the employer ie., the government to pay this due to its employees.,
(d) Government cannot absolve fromthis liability on a plea that the
amount is too high.
(e) If the government is not capable of discharging its liability, it
has no choice other than declaring itself 'INSOLVANT'. After becoming
insolvant, the employees is entitled to seek their dues by REVENUE
RECOVERY.
I therefore request the concerned to bear in mind the requirement of
the government becoming INSOLVENT to escape the payment and our
entitlement to get our dues by REVENUE RECOVERY. I also request the
concerrned to impress all concerned that the intgerest of Rs.1,114.71
crores cannot be considered as the expenditure as the entitled
interest has always been morethan 6% and more than Rs.1114,71 has
already gained by government by withholding the dues from us. This is
as good as returning our DSOP deposit. This can never be considered
as an additional burden. In fact we should insist payment of interest
at market rate from 8-3-2010
Col NR Kurup (Retd)
colnrkurup@gmail.com
Oct 3, 2010
TOLL TAX EXEMPTION
Thursday, September 23, 2010
This issue keeps cropping up every year or so.
Some officers are again circulating a letter purportedly issued by the NHAI in which it has been stated that retired defence personnel are entitled to toll exemption.
The above mentioned letter is fake. Please do not embarrass yourself or the service by using it or fighting with toll barrier staff on its basis. This has been clarified by me time and again.
An excerpt of a news report wherein the subject was dealt with by the Supreme Court is also floating around. The said judgement was related to the private vehicles of serving personnel only and had no relevance to retired personnel. The Supreme Court had upheld toll exemption to the private vehicles of serving defence personnel only.
Anyone who may want to know about the issue in greater detail may go through previous posts on the subject by clicking here.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh at 8:00 AM Labels: Policy and Benefits, toll tax
This issue keeps cropping up every year or so.
Some officers are again circulating a letter purportedly issued by the NHAI in which it has been stated that retired defence personnel are entitled to toll exemption.
The above mentioned letter is fake. Please do not embarrass yourself or the service by using it or fighting with toll barrier staff on its basis. This has been clarified by me time and again.
An excerpt of a news report wherein the subject was dealt with by the Supreme Court is also floating around. The said judgement was related to the private vehicles of serving personnel only and had no relevance to retired personnel. The Supreme Court had upheld toll exemption to the private vehicles of serving defence personnel only.
Anyone who may want to know about the issue in greater detail may go through previous posts on the subject by clicking here.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh at 8:00 AM Labels: Policy and Benefits, toll tax
Sep 17, 2010
GOVT GIVES A BOOST TO LONG TERM INVESTMENTS
The proposed Direct Taxes Code (DTC) tabled in Parliament on Monday signals some key changes for you. Women taxpayers would enter a new taxing era, where they won’t get the exemption edge that they have been enjoying till now. While the overall deductions have moved up only marginally by `15,000, some instruments have been moved out from the deduction ambit.
“I feel this is a diluted version of the first draft. In terms of tax exemption limit and deductions, the difference is not huge,” says Nikhil Bhatia, executive director (direct tax), PricewaterhouseCooper.
The income-tax exemption limit for both men and women has been moved up to `2 lakh. While for men this is a jump of `40,000 from their existing limit of `1.6 lakh, women’s benefit has been restricted only to `10,000 from their current `1.9 lakh limit. Senior citizens, too, would see a rise of only `10,000—the new exemption limit has been raised to `2.5 lakh from the current `2.4 lakh.
Exemption means the income threshold before which no income-tax is due. So, a man earning `3 lakh a year will have to pay tax only on `1 lakh; `2 lakh becomes his tax-free income or income exempted from tax. Add a deduction of `1 lakh and he can bring his tax liability to nil. Also, any individual claiming a deduction of `1.5 lakh can ensure that `3.5 lakh of his income is tax-free.
Deductions up to `1 lakh will be available on savings, pension funds and pension schemes. These include long-term savings options, such as the Employees’ Provident Fund, Public Provident Fund, other government approved provident funds and contributions made to the tier I structure of the New Pension System.
Another `50,000 will be available on life insurance and health insurance premiums and tuition fees. Additionally, the interest on loans taken for higher education is also deductible. However, premiums paid on a life insurance policy can’t exceed 5% of the sum assured.
Earlier, the total deduction came to `1,35,000, including instruments under section 80C up to `1 lakh, infrastructure bonds up to `20,000 and health insurance up to `15,000. Now, it comes to `1.5 lakh.
Home loan principal: The deduction up to `1.5 lakh on interest paid on home loans continues. However, the principal on home loans is not eligible for deduction any more.
Equity-linked savings scheme (ELSS): In a blow to the mutual fund industry, the tax-friendly ELSS is out of the deduction ambit.
Others: Five-year fixed deposits (FDs), which were earlier included in `1 lakh deduction list, are out. Infrastructure bonds, introduced in this year’s Budget for an additional deduction of `20,000, seem to have a short life. They, too, are not part of the new list.
“The deduction of up to `1 lakh under DTC is applicable on approved funds that currently consist of provident funds, pension and superannuation schemes. It seems to suggest that ELSS and infrastructure bonds will no longer enjoy tax deduction,” says Bhatia.
The proposed DTC brings cheer to those who have made capital gains. The previous version of the DTC proposed to tax a portion of long-term capital gains (LTCG), the current proposal has removed it altogether. For listed securities, LTCG will be nil as is the norm now.
In case of short-term capital gains (STCG), gains made within a year, 50% of the profit will be taxed at your tax slab. Effectively, that would mean a tax rate of 5%, 10% and 15% for those in tax slabs of 10%, 20% and 30%, respectively. At present, STCG is taxed at 15%, which is levied on the entire amount.
This means that those in lower tax bracket would gain out of this move. Says Sudhir Kapadia, tax market leader, Ernst and Young, a consulting firm: “Investors in the lower tax bracket will stand to gain as they will pay less than the current 15%.”
The rich will have to pay a wealth tax if the proposed DTC is passed in its present form. Net assets in excess of `1 crore will be taxed every year at the rate of 1%. Net assets is the difference between the value of all assets owned by a person (including a house, land, car, yacht, helicopter, jewellery, furniture, utensils, archaeological collections, paintings, cash and deposits in banks outside India, among others) and debts associated with the above assets.
The tax will have to be paid by the date for filing of tax returns. There are a plenty of exclusions in this DTC clause, so do talk to your financial planner before you panic.
The restructuring of deductions is aimed at encouraging long-term savings. By increasing the deduction limit for pension products, the government clearly aims at boosting retirement savings. Also, removal of short-term tax-saving tools, such as ELSS and five-year FDs, shows that the new focus period is long term.
Also, with deductions on insurance premiums limited to `50,000, sticking to the simplest and cheapest term insurance would make more sense for you. Earlier, agents often pushed insurance products as a tax-saving tool; they can’t use that pretext any more.
Deepti Bhaskaran, deepti.bh@livemint.com
“I feel this is a diluted version of the first draft. In terms of tax exemption limit and deductions, the difference is not huge,” says Nikhil Bhatia, executive director (direct tax), PricewaterhouseCooper.
The income-tax exemption limit for both men and women has been moved up to `2 lakh. While for men this is a jump of `40,000 from their existing limit of `1.6 lakh, women’s benefit has been restricted only to `10,000 from their current `1.9 lakh limit. Senior citizens, too, would see a rise of only `10,000—the new exemption limit has been raised to `2.5 lakh from the current `2.4 lakh.
Exemption means the income threshold before which no income-tax is due. So, a man earning `3 lakh a year will have to pay tax only on `1 lakh; `2 lakh becomes his tax-free income or income exempted from tax. Add a deduction of `1 lakh and he can bring his tax liability to nil. Also, any individual claiming a deduction of `1.5 lakh can ensure that `3.5 lakh of his income is tax-free.
Deductions up to `1 lakh will be available on savings, pension funds and pension schemes. These include long-term savings options, such as the Employees’ Provident Fund, Public Provident Fund, other government approved provident funds and contributions made to the tier I structure of the New Pension System.
Another `50,000 will be available on life insurance and health insurance premiums and tuition fees. Additionally, the interest on loans taken for higher education is also deductible. However, premiums paid on a life insurance policy can’t exceed 5% of the sum assured.
Earlier, the total deduction came to `1,35,000, including instruments under section 80C up to `1 lakh, infrastructure bonds up to `20,000 and health insurance up to `15,000. Now, it comes to `1.5 lakh.
Home loan principal: The deduction up to `1.5 lakh on interest paid on home loans continues. However, the principal on home loans is not eligible for deduction any more.
Equity-linked savings scheme (ELSS): In a blow to the mutual fund industry, the tax-friendly ELSS is out of the deduction ambit.
Others: Five-year fixed deposits (FDs), which were earlier included in `1 lakh deduction list, are out. Infrastructure bonds, introduced in this year’s Budget for an additional deduction of `20,000, seem to have a short life. They, too, are not part of the new list.
“The deduction of up to `1 lakh under DTC is applicable on approved funds that currently consist of provident funds, pension and superannuation schemes. It seems to suggest that ELSS and infrastructure bonds will no longer enjoy tax deduction,” says Bhatia.
The proposed DTC brings cheer to those who have made capital gains. The previous version of the DTC proposed to tax a portion of long-term capital gains (LTCG), the current proposal has removed it altogether. For listed securities, LTCG will be nil as is the norm now.
In case of short-term capital gains (STCG), gains made within a year, 50% of the profit will be taxed at your tax slab. Effectively, that would mean a tax rate of 5%, 10% and 15% for those in tax slabs of 10%, 20% and 30%, respectively. At present, STCG is taxed at 15%, which is levied on the entire amount.
This means that those in lower tax bracket would gain out of this move. Says Sudhir Kapadia, tax market leader, Ernst and Young, a consulting firm: “Investors in the lower tax bracket will stand to gain as they will pay less than the current 15%.”
The rich will have to pay a wealth tax if the proposed DTC is passed in its present form. Net assets in excess of `1 crore will be taxed every year at the rate of 1%. Net assets is the difference between the value of all assets owned by a person (including a house, land, car, yacht, helicopter, jewellery, furniture, utensils, archaeological collections, paintings, cash and deposits in banks outside India, among others) and debts associated with the above assets.
The tax will have to be paid by the date for filing of tax returns. There are a plenty of exclusions in this DTC clause, so do talk to your financial planner before you panic.
The restructuring of deductions is aimed at encouraging long-term savings. By increasing the deduction limit for pension products, the government clearly aims at boosting retirement savings. Also, removal of short-term tax-saving tools, such as ELSS and five-year FDs, shows that the new focus period is long term.
Also, with deductions on insurance premiums limited to `50,000, sticking to the simplest and cheapest term insurance would make more sense for you. Earlier, agents often pushed insurance products as a tax-saving tool; they can’t use that pretext any more.
Deepti Bhaskaran, deepti.bh@livemint.com
A VERY DAMNING ARTICLE ON INDIA & TRUE TOO
Reflections on India By Sean Paul Kelley
Sean Paul Kelley is a travel writer, former radio host, and before that an asset manager for a Wall Street investment bank that is still (barely) alive. He recently left a fantastic job in Singapore working for Solar Winds, a software company based out of Austin to travel around the world for a year (or two). He founded The Agonist, in 2002, which is still considered the top international affairs, culture and news destination for progressives. He is also the Global Correspondent for The Young Turks, on satellite radio and Air America .
If you are Indian, or of Indian descent, I must preface this post with a clear warning: you are not going to like what I have to say. My criticisms may be very hard to stomach. But consider them as the hard words and loving advice of a good friend. Someone who’s being honest with you and wants nothing from you.
These criticisms apply to all of India except Kerala and the places I didn’t visit, except that I have a feeling it applies to all of India , except as I mentioned before, Kerala.
Lastly, before anyone accuses me of Western Cultural Imperialism, let me say this: if this is what India and Indians want, then hey, who am I to tell them differently. Take what you like and leave the rest. In the end it doesn’t really matter, as I get the sense that Indians, at least many upper class Indians, don’t seem to care and the lower classes just don’t know any better, what with Indian culture being so intense and pervasive on the sub-continent. But here goes, nonetheless.
India is a mess. It’s that simple, but it’s also quite complicated. I’ll start with what I think are India ’s four major problems–the four most preventing India from becoming a developing nation–and then move to some of the ancillary ones.
First, pollution. In my opinion the filth, squalor and all around pollution indicates a marked lack of respect for India by Indians. I don’t know how cultural the filth is, but it’s really beyond anything I have ever encountered. At times the smells, trash, refuse and excrement are like a garbage dump.
Right next door to the Taj Mahal was a pile of trash that smelled so bad, was so foul as to almost ruin the entire Taj experience. Delhi , Bangalore and Chennai to a lesser degree were so very polluted as to make me physically ill. Sinus infections, ear infection, bowels churning was an all to common experience in India . Dung, be it goat, cow or human fecal matter was common on the streets. In major tourist areas filth was everywhere, littering the sidewalks, the roadways, you name it. Toilets in the middle of the road, men urinating and defecating anywhere, in broad daylight.
Whole villages are plastic bag wastelands. Roadsides are choked by it. Air quality that can hardly be called quality. Far too much coal and far to few unleaded vehicles on the road. The measure should be how dangerous the air is for one’s health, not how good it is. People casually throw trash in the streets, on the roads.
The only two cities that could be considered sanitary in my journey were Trivandrum –the capital of Kerala–and Calicut . I don’t know why this is. But I can assure you that at some point this pollution will cut into India ’s productivity, if it already hasn’t. The pollution will hobble India ’s growth path, if that indeed is what the country wants. (Which I personally doubt, as India is far too conservative a country, in the small ‘c’ sense.)
The second is sue , infrastructure, can be divided into four subcategories: roads, rails and ports and the electrical grid. The electrical grid is a joke. Load shedding is all too common, everywhere in India . Wide swaths of the country spend much of the day without the electricity they actually pay for. With out regular electricity, productivity, again, falls.
The ports are a joke. Antiquated, out of date, hardly even appropriate for the mechanized world of container ports, more in line with the days of longshoremen and the like. Roads are an equal disaster. I only saw one elevated highway that would be considered decent in Thailand , much less Western Europe or America . And I covered fully two thirds of the country during my visit.
There are so few dual carriage way roads as to be laughable. There are no traffic laws to speak of, and if there are, they are rarely obeyed, much less enforced. A drive that should take an hour takes three. A drive that should take three takes nine. The buses are at least thirty years old, if not older.
Everyone in India , or who travels in India raves about the railway system. Rubbish. It’s awful. Now, when I was there in 2003 and then late 2004 it was decent. But in the last five years the traffic on the rails has grown so quickly that once again, it is threatening productivity. Waiting in line just to ask a question now takes thirty minutes. Routes are routinely sold out three and four days in advance now, leaving travelers stranded with little option except to take the decrepit and dangerous buses.
At least fifty million people use the trains a day in India . 50 million people! Not surprising that waitlists of 500 or more people are common now.
The rails are affordable and comprehensive but they are overcrowded and what with budget airlines popping up in India like Sadhus in an ashram the middle and lowers classes are left to deal with the overutilized rails and quality suffers. No one seems to give a shit.
Seriously, I just never have the impression that the Indian government really cares. Too interested in buying weapons from Russia , Israel and the US I guess.
The last major problem in India is an old problem and can be divided into two parts that’ve been two sides of the same coin since government was invented: bureaucracy and corruption.
It take triplicates to register into a hotel. To get a SIM card for one’s phone is like wading into a jungle of red-tape and photocopies one is not likely to emerge from in a good mood, much less satisfied with customer service.
Getting train tickets is a terrible ordeal, first you have to find the train number, which takes 30 minutes, then you have to fill in the form, which is far from easy, then you have to wait in line to try and make a reservation, which takes 30 minutes at least and if you made a single mistake on the form back you go to the end of the queue, or what passes for a queue in India.
The government is notoriously uninterested in the problems of the commoners, too busy fleecing the rich, or trying to get rich themselves in some way shape or form. Take the trash for example, civil rubbish collection authorities are too busy taking kickbacks from the wealthy to keep their areas clean that they don’t have the time, manpower, money or interest in doing their job.
Rural hospitals are perennially understaffed as doctors pocket the fees the government pays them, never show up at the rural hospitals and practice in the cities instead.
I could go on for quite some time about my perception of India and its problems, but in all seriousness, I don’t think anyone in India really cares. And that, to me, is the biggest problem. India is too conservative a society to want to change in any way.
Mumbai, India ’s financial capital is about as filthy, polluted and poor as the worst city imaginable in Vietnam , or Indonesia –and being more polluted than Medan , in Sumatra is no easy task. The biggest rats I have ever seen were in Medan !
One would expect a certain amount of, yes, I am going to use this word, backwardness, in a country that hasn’t produced so many Nobel Laureates, nuclear physicists, imminent economists and entrepreneurs. But India has all these things and what have they brought back to India with them? Nothing.
The rich still have their servants, the lower castes are still there to do the dirty work and so the country remains in stasis. It’s a shame. Indians and India have many wonderful things to offer the world, but I’m far from sanguine that India will amount to much in my lifetime.
Now, have at it, call me a cultural imperialist, a spoiled child of the West and all that. But remember, I’ve been there. I’ve done it. And I’ve seen 50 other countries on this planet and none, not even Ethiopia , have as long and gargantuan a laundry list of problems as India does.
And the bottom line is, I don’t think India really cares. Too complacent and too conservative.
From: Brig K P G Kurup
Date: Sunday, 12 September, 2010, 10:52 AM
Sean Paul Kelley is a travel writer, former radio host, and before that an asset manager for a Wall Street investment bank that is still (barely) alive. He recently left a fantastic job in Singapore working for Solar Winds, a software company based out of Austin to travel around the world for a year (or two). He founded The Agonist, in 2002, which is still considered the top international affairs, culture and news destination for progressives. He is also the Global Correspondent for The Young Turks, on satellite radio and Air America .
If you are Indian, or of Indian descent, I must preface this post with a clear warning: you are not going to like what I have to say. My criticisms may be very hard to stomach. But consider them as the hard words and loving advice of a good friend. Someone who’s being honest with you and wants nothing from you.
These criticisms apply to all of India except Kerala and the places I didn’t visit, except that I have a feeling it applies to all of India , except as I mentioned before, Kerala.
Lastly, before anyone accuses me of Western Cultural Imperialism, let me say this: if this is what India and Indians want, then hey, who am I to tell them differently. Take what you like and leave the rest. In the end it doesn’t really matter, as I get the sense that Indians, at least many upper class Indians, don’t seem to care and the lower classes just don’t know any better, what with Indian culture being so intense and pervasive on the sub-continent. But here goes, nonetheless.
India is a mess. It’s that simple, but it’s also quite complicated. I’ll start with what I think are India ’s four major problems–the four most preventing India from becoming a developing nation–and then move to some of the ancillary ones.
First, pollution. In my opinion the filth, squalor and all around pollution indicates a marked lack of respect for India by Indians. I don’t know how cultural the filth is, but it’s really beyond anything I have ever encountered. At times the smells, trash, refuse and excrement are like a garbage dump.
Right next door to the Taj Mahal was a pile of trash that smelled so bad, was so foul as to almost ruin the entire Taj experience. Delhi , Bangalore and Chennai to a lesser degree were so very polluted as to make me physically ill. Sinus infections, ear infection, bowels churning was an all to common experience in India . Dung, be it goat, cow or human fecal matter was common on the streets. In major tourist areas filth was everywhere, littering the sidewalks, the roadways, you name it. Toilets in the middle of the road, men urinating and defecating anywhere, in broad daylight.
Whole villages are plastic bag wastelands. Roadsides are choked by it. Air quality that can hardly be called quality. Far too much coal and far to few unleaded vehicles on the road. The measure should be how dangerous the air is for one’s health, not how good it is. People casually throw trash in the streets, on the roads.
The only two cities that could be considered sanitary in my journey were Trivandrum –the capital of Kerala–and Calicut . I don’t know why this is. But I can assure you that at some point this pollution will cut into India ’s productivity, if it already hasn’t. The pollution will hobble India ’s growth path, if that indeed is what the country wants. (Which I personally doubt, as India is far too conservative a country, in the small ‘c’ sense.)
The second is sue , infrastructure, can be divided into four subcategories: roads, rails and ports and the electrical grid. The electrical grid is a joke. Load shedding is all too common, everywhere in India . Wide swaths of the country spend much of the day without the electricity they actually pay for. With out regular electricity, productivity, again, falls.
The ports are a joke. Antiquated, out of date, hardly even appropriate for the mechanized world of container ports, more in line with the days of longshoremen and the like. Roads are an equal disaster. I only saw one elevated highway that would be considered decent in Thailand , much less Western Europe or America . And I covered fully two thirds of the country during my visit.
There are so few dual carriage way roads as to be laughable. There are no traffic laws to speak of, and if there are, they are rarely obeyed, much less enforced. A drive that should take an hour takes three. A drive that should take three takes nine. The buses are at least thirty years old, if not older.
Everyone in India , or who travels in India raves about the railway system. Rubbish. It’s awful. Now, when I was there in 2003 and then late 2004 it was decent. But in the last five years the traffic on the rails has grown so quickly that once again, it is threatening productivity. Waiting in line just to ask a question now takes thirty minutes. Routes are routinely sold out three and four days in advance now, leaving travelers stranded with little option except to take the decrepit and dangerous buses.
At least fifty million people use the trains a day in India . 50 million people! Not surprising that waitlists of 500 or more people are common now.
The rails are affordable and comprehensive but they are overcrowded and what with budget airlines popping up in India like Sadhus in an ashram the middle and lowers classes are left to deal with the overutilized rails and quality suffers. No one seems to give a shit.
Seriously, I just never have the impression that the Indian government really cares. Too interested in buying weapons from Russia , Israel and the US I guess.
The last major problem in India is an old problem and can be divided into two parts that’ve been two sides of the same coin since government was invented: bureaucracy and corruption.
It take triplicates to register into a hotel. To get a SIM card for one’s phone is like wading into a jungle of red-tape and photocopies one is not likely to emerge from in a good mood, much less satisfied with customer service.
Getting train tickets is a terrible ordeal, first you have to find the train number, which takes 30 minutes, then you have to fill in the form, which is far from easy, then you have to wait in line to try and make a reservation, which takes 30 minutes at least and if you made a single mistake on the form back you go to the end of the queue, or what passes for a queue in India.
The government is notoriously uninterested in the problems of the commoners, too busy fleecing the rich, or trying to get rich themselves in some way shape or form. Take the trash for example, civil rubbish collection authorities are too busy taking kickbacks from the wealthy to keep their areas clean that they don’t have the time, manpower, money or interest in doing their job.
Rural hospitals are perennially understaffed as doctors pocket the fees the government pays them, never show up at the rural hospitals and practice in the cities instead.
I could go on for quite some time about my perception of India and its problems, but in all seriousness, I don’t think anyone in India really cares. And that, to me, is the biggest problem. India is too conservative a society to want to change in any way.
Mumbai, India ’s financial capital is about as filthy, polluted and poor as the worst city imaginable in Vietnam , or Indonesia –and being more polluted than Medan , in Sumatra is no easy task. The biggest rats I have ever seen were in Medan !
One would expect a certain amount of, yes, I am going to use this word, backwardness, in a country that hasn’t produced so many Nobel Laureates, nuclear physicists, imminent economists and entrepreneurs. But India has all these things and what have they brought back to India with them? Nothing.
The rich still have their servants, the lower castes are still there to do the dirty work and so the country remains in stasis. It’s a shame. Indians and India have many wonderful things to offer the world, but I’m far from sanguine that India will amount to much in my lifetime.
Now, have at it, call me a cultural imperialist, a spoiled child of the West and all that. But remember, I’ve been there. I’ve done it. And I’ve seen 50 other countries on this planet and none, not even Ethiopia , have as long and gargantuan a laundry list of problems as India does.
And the bottom line is, I don’t think India really cares. Too complacent and too conservative.
From: Brig K P G Kurup
Date: Sunday, 12 September, 2010, 10:52 AM
ANOMALIES IN MAJORS PENSION ( PRE 2006 RETIREE) REMOVED
Holding that the pension shall not be less than 50 per cent of the minimum pay within the pay-band, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) today allowed a petition filed by majors and equivalents that would now entitle them to enhanced pension.
With the removal of existing anomalies that had resulted in majors, who retired prior to 2006, getting pension lower than even junior commissioned officers, they would now be paid an additional basic pension of about Rs 5,000 per month, besides consequential benefits. The order affects a substantial number of officers of the three services who had retired in the rank of major prior to 2006.
After the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission (SPC), the pension of majors was fixed at Rs 14,100 per month. This was less than what JCOs, four ranks below their grade, have been getting (Rs 16,145).
The anomaly in pension fixation arose because the minimum of the entire pay-band (PB-3) was taken into account while fixing the pension instead of considering the minimum of the pay-band applicable to majors. PB-3 (Rs 15,600-39,100) includes officers of the ranks of lieutenant to major and equivalents in other services. The minimum scale of major post-SPC is Rs 23,810.
The petitioners had contended that the existing basic pay, inclusive of grade pay and military service pay, worked out to be Rs 36,410, hence their pension at the stipulated 50 per cent of basic worked out to be Rs 18,205 per month, to which they were entitled.
In December, 2004, all majors with 13-year experience and having requisite qualifications were promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel (time scale) and the policy has continued since then. Following the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission, all 35 categories of services were merged into four pay bands in which lieutenant colonels were initially placed in pay band-3, but later moved to pay band-4.
The pension of lieutenant colonel is fixed at Rs 25,700 whereas that of majors who retired before 2006 is Rs 14,100, creating a huge difference of Rs 11,600, the petitioners claimed. Prior to the Sixth Pay Commission, the difference was just Rs 950.
In fact, the Department of Pensions (DoP) had raised the issue of incorrect interpretation of pension fixation rules of pre-2006 majors with the Department of Expenditure (DoE) and that it needed to be corrected. Despite the fact that the ministers of finance as well as personnel were in favour of the correction, the bureaucracy in the Ministry of Finance put a spanner in the work. The case was taken up time and again by the DoP, but was always rejected by the DoE.
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh 14 Sep 10
With the removal of existing anomalies that had resulted in majors, who retired prior to 2006, getting pension lower than even junior commissioned officers, they would now be paid an additional basic pension of about Rs 5,000 per month, besides consequential benefits. The order affects a substantial number of officers of the three services who had retired in the rank of major prior to 2006.
After the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission (SPC), the pension of majors was fixed at Rs 14,100 per month. This was less than what JCOs, four ranks below their grade, have been getting (Rs 16,145).
The anomaly in pension fixation arose because the minimum of the entire pay-band (PB-3) was taken into account while fixing the pension instead of considering the minimum of the pay-band applicable to majors. PB-3 (Rs 15,600-39,100) includes officers of the ranks of lieutenant to major and equivalents in other services. The minimum scale of major post-SPC is Rs 23,810.
The petitioners had contended that the existing basic pay, inclusive of grade pay and military service pay, worked out to be Rs 36,410, hence their pension at the stipulated 50 per cent of basic worked out to be Rs 18,205 per month, to which they were entitled.
In December, 2004, all majors with 13-year experience and having requisite qualifications were promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel (time scale) and the policy has continued since then. Following the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission, all 35 categories of services were merged into four pay bands in which lieutenant colonels were initially placed in pay band-3, but later moved to pay band-4.
The pension of lieutenant colonel is fixed at Rs 25,700 whereas that of majors who retired before 2006 is Rs 14,100, creating a huge difference of Rs 11,600, the petitioners claimed. Prior to the Sixth Pay Commission, the difference was just Rs 950.
In fact, the Department of Pensions (DoP) had raised the issue of incorrect interpretation of pension fixation rules of pre-2006 majors with the Department of Expenditure (DoE) and that it needed to be corrected. Despite the fact that the ministers of finance as well as personnel were in favour of the correction, the bureaucracy in the Ministry of Finance put a spanner in the work. The case was taken up time and again by the DoP, but was always rejected by the DoE.
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh 14 Sep 10
LT CDR'S CASE : ANOTHER VICTORY
Respected Veterans,
We are pleased to inform that we have won the case for the enhanced Pension payable to Lt Cdrs, filed by Cdr Avtar Singh and well fought by Cmde Sukhjinder Singh. The judgment was pronounced this morning by the tribunal bench headed by Justice Mathur and Lt Gen M Naidu. Copy of the judgment will be available only in a couple of days and the same will also be promulgated for your info.
The Lt Commanders will now be entitled to a pension of 50% of what the serving Lt Commander in service are drawing. It may make a difference of about Rs 4000 in their pensions.
We were awaiting the outcome of this case to file the Case for the Cmdes / Brigs etc and the needful will be done shortly. Cmde Sukhjinder will be steering this case and NFDC will also be a litigant.
This is another battle won for the Veterans with the help of the judicial process but there are good reasons to believe that as is now the norm, the MOD will file an SLP.
Vice Admiral Harinder Singh
We are pleased to inform that we have won the case for the enhanced Pension payable to Lt Cdrs, filed by Cdr Avtar Singh and well fought by Cmde Sukhjinder Singh. The judgment was pronounced this morning by the tribunal bench headed by Justice Mathur and Lt Gen M Naidu. Copy of the judgment will be available only in a couple of days and the same will also be promulgated for your info.
The Lt Commanders will now be entitled to a pension of 50% of what the serving Lt Commander in service are drawing. It may make a difference of about Rs 4000 in their pensions.
We were awaiting the outcome of this case to file the Case for the Cmdes / Brigs etc and the needful will be done shortly. Cmde Sukhjinder will be steering this case and NFDC will also be a litigant.
This is another battle won for the Veterans with the help of the judicial process but there are good reasons to believe that as is now the norm, the MOD will file an SLP.
Vice Admiral Harinder Singh
PAY TO ARMED FORCES
We need a permanent solution to this tussle over emoluments so that the armed forces need only confront the enemies of the nation, says T.R.Ramaswami IAS.
In the continuing debate on pay scales for the armed forces, there has to be a serious and transparent effort to ensure that the country is not faced with an unnecessary civil-military confrontation.That effort will have to come from the netas, who are the real and true bosses of the armed forces and not the civil bureaucracy. A solution may lie in what follows. This country requires the best armed forces, the best police and the best civil service. In fact that is what the British ensured.. By best one means that a
person chooses which service he wants as per his desires/capabilities and not based on the vast differential in prospects in the variousservices.
How much differential is there?
Take Maharashtra, one of the most parsimonious with police ranks thus still retaining some merit -
The 1981 IPS batch have become 3-star generals, the 1987 are 2-star and the 1994 1-star.
In the army the corresponding years are 1972, 1975, 1979. – ie a differential of 10-15years. While the differential is more with the IAS, the variance with the IPS is all the more glaring because both are uniformed services and the grades are "visible" on the shoulders.
First some general aspects. Only the armed forces are a real profession – ie where you rise to the top only by joining at the bottom. We have had professors of economics become Finance Secretaries or even Governors of RBI. We have any number of MBBSs,engineers, MBAs, in the police force though what theirqualifications lend to their jobs is a moot point. You can join at any level in the
civil service, except Cabinet Secretary. A civil servant can move from Animal Husbandry to Civil Aviation to Fertilisers to Steel to yes, unfortunately, even to Defence.. But the army never asks for Brigade Commanders or a Commandant of the Army War College or even Director General Military Intelligence, even from RAW or IB. Army officers can and have moved into organizations like IB and RAW but it is never the other way round. MBBS and Law graduates are only in the Medical or JAG Corps and do nothing beyond their narrow areas. Every Army Chief - in any army - has risen from being a commander of a platoon to company to battalion to brigade to division to corps to army.In fact the
professionalism is so intense that no non-armoured corps officer ever commands an armoured formation – first and possibly only exception in world military history – General K. Sunderji.Perhaps it is this outstanding professionalism that irks the civil services.
Next, one must note the rigidity and steep pyramid of the army's rank structure. In the civil services any post is fungible with any grade based on political expediency and the desires of the service. For example I know of one case where one department downgraded one post in another state and up-graded one in Mumbai just to enable someone continue in Mumbai after promotion!
You can't fool around like this in the armed forces. A very good Brigadier cannot be made a Major-General and continue as brigade commander. There has to be a clear vacancy for a Major General and even then there may be others better than him. Further the top five ranks in the army comprise only 10% of the officer strength. Contrast this with the civil services where entire batches become Joint Secretaries.
Even the meaning of the word "merit" is vastly different in the army and
the civil services. Some years back an officer of the Maharashtra cadre claimed that he should be the Chief Secretary as he was first in the merit list. Which merit list? At the time of entry more than 35 years before! The fact is that this is how merit is decided in the IAS and IPS. Every time a batch gets promoted the inter-se merit is still retained as at the time of entry. In other words if you are first in a batch at the time of entry, then as long as you get promoted, you continue to remain first! This is like someone in the army claiming that he should become chief because he got the Sword of Honour at the IMA. Even a Param Vir Chakra does not count for promotion, assuming that you are
still alive. In the armed forces, merit is a continuous process - each time a batch is promoted the merit list is redrawn according to your performance in all the previous assignments with additional weightage given not only to the last one but also to your suitability for the next one. Thus if you are a Brigade Commander and found fit to become a Major General, you may not get a division because others have been found better to head a division. That effectively puts an end to your promotion to Lt. General.The compensation package must therefore address all the above issues. In each service, anyone must get the same total compensation by the time he reaches
the 'mode rank' of his service. "Mode" is a statistical term “ the value where the maximum number of variables fall.
In the IAS normally everyone reaches Director and in the IPS it is DIG. In the army, given the aforementioned rank and grade rigidities and pyramidical structure, the mode rank cannot exceed Colonel. Thus a Colonel's gross career earnings (not salary scales alone) must be at par with that of a Director. But remember that a Colonel retires at 54, but every babu from peon to Secretary at 60 regardless of performance.Further, it takes 18-20 years to become a Colonel whereas in that time an IAS officer reaches the next higher grade of Joint Secretary, which is considered equal to a Major General.These aspects and others - like postings in non-family stations - must be addressed while fixing the overall pay scales of Colonel and below. Thereafter a Brigadier will be made equal to a Joint
Secretary, a Major-General to an Additional Secretary and a Lt. General to a Secretary. The Army Commanders deserve a new rank -Colonel General - and should be above a Secretary but below Cabinet Secretary. The equalization takes place at the level of Cabinet Secretary and Army Chief.
If this is financially a problem I have another solution. Without increasing the armed forces' scales, reduce the scales of the IAS and IPS till they too have
20% shortage.
Done?
Even India 's corruption index will go down.
If the above is accepted in principle, there is a good case to review the number of posts above Colonel. Senior ranks in the armed forces have become devalued with more and more posts being created.But the same pruning exercise is necessary in the IAS and more so in the IPS, where
Directors General in some states are re-writing police manuals eg one is doing Volume I and another Volume II!
Further the civil services have such facilities as "compulsory wait" ie “ basically a picnic at taxpayers cost. And if you are not promoted or posted where you don't want to go they seem able to take off on leave with much ease. In the army you will be court-martialled. Also find out how many are on study leave. The country cannot afford this.
Let not someone say that the IAS and IPS exams are tougher and hence the quality of the officers better. An exam at the age of 24 has to be tougher than one
at the age of 16. The taxpaying citizen is not interested in your essay/note writing capabilities or whether you know Cleopatra's grandfather.
As a citizen I always see the army being called to hold the pants of the civil services and the police and never the other way round. That's enough proof as to who is really more capable. Also recall the insensitive statements made by the IG Meerut in the Aarushi case and the Home Secretary after the blasts. Further, when the IAS and IPS hopefuls are sleeping, eating and studying, their school mates, who have joined the army, stand vigil on the borders to make it possible for them to do so. Remember that the armed forces can only fight for above the table pay. They can never compete with the civil services and definitely not with the police for the under the table variety.
Finally, there is one supreme national necessity. The political class, not the bureaucracy - which represents the real civil supremacy better become more savvy on matters relating to the armed forces. Till then they are at the mercy of the civil service, who frequently play their own little war games. At ministerial level there are some very specialized departments eg “ Finance, Railways,Security (Home), Foreign and Defence, where
split second decisions are necessary. It is always possible to find netas savvy in finance, foreign relations and railways. Security has been addressed in getting a former IPS officer as NSA at the level of a MoS. Is it time that a professional is also brought into the Defence Ministry as MoS? The sooner the better. In fact this will be better than a CoDS because the armed forces will have someone not constrained by the Army Act or Article 33 of the Constitution.Of course the loudest howls will come from the babus. The netas must realize that a divide and rule policy cannot work where the country's security is concerned. Recall 1962?
Our army, already engaged in activities not core to their functions, including rescuing babies from borewells (!), should not have to engage in civil wars over their pay scales. I only hope our defence minister or anyone who would take a reasonable stand for defence forces ever gets to see this article.
It would definitely affect any person with an iota of integrity
Fwd by Col George Joseph email :jaat52@hotmail.com
In the continuing debate on pay scales for the armed forces, there has to be a serious and transparent effort to ensure that the country is not faced with an unnecessary civil-military confrontation.That effort will have to come from the netas, who are the real and true bosses of the armed forces and not the civil bureaucracy. A solution may lie in what follows. This country requires the best armed forces, the best police and the best civil service. In fact that is what the British ensured.. By best one means that a
person chooses which service he wants as per his desires/capabilities and not based on the vast differential in prospects in the variousservices.
How much differential is there?
Take Maharashtra, one of the most parsimonious with police ranks thus still retaining some merit -
The 1981 IPS batch have become 3-star generals, the 1987 are 2-star and the 1994 1-star.
In the army the corresponding years are 1972, 1975, 1979. – ie a differential of 10-15years. While the differential is more with the IAS, the variance with the IPS is all the more glaring because both are uniformed services and the grades are "visible" on the shoulders.
First some general aspects. Only the armed forces are a real profession – ie where you rise to the top only by joining at the bottom. We have had professors of economics become Finance Secretaries or even Governors of RBI. We have any number of MBBSs,engineers, MBAs, in the police force though what theirqualifications lend to their jobs is a moot point. You can join at any level in the
civil service, except Cabinet Secretary. A civil servant can move from Animal Husbandry to Civil Aviation to Fertilisers to Steel to yes, unfortunately, even to Defence.. But the army never asks for Brigade Commanders or a Commandant of the Army War College or even Director General Military Intelligence, even from RAW or IB. Army officers can and have moved into organizations like IB and RAW but it is never the other way round. MBBS and Law graduates are only in the Medical or JAG Corps and do nothing beyond their narrow areas. Every Army Chief - in any army - has risen from being a commander of a platoon to company to battalion to brigade to division to corps to army.In fact the
professionalism is so intense that no non-armoured corps officer ever commands an armoured formation – first and possibly only exception in world military history – General K. Sunderji.Perhaps it is this outstanding professionalism that irks the civil services.
Next, one must note the rigidity and steep pyramid of the army's rank structure. In the civil services any post is fungible with any grade based on political expediency and the desires of the service. For example I know of one case where one department downgraded one post in another state and up-graded one in Mumbai just to enable someone continue in Mumbai after promotion!
You can't fool around like this in the armed forces. A very good Brigadier cannot be made a Major-General and continue as brigade commander. There has to be a clear vacancy for a Major General and even then there may be others better than him. Further the top five ranks in the army comprise only 10% of the officer strength. Contrast this with the civil services where entire batches become Joint Secretaries.
Even the meaning of the word "merit" is vastly different in the army and
the civil services. Some years back an officer of the Maharashtra cadre claimed that he should be the Chief Secretary as he was first in the merit list. Which merit list? At the time of entry more than 35 years before! The fact is that this is how merit is decided in the IAS and IPS. Every time a batch gets promoted the inter-se merit is still retained as at the time of entry. In other words if you are first in a batch at the time of entry, then as long as you get promoted, you continue to remain first! This is like someone in the army claiming that he should become chief because he got the Sword of Honour at the IMA. Even a Param Vir Chakra does not count for promotion, assuming that you are
still alive. In the armed forces, merit is a continuous process - each time a batch is promoted the merit list is redrawn according to your performance in all the previous assignments with additional weightage given not only to the last one but also to your suitability for the next one. Thus if you are a Brigade Commander and found fit to become a Major General, you may not get a division because others have been found better to head a division. That effectively puts an end to your promotion to Lt. General.The compensation package must therefore address all the above issues. In each service, anyone must get the same total compensation by the time he reaches
the 'mode rank' of his service. "Mode" is a statistical term “ the value where the maximum number of variables fall.
In the IAS normally everyone reaches Director and in the IPS it is DIG. In the army, given the aforementioned rank and grade rigidities and pyramidical structure, the mode rank cannot exceed Colonel. Thus a Colonel's gross career earnings (not salary scales alone) must be at par with that of a Director. But remember that a Colonel retires at 54, but every babu from peon to Secretary at 60 regardless of performance.Further, it takes 18-20 years to become a Colonel whereas in that time an IAS officer reaches the next higher grade of Joint Secretary, which is considered equal to a Major General.These aspects and others - like postings in non-family stations - must be addressed while fixing the overall pay scales of Colonel and below. Thereafter a Brigadier will be made equal to a Joint
Secretary, a Major-General to an Additional Secretary and a Lt. General to a Secretary. The Army Commanders deserve a new rank -Colonel General - and should be above a Secretary but below Cabinet Secretary. The equalization takes place at the level of Cabinet Secretary and Army Chief.
If this is financially a problem I have another solution. Without increasing the armed forces' scales, reduce the scales of the IAS and IPS till they too have
20% shortage.
Done?
Even India 's corruption index will go down.
If the above is accepted in principle, there is a good case to review the number of posts above Colonel. Senior ranks in the armed forces have become devalued with more and more posts being created.But the same pruning exercise is necessary in the IAS and more so in the IPS, where
Directors General in some states are re-writing police manuals eg one is doing Volume I and another Volume II!
Further the civil services have such facilities as "compulsory wait" ie “ basically a picnic at taxpayers cost. And if you are not promoted or posted where you don't want to go they seem able to take off on leave with much ease. In the army you will be court-martialled. Also find out how many are on study leave. The country cannot afford this.
Let not someone say that the IAS and IPS exams are tougher and hence the quality of the officers better. An exam at the age of 24 has to be tougher than one
at the age of 16. The taxpaying citizen is not interested in your essay/note writing capabilities or whether you know Cleopatra's grandfather.
As a citizen I always see the army being called to hold the pants of the civil services and the police and never the other way round. That's enough proof as to who is really more capable. Also recall the insensitive statements made by the IG Meerut in the Aarushi case and the Home Secretary after the blasts. Further, when the IAS and IPS hopefuls are sleeping, eating and studying, their school mates, who have joined the army, stand vigil on the borders to make it possible for them to do so. Remember that the armed forces can only fight for above the table pay. They can never compete with the civil services and definitely not with the police for the under the table variety.
Finally, there is one supreme national necessity. The political class, not the bureaucracy - which represents the real civil supremacy better become more savvy on matters relating to the armed forces. Till then they are at the mercy of the civil service, who frequently play their own little war games. At ministerial level there are some very specialized departments eg “ Finance, Railways,Security (Home), Foreign and Defence, where
split second decisions are necessary. It is always possible to find netas savvy in finance, foreign relations and railways. Security has been addressed in getting a former IPS officer as NSA at the level of a MoS. Is it time that a professional is also brought into the Defence Ministry as MoS? The sooner the better. In fact this will be better than a CoDS because the armed forces will have someone not constrained by the Army Act or Article 33 of the Constitution.Of course the loudest howls will come from the babus. The netas must realize that a divide and rule policy cannot work where the country's security is concerned. Recall 1962?
Our army, already engaged in activities not core to their functions, including rescuing babies from borewells (!), should not have to engage in civil wars over their pay scales. I only hope our defence minister or anyone who would take a reasonable stand for defence forces ever gets to see this article.
It would definitely affect any person with an iota of integrity
Fwd by Col George Joseph email :jaat52@hotmail.com
Aug 16, 2010
ON ARMY AND CIVIL SERVICES- TR Ramaswamy IAS
We need a permanent solution to this tussle over emoluments so that the armed forces need only confront the enemies of the nation,
Says - T.R.Ramaswami IAS.
In the continuing debate on pay scales for the armed forces, there has to be a serious and transparent effort to ensure that the country is not faced with an unnecessary civil-military confrontation. That effort will have to come from the netas, who are the real and true bosses of the armed forces and not the civil bureaucracy. A solution may lie in what follows. This country requires the best armed forces, the best police and the best civil service. In fact that is what the British ensured.. By best one means that a person chooses which service he wants as per his desires/capabilitie s and not based on the vast differential in prospects in the variousservices.
How much differential is there?
Take Maharashtra, one of the most parsimonious with police ranks thus still retaining some merit –
The 1981 IPS batch have become 3-star generals, the 1987 are 2-star and the 1994 1-star.
In the army the corresponding years are 1972, 1975, 1979. ie a differential of 10-15years. While the differential is more with the IAS, the variance with the IPS is all the more glaring because both are uniformed services and the grades are "visible" on the shoulders.
First some general aspects. Only the armed forces are a real profession – ie where you rise to the top only by joining at the bottom. We have had professors of economics become Finance Secretaries or even Governors of RBI. We have any number of MBBSs,engineers, MBAs, in the police force though what theirqualifications lend to their jobs is a moot point. You can join at any level in the civil service, except Cabinet Secretary. A civil servant can move from Animal Husbandry to Civil Aviation to Fertilisers to Steel to yes, unfortunately, even to Defence.. But the army never asks for Brigade Commanders or a Commandant of the Army War College or even Director General Military Intelligence, even from RAW or IB. Army officers can and have moved into organizations like IB and RAW but it is never the other way round. MBBS and Law graduates are only in the Medical or JAG Corps and do nothing beyond their narrow areas. Every Army Chief – in any army - has risen from being a commander of a platoon to company to battalion to brigade to division to corps to army.In fact the professionalism is so intense that no non-armoured corps officer ever commands an armoured formation – first and possibly only exception in world military history “ General K. Sunderji.Perhaps it is this outstanding professionalism that irks the civil services.
Next, one must note the rigidity and steep pyramid of the army's rank structure. In the civil services any post is fungible with any grade based on political expediency and the desires of the service. For example I know of one case where one department downgraded one post in another state and up-graded one in Mumbai just to enable someone continue in Mumbai after promotion!
You can't fool around like this in the armed forces. A very good Brigadier cannot be made a Major-General and continue as brigade commander. There has to be a clear vacancy for a Major General and even then there may be others better than him. Further the top five ranks in the army comprise only 10% of the officer strength. Contrast this with the civil services where entire batches become Joint Secretaries.
Even the meaning of the word"merit" is vastly different in the army and the civil services. Some years back an officer of the Maharashtra cadre claimed that he should be the Chief Secretary as he was first in the merit list.Which merit list? At the time of entry more than 35 years before! The fact is that this is how merit is decided in the IAS and IPS. Every time a batch gets promoted the inter-se merit is still retained as at the time of entry. In other words if you are first in a batch at the time of entry, then as long as you get promoted, you continue to remain first! This is like someone in the army claiming that he should become chief because he got the Sword of Honour at the IMA. Even a Param Vir Chakra does not count for promotion, assuming that you are still alive. In the armed forces, merit is a continuous process - each time a batch is promoted the merit list is redrawn according to your performance in all the previous assignments with additional weightage given not only to the last one but also to your suitability for the next one. Thus if you are a Brigade Commander and found fit to become a Major General, you may not get a division because others have been found better to head a division. That effectively puts an end to your promotion to Lt. General.The compensation package must therefore address all the above issues. In each service, anyone must get the same total compensation by the time he reaches the 'mode rank' of his service. "Mode" is a statistical term the value where the maximum number of variables fall.
In the IAS normally everyone reaches Director and in the IPS it is DIG. In the army, given the aforementioned rank and grade rigidities and pyramidical structure, the mode rank cannot exceed Colonel. Thus a Colonel's gross career earnings (not salary scales alone) must be at par with that of a Director. But remember that a Colonel retires at 54, but every babu from peon to Secretary at 60 regardless of performance. Further, it takes 18-20 years to become a Colonel whereas in that time an IAS officer reaches the next higher grade of Joint Secretary, which is considered equal to a Major General. These aspects
and others - like postings in non-family stations - must be addressed while fixing the overall pay scales of Colonel and below. Thereafter a Brigadier will be made equal to a Joint Secretary, a Major-General to an Additional Secretary and a Lt. General to a Secretary. The Army Commanders deserve a new rank -Colonel General - and should be above a Secretary but below Cabinet Secretary. The equalization takes place at the level of Cabinet Secretary and Army Chief.
If this is financially a problem I have another solution. Without increasing the armed forces' scales, reduce the scales of the IAS and IPS till they too have 20% shortage.
Done?
Even India 's corruption index will go down.
If the above is accepted in principle, there is a good case to review the number of posts above Colonel. Senior ranks in the armed forces have become devalued with more and more posts being created. But the same pruning exercise is necessary in the IAS and more so in the IPS, where Directors General in some states are re-writing police manuals – one is doing Volume I and another Volume II!
Further the civil services have such facilities as "compulsory wait" basically a picnic at taxpayers cost. And if you are not promoted or posted where you don't want to go they seem able to take off on leave with much ease. In the army you will be court-martialled. Also find out how many are on study leave. The country cannot afford this.
Let not someone say that the IAS and IPS exams are tougher and hence the quality of the officers better. An exam at the age of 24 has to be tougher than one at the age of 16. The taxpaying citizen is not interested in your essay/note writing capabilities or whether you know Cleopatra's grandfather.
As a citizen I always see the army being called to hold the pants of the civil services and the police and never the other way round. That's enough proof as to who is really more capable. Also recall the insensitive statements made by the IG Meerut in the Aarushi case and the Home Secretary after the blasts. Further, when the IAS and IPS hopefuls are sleeping, eating and studying, their school mates, who have joined the army, stand vigil on the borders to make it possible for them to do so. Remember that the armed forces can only fight for above the table pay.
They can never compete with the civil services and definitely not with the police for the under the table variety.
Finally, there is one supreme national necessity. The political class “ not the bureaucracy - which represents the real civil supremacy better become more savvy on matters relating to the armed forces. Till then they are at the mercy of the civil service, who frequently play their own little war games. At ministerial level there are some very specialized departments “ Finance, Railways,Security (Home), Foreign and Defence, where split second decisions are necessary. It is always possible to find netas savvy in finance, foreign relations and railways. Security has been addressed in getting a former IPS officer as NSA at the level of a MoS. Is it time that a professional is also brought into the Defence Ministry as MoS? The sooner the better. In fact this will be better than a CoDS because the armed forces will have someone not constrained by the Army Act or Article 33 of the Constitution. Of course the loudest howls will come from the babus.
The netas must realize that a divide and rule policy cannot work where the country's security is concerned. Recall 1962?
Our army, already engaged in activities not core to their functions, including rescuing babies from borewells (!), should not have to engage in civil wars over their pay scales.I only hope our defence minister or anyone who would take a reasonable stand for defence forces ever gets to see this article.
It would definitely affect any person with an iota of integrity.
Says - T.R.Ramaswami IAS.
In the continuing debate on pay scales for the armed forces, there has to be a serious and transparent effort to ensure that the country is not faced with an unnecessary civil-military confrontation. That effort will have to come from the netas, who are the real and true bosses of the armed forces and not the civil bureaucracy. A solution may lie in what follows. This country requires the best armed forces, the best police and the best civil service. In fact that is what the British ensured.. By best one means that a person chooses which service he wants as per his desires/capabilitie s and not based on the vast differential in prospects in the variousservices.
How much differential is there?
Take Maharashtra, one of the most parsimonious with police ranks thus still retaining some merit –
The 1981 IPS batch have become 3-star generals, the 1987 are 2-star and the 1994 1-star.
In the army the corresponding years are 1972, 1975, 1979. ie a differential of 10-15years. While the differential is more with the IAS, the variance with the IPS is all the more glaring because both are uniformed services and the grades are "visible" on the shoulders.
First some general aspects. Only the armed forces are a real profession – ie where you rise to the top only by joining at the bottom. We have had professors of economics become Finance Secretaries or even Governors of RBI. We have any number of MBBSs,engineers, MBAs, in the police force though what theirqualifications lend to their jobs is a moot point. You can join at any level in the civil service, except Cabinet Secretary. A civil servant can move from Animal Husbandry to Civil Aviation to Fertilisers to Steel to yes, unfortunately, even to Defence.. But the army never asks for Brigade Commanders or a Commandant of the Army War College or even Director General Military Intelligence, even from RAW or IB. Army officers can and have moved into organizations like IB and RAW but it is never the other way round. MBBS and Law graduates are only in the Medical or JAG Corps and do nothing beyond their narrow areas. Every Army Chief – in any army - has risen from being a commander of a platoon to company to battalion to brigade to division to corps to army.In fact the professionalism is so intense that no non-armoured corps officer ever commands an armoured formation – first and possibly only exception in world military history “ General K. Sunderji.Perhaps it is this outstanding professionalism that irks the civil services.
Next, one must note the rigidity and steep pyramid of the army's rank structure. In the civil services any post is fungible with any grade based on political expediency and the desires of the service. For example I know of one case where one department downgraded one post in another state and up-graded one in Mumbai just to enable someone continue in Mumbai after promotion!
You can't fool around like this in the armed forces. A very good Brigadier cannot be made a Major-General and continue as brigade commander. There has to be a clear vacancy for a Major General and even then there may be others better than him. Further the top five ranks in the army comprise only 10% of the officer strength. Contrast this with the civil services where entire batches become Joint Secretaries.
Even the meaning of the word"merit" is vastly different in the army and the civil services. Some years back an officer of the Maharashtra cadre claimed that he should be the Chief Secretary as he was first in the merit list.Which merit list? At the time of entry more than 35 years before! The fact is that this is how merit is decided in the IAS and IPS. Every time a batch gets promoted the inter-se merit is still retained as at the time of entry. In other words if you are first in a batch at the time of entry, then as long as you get promoted, you continue to remain first! This is like someone in the army claiming that he should become chief because he got the Sword of Honour at the IMA. Even a Param Vir Chakra does not count for promotion, assuming that you are still alive. In the armed forces, merit is a continuous process - each time a batch is promoted the merit list is redrawn according to your performance in all the previous assignments with additional weightage given not only to the last one but also to your suitability for the next one. Thus if you are a Brigade Commander and found fit to become a Major General, you may not get a division because others have been found better to head a division. That effectively puts an end to your promotion to Lt. General.The compensation package must therefore address all the above issues. In each service, anyone must get the same total compensation by the time he reaches the 'mode rank' of his service. "Mode" is a statistical term the value where the maximum number of variables fall.
In the IAS normally everyone reaches Director and in the IPS it is DIG. In the army, given the aforementioned rank and grade rigidities and pyramidical structure, the mode rank cannot exceed Colonel. Thus a Colonel's gross career earnings (not salary scales alone) must be at par with that of a Director. But remember that a Colonel retires at 54, but every babu from peon to Secretary at 60 regardless of performance. Further, it takes 18-20 years to become a Colonel whereas in that time an IAS officer reaches the next higher grade of Joint Secretary, which is considered equal to a Major General. These aspects
and others - like postings in non-family stations - must be addressed while fixing the overall pay scales of Colonel and below. Thereafter a Brigadier will be made equal to a Joint Secretary, a Major-General to an Additional Secretary and a Lt. General to a Secretary. The Army Commanders deserve a new rank -Colonel General - and should be above a Secretary but below Cabinet Secretary. The equalization takes place at the level of Cabinet Secretary and Army Chief.
If this is financially a problem I have another solution. Without increasing the armed forces' scales, reduce the scales of the IAS and IPS till they too have 20% shortage.
Done?
Even India 's corruption index will go down.
If the above is accepted in principle, there is a good case to review the number of posts above Colonel. Senior ranks in the armed forces have become devalued with more and more posts being created. But the same pruning exercise is necessary in the IAS and more so in the IPS, where Directors General in some states are re-writing police manuals – one is doing Volume I and another Volume II!
Further the civil services have such facilities as "compulsory wait" basically a picnic at taxpayers cost. And if you are not promoted or posted where you don't want to go they seem able to take off on leave with much ease. In the army you will be court-martialled. Also find out how many are on study leave. The country cannot afford this.
Let not someone say that the IAS and IPS exams are tougher and hence the quality of the officers better. An exam at the age of 24 has to be tougher than one at the age of 16. The taxpaying citizen is not interested in your essay/note writing capabilities or whether you know Cleopatra's grandfather.
As a citizen I always see the army being called to hold the pants of the civil services and the police and never the other way round. That's enough proof as to who is really more capable. Also recall the insensitive statements made by the IG Meerut in the Aarushi case and the Home Secretary after the blasts. Further, when the IAS and IPS hopefuls are sleeping, eating and studying, their school mates, who have joined the army, stand vigil on the borders to make it possible for them to do so. Remember that the armed forces can only fight for above the table pay.
They can never compete with the civil services and definitely not with the police for the under the table variety.
Finally, there is one supreme national necessity. The political class “ not the bureaucracy - which represents the real civil supremacy better become more savvy on matters relating to the armed forces. Till then they are at the mercy of the civil service, who frequently play their own little war games. At ministerial level there are some very specialized departments “ Finance, Railways,Security (Home), Foreign and Defence, where split second decisions are necessary. It is always possible to find netas savvy in finance, foreign relations and railways. Security has been addressed in getting a former IPS officer as NSA at the level of a MoS. Is it time that a professional is also brought into the Defence Ministry as MoS? The sooner the better. In fact this will be better than a CoDS because the armed forces will have someone not constrained by the Army Act or Article 33 of the Constitution. Of course the loudest howls will come from the babus.
The netas must realize that a divide and rule policy cannot work where the country's security is concerned. Recall 1962?
Our army, already engaged in activities not core to their functions, including rescuing babies from borewells (!), should not have to engage in civil wars over their pay scales.I only hope our defence minister or anyone who would take a reasonable stand for defence forces ever gets to see this article.
It would definitely affect any person with an iota of integrity.
Aug 15, 2010
PENSION TO FAMILY:CIRCULAR NO.145
No. AT/Tech/012-VIII
O/o the Pr. C.D.A. (P),
Allahabad
Date: 29.04.2010
Sub:- Nomination facility to pensioners/family pensioners for drawing life
time arrears of pension/family pension under payment of arrears of
(Nomination), Rules 1983,clarification thereof.
Govt of India, Deptt. of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare OM No.43/4/95-
P&95-P&PW (G) dated 30.10.1995 (copy enclosed) provides that “in the
event of death of a family pensioner, the right to receive any arrears of
family pension would automatically pass on to the eligible members of a
family next in line in accordance with Rule 54 of CCS (Pension) Rules 1972.
The requirement of succession certificate for payment of any arrear should
be required only in cases, where there is no eligible family member as
defined in Rule 54, after the death of a family pensioner”
2. However, no such similar provisions were in existence for Defence
pensioners. Accordingly the matter was referred to Ministry of Defence for
extending the above said provisions to Defence pensioners also.
3. Ministry of Defence, vide their letter No.1(16)/2009-D(Pen/Policy)
dated 15.03.2010( copy enclosed) have now decided that provisions of Govt
of India, Deptt. of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare OM No.43/4/95-P&95-
P&PW (G) dated 30.10.1995 will apply mutatis-mutandis to the Armed forces
Personnel.
4. In view of the above, it is requested that all pension paying
branches/treasuries/DPDOs/PAOs under your jurisdiction may be instructed
to keep in mind the above provisions while regulating the life time arrears of
pension/family pension.
(D.C.HANSDA)
Dy.CDA (P)
Copy to:-
All Concerned
O/o the Pr. C.D.A. (P),
Allahabad
Date: 29.04.2010
Sub:- Nomination facility to pensioners/family pensioners for drawing life
time arrears of pension/family pension under payment of arrears of
(Nomination), Rules 1983,clarification thereof.
Govt of India, Deptt. of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare OM No.43/4/95-
P&95-P&PW (G) dated 30.10.1995 (copy enclosed) provides that “in the
event of death of a family pensioner, the right to receive any arrears of
family pension would automatically pass on to the eligible members of a
family next in line in accordance with Rule 54 of CCS (Pension) Rules 1972.
The requirement of succession certificate for payment of any arrear should
be required only in cases, where there is no eligible family member as
defined in Rule 54, after the death of a family pensioner”
2. However, no such similar provisions were in existence for Defence
pensioners. Accordingly the matter was referred to Ministry of Defence for
extending the above said provisions to Defence pensioners also.
3. Ministry of Defence, vide their letter No.1(16)/2009-D(Pen/Policy)
dated 15.03.2010( copy enclosed) have now decided that provisions of Govt
of India, Deptt. of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare OM No.43/4/95-P&95-
P&PW (G) dated 30.10.1995 will apply mutatis-mutandis to the Armed forces
Personnel.
4. In view of the above, it is requested that all pension paying
branches/treasuries/DPDOs/PAOs under your jurisdiction may be instructed
to keep in mind the above provisions while regulating the life time arrears of
pension/family pension.
(D.C.HANSDA)
Dy.CDA (P)
Copy to:-
All Concerned
GOVT APPROVES MASSIVE EXPANSION OF ECHS
Government Approves Massive Expansion of Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme
To provide equitable treatment to all eligible Ex-Servicemen and their dependents under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and to enhance the scheme’s coverage, the Union Cabinet today approved Establishment of 199 new polyclinics including 17 mobile medical facilities and 15 new regional centres at a cost of Rs. 141 crores. With this, the ECHS facility will now be extended to those areas, where Ex-Servicemen population is below 2,500 by setting up polyclinics which are within reasonable distance from Ex-Servicemen concentrations.
The Cabinet also approved reorganization and strengthening the Central Organisation ECHS by suitably increasing the manpower. It has authorized additional manpower – 2263 in number on contractual basis, to man the additional 199 polyclinics. It has also authorized 315 serving personnel – 60 officers and 255 PBORs, for proposed regional centres and seven officers and 15 PBORs for Central Organisation ECHS.
Financial implications towards creation of infrastructure will be about Rs.141 crore. This will entail a capital expenditure of Rs. 118.52 crore towards cost of land, construction and medical equipment. An amount of Rs. 22.25 crore of expenditure will cover purchase of furniture etc, and IT hardware. On the recurring side, an expenditure of Rs.43 crore per annum is envisaged.
It may be recalled that the ECHS was introduced on April 01, 2003 to provide comprehensive medical coverage to Ex-Servicemen pensioners, war widows and dependents by establishing 227 polyclinics at stations with Ex-Servicemen population above 2500 throughout the country. 106 polyclinics are at military stations and 121 polyclinics are at non-military stations. Where the Ex-Servicemen population is less than 2,500, the Ex-Servicemen face hardships in reaching polyclinics because of the distance. There are over 30 lakh ECHS beneficiaries now. On an average 60,000 Servicemen retire every year and this results in a further addition of 60,000 Ex-Servicemen and 1,44,000 dependents to the list of beneficiaries each year. Over 7 lakh Ex-Servicemen, who retired prior to April 01, 2003 have not opted for the scheme primarily due to non-availability of polyclinics near their places of residence. There are also insufficient number of regional centres to monitor the polyclinics.
Following is the list of additional polyclinics planned to be established:-
Jammu & Kashmir
Baramulla, Doda, Poonch, Baribrahmna (Jammu), Kargil, Nagrota (Kathua)
Himachal Pradesh
Rampur (Shimla), Nahan (Sirmaur), Shahpur (Kangra), Palampur (Kangra), Kullu, Dera Goppipur (Kangra), Jogindernagar (Mandi), Chamba, Ghumarwin (Bilaspur), Sarakaghat (Mandi), Barsar (Hamirpur),
Punjab
Mohali, Ajnala (Amritsar), Tarantaran (Amritsar), Beas (Amritsar), Nawansahar, Suranassi (Jalandhar), Uchi Bassi (Hoshiarpur), Abohar (Ferozpur), Jagraon (Ludhiana), Batala (Gurdaspur), Srigovindpur (Gurdaspur), Sultanpur Lodhi (Kapurthala), Phagwara (Kapurthala), Samana (Patiala), Barnala (Sangrur), Nabha (Patiala), Doraha (Ludhiana), Samarala (Ludhiana), Mahalpur (Hoshiarpur), Talwara (Hoshiarpur)
Haryana
Gohana (Sonepat), Mehan (Rohtak), Sampla (Rohtak), Loharu (Bhiwani), Kosli (Jhajjar), Bahadurgarh (Jhajjar), Gurgaon, Nuh (Gurgaon), Charki Dadri (Bhiwani), Mahendragarh, Narwana (Jind), Palwal (Faridabad), Hansi (Hissar), Dharuhera (Rewari), Narayangarh (Ambala), Kharkhauda (Sonepat)
National Capital Territory of Delhi
Shakurbasti, Timarpur, Khanpur, Preetvihar
Rajasthan
Neem Ka Thana (Sikar), Shergarh (Jodhpur), Dausa, Sanganer (Jaipur), Bhuwana (Jhunjhunu), Bhilwara, Suratgarh (Hanumangarh), Dungarpur, Rajsamand, Rajgarh (Churu), Chirawa (Jhunjhunu), Behror (Alwar)
Uttar Pradesh
Bagpat, Gonda, Basti, Jaunpur, Greater Noida (GB Nagar), Lakhimpur, Moradabad, Bijnaur, Rampur, Hardoi, Banda, Roberts Ganj (Mirzapur), Barabanki, Unnao, Hathras
Uttarakhand
Joshimath (Chamoli), Dehradun, Vikas Nagar (Dehradun), Tehri, Rudraprayag, Ranikhet, Almora, Bageshwar, Banbasa (Champavat), Rudrapur (Udham Singh nagar), Dharchula (Pithoragarh), Lansdowne (Paurigarhwal), Uttarkashi, Ramnagar (Nainital)
Bihar
Bhagalpur, Kathiar, Motihari, Siwan, Samastipur, Madhubani, Buxar, Vaishali, Sasaram (Rohtas) Khagaria, Munger, Sitamarhi
Jharkhand
Deoghar, Gumla, Chaibasa (West Singhbhoom), Daltonganj (Palamu), Dhanbad
Madhya Pradesh
Satna, Ujjain, Amla (East Nimar), Pachmarhi (Hoshangabad)
Chhattisgarh
Jagdalpur (Bastar), Bilaspur, Raigarh
West Bengal
Berhampore (Murshidabad), Baruipur (South 24 Pargana), Bankura, Howrah, Raiganj (North Dinajpur), Cooch Behar, Kalimpong (Darjeeling), Binaguri (Jalpaiguri)
Assam
Lanka (Naugaon), Bongaigaon, Tinsukia, Tezpur (Sonitpur), Misamari (Darrang), Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Dhubri, Lakhimpur
Manipur
Chura Chandpur
Nagaland
Mokokchung
Mizoram
Lunglei
Arunachal Pradesh
Tezu (Lohit), Along (West Siang)
Orissa
Puri, Sambalpur, Koraput, Angul, Bhawanipatna (Kalahandi), Dhenkanal
Andhra Pradesh
Srikakulam, Anantapur, Karnool, Cuddapah, Nellore, Karimnagar, Eluru (West Godavari), Secunderabad (Rangareddy), Khammam, Mehbubnagar
Tamil Nadu
Erode, Sivagangai (Sivaganga), Kumbhkonum (Tiruvallur), Chennai, Ramanathapuram, Tambram (Kanchipuram)
Kerala
Mavelikara (Alleppey), Kanhangad (Kasargode), Kalpetta (Wayanad), Thodupuzha (Idukki), Thiruvananthapuram, Changanacherry (Kottayam), Moovattupuzha (Ernakulum), Iritti (Kannur), Kunnamkulum (Trichur), Kottarakara (Kollam), Ranni (Pathanamthitta), Killimanur (Thiruvananthapuram)
Karnataka
Kolar, Tumkur, Hassan, Shimoga, Bangalore, Gulbarga, Bidar, Virarajendrapet (Kodagu)
Maharastra
Beed, Nanded, Karad (Satara), Wardha, Navi Mumbai (Mumbai), Pune, Khadki (Pune), Yavatmal, Dhule.
Goa
Vasco – Da – Gama
Gujarat
Gandhidham, Surat, Rajkot
Pudduchery
Pudduchery
In addition to these polyclinics 15 regional centres will also be set up at Shimla, Jalandhar, Dehradun, Ambala, Hissar, Meerut, Allahabad, Ranchi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Vizag, Bangalore, Coimbatore & Trivandrum.
Sitanshu Kar / RAJ
To provide equitable treatment to all eligible Ex-Servicemen and their dependents under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and to enhance the scheme’s coverage, the Union Cabinet today approved Establishment of 199 new polyclinics including 17 mobile medical facilities and 15 new regional centres at a cost of Rs. 141 crores. With this, the ECHS facility will now be extended to those areas, where Ex-Servicemen population is below 2,500 by setting up polyclinics which are within reasonable distance from Ex-Servicemen concentrations.
The Cabinet also approved reorganization and strengthening the Central Organisation ECHS by suitably increasing the manpower. It has authorized additional manpower – 2263 in number on contractual basis, to man the additional 199 polyclinics. It has also authorized 315 serving personnel – 60 officers and 255 PBORs, for proposed regional centres and seven officers and 15 PBORs for Central Organisation ECHS.
Financial implications towards creation of infrastructure will be about Rs.141 crore. This will entail a capital expenditure of Rs. 118.52 crore towards cost of land, construction and medical equipment. An amount of Rs. 22.25 crore of expenditure will cover purchase of furniture etc, and IT hardware. On the recurring side, an expenditure of Rs.43 crore per annum is envisaged.
It may be recalled that the ECHS was introduced on April 01, 2003 to provide comprehensive medical coverage to Ex-Servicemen pensioners, war widows and dependents by establishing 227 polyclinics at stations with Ex-Servicemen population above 2500 throughout the country. 106 polyclinics are at military stations and 121 polyclinics are at non-military stations. Where the Ex-Servicemen population is less than 2,500, the Ex-Servicemen face hardships in reaching polyclinics because of the distance. There are over 30 lakh ECHS beneficiaries now. On an average 60,000 Servicemen retire every year and this results in a further addition of 60,000 Ex-Servicemen and 1,44,000 dependents to the list of beneficiaries each year. Over 7 lakh Ex-Servicemen, who retired prior to April 01, 2003 have not opted for the scheme primarily due to non-availability of polyclinics near their places of residence. There are also insufficient number of regional centres to monitor the polyclinics.
Following is the list of additional polyclinics planned to be established:-
Jammu & Kashmir
Baramulla, Doda, Poonch, Baribrahmna (Jammu), Kargil, Nagrota (Kathua)
Himachal Pradesh
Rampur (Shimla), Nahan (Sirmaur), Shahpur (Kangra), Palampur (Kangra), Kullu, Dera Goppipur (Kangra), Jogindernagar (Mandi), Chamba, Ghumarwin (Bilaspur), Sarakaghat (Mandi), Barsar (Hamirpur),
Punjab
Mohali, Ajnala (Amritsar), Tarantaran (Amritsar), Beas (Amritsar), Nawansahar, Suranassi (Jalandhar), Uchi Bassi (Hoshiarpur), Abohar (Ferozpur), Jagraon (Ludhiana), Batala (Gurdaspur), Srigovindpur (Gurdaspur), Sultanpur Lodhi (Kapurthala), Phagwara (Kapurthala), Samana (Patiala), Barnala (Sangrur), Nabha (Patiala), Doraha (Ludhiana), Samarala (Ludhiana), Mahalpur (Hoshiarpur), Talwara (Hoshiarpur)
Haryana
Gohana (Sonepat), Mehan (Rohtak), Sampla (Rohtak), Loharu (Bhiwani), Kosli (Jhajjar), Bahadurgarh (Jhajjar), Gurgaon, Nuh (Gurgaon), Charki Dadri (Bhiwani), Mahendragarh, Narwana (Jind), Palwal (Faridabad), Hansi (Hissar), Dharuhera (Rewari), Narayangarh (Ambala), Kharkhauda (Sonepat)
National Capital Territory of Delhi
Shakurbasti, Timarpur, Khanpur, Preetvihar
Rajasthan
Neem Ka Thana (Sikar), Shergarh (Jodhpur), Dausa, Sanganer (Jaipur), Bhuwana (Jhunjhunu), Bhilwara, Suratgarh (Hanumangarh), Dungarpur, Rajsamand, Rajgarh (Churu), Chirawa (Jhunjhunu), Behror (Alwar)
Uttar Pradesh
Bagpat, Gonda, Basti, Jaunpur, Greater Noida (GB Nagar), Lakhimpur, Moradabad, Bijnaur, Rampur, Hardoi, Banda, Roberts Ganj (Mirzapur), Barabanki, Unnao, Hathras
Uttarakhand
Joshimath (Chamoli), Dehradun, Vikas Nagar (Dehradun), Tehri, Rudraprayag, Ranikhet, Almora, Bageshwar, Banbasa (Champavat), Rudrapur (Udham Singh nagar), Dharchula (Pithoragarh), Lansdowne (Paurigarhwal), Uttarkashi, Ramnagar (Nainital)
Bihar
Bhagalpur, Kathiar, Motihari, Siwan, Samastipur, Madhubani, Buxar, Vaishali, Sasaram (Rohtas) Khagaria, Munger, Sitamarhi
Jharkhand
Deoghar, Gumla, Chaibasa (West Singhbhoom), Daltonganj (Palamu), Dhanbad
Madhya Pradesh
Satna, Ujjain, Amla (East Nimar), Pachmarhi (Hoshangabad)
Chhattisgarh
Jagdalpur (Bastar), Bilaspur, Raigarh
West Bengal
Berhampore (Murshidabad), Baruipur (South 24 Pargana), Bankura, Howrah, Raiganj (North Dinajpur), Cooch Behar, Kalimpong (Darjeeling), Binaguri (Jalpaiguri)
Assam
Lanka (Naugaon), Bongaigaon, Tinsukia, Tezpur (Sonitpur), Misamari (Darrang), Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Dhubri, Lakhimpur
Manipur
Chura Chandpur
Nagaland
Mokokchung
Mizoram
Lunglei
Arunachal Pradesh
Tezu (Lohit), Along (West Siang)
Orissa
Puri, Sambalpur, Koraput, Angul, Bhawanipatna (Kalahandi), Dhenkanal
Andhra Pradesh
Srikakulam, Anantapur, Karnool, Cuddapah, Nellore, Karimnagar, Eluru (West Godavari), Secunderabad (Rangareddy), Khammam, Mehbubnagar
Tamil Nadu
Erode, Sivagangai (Sivaganga), Kumbhkonum (Tiruvallur), Chennai, Ramanathapuram, Tambram (Kanchipuram)
Kerala
Mavelikara (Alleppey), Kanhangad (Kasargode), Kalpetta (Wayanad), Thodupuzha (Idukki), Thiruvananthapuram, Changanacherry (Kottayam), Moovattupuzha (Ernakulum), Iritti (Kannur), Kunnamkulum (Trichur), Kottarakara (Kollam), Ranni (Pathanamthitta), Killimanur (Thiruvananthapuram)
Karnataka
Kolar, Tumkur, Hassan, Shimoga, Bangalore, Gulbarga, Bidar, Virarajendrapet (Kodagu)
Maharastra
Beed, Nanded, Karad (Satara), Wardha, Navi Mumbai (Mumbai), Pune, Khadki (Pune), Yavatmal, Dhule.
Goa
Vasco – Da – Gama
Gujarat
Gandhidham, Surat, Rajkot
Pudduchery
Pudduchery
In addition to these polyclinics 15 regional centres will also be set up at Shimla, Jalandhar, Dehradun, Ambala, Hissar, Meerut, Allahabad, Ranchi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Vizag, Bangalore, Coimbatore & Trivandrum.
Sitanshu Kar / RAJ
Aug 11, 2010
MASSIVE EXPANSION ECHS
Government Approves Massive Expansion of Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Centres to provide equitable treatment to all eligible Ex-Servicemen and their dependents under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and to enhance the scheme’s coverage, the Union Cabinet today approved Establishment of 199 new polyclinics including 17 mobile medical facilities and 15 new regional centres at a cost of Rs. 141 crores. With this, the ECHS facility will now be extended to those areas, where Ex-Servicemen population is below 2,500 by setting up polyclinics which are within reasonable distance from Ex-Servicemen concentrations.
The Cabinet also approved reorganization and strengthening the Central Organisation ECHS by suitably increasing the manpower. It has authorized additional manpower – 2263 in number on contractual basis, to man the additional 199 polyclinics. It has also authorized 315 serving personnel – 60 officers and 255 PBORs, for proposed regional centres and seven officers and 15 PBORs for Central Organisation ECHS.
Financial implications towards creation of infrastructure will be about Rs.141 crore. This will entail a capital expenditure of Rs. 118.52 crore towards cost of land, construction and medical equipment. An amount of Rs. 22.25 crore of expenditure will cover purchase of furniture etc, and IT hardware. On the recurring side, an expenditure of Rs.43 crore per annum is envisaged.
It may be recalled that the ECHS was introduced on April 01, 2003 to provide comprehensive medical coverage to Ex-Servicemen pensioners, war widows and dependents by establishing 227 polyclinics at stations with Ex-Servicemen population above 2500 throughout the country. 106 polyclinics are at military stations and 121 polyclinics are at non-military stations. Where the Ex-Servicemen population is less than 2,500, the Ex-Servicemen face hardships in reaching polyclinics because of the distance. There are over 30 lakh ECHS beneficiaries now. On an average 60,000 Servicemen retire every year and this results in a further addition of 60,000 Ex-Servicemen and 1,44,000 dependents to the list of beneficiaries each year. Over 7 lakh Ex-Servicemen, who retired prior to April 01, 2003 have not opted for the scheme primarily due to non-availability of polyclinics near their places of residence. There are also insufficient number of regional centres to monitor the polyclinics.
The expansion is pan India. In Kerala the clinics will come up at:
Mavelikara (Alleppey), Kanhangad (Kasargode), Kalpetta (Wayanad), Thodupuzha (Idukki), Thiruvananthapuram, Changanacherry (Kottayam), Moovattupuzha (Ernakulum), Iritti (Kannur), Kunnamkulum (Trichur), Kottarakara (Kollam), Ranni (Pathanamthitta), Killimanur (Thiruvananthapuram)
The Cabinet also approved reorganization and strengthening the Central Organisation ECHS by suitably increasing the manpower. It has authorized additional manpower – 2263 in number on contractual basis, to man the additional 199 polyclinics. It has also authorized 315 serving personnel – 60 officers and 255 PBORs, for proposed regional centres and seven officers and 15 PBORs for Central Organisation ECHS.
Financial implications towards creation of infrastructure will be about Rs.141 crore. This will entail a capital expenditure of Rs. 118.52 crore towards cost of land, construction and medical equipment. An amount of Rs. 22.25 crore of expenditure will cover purchase of furniture etc, and IT hardware. On the recurring side, an expenditure of Rs.43 crore per annum is envisaged.
It may be recalled that the ECHS was introduced on April 01, 2003 to provide comprehensive medical coverage to Ex-Servicemen pensioners, war widows and dependents by establishing 227 polyclinics at stations with Ex-Servicemen population above 2500 throughout the country. 106 polyclinics are at military stations and 121 polyclinics are at non-military stations. Where the Ex-Servicemen population is less than 2,500, the Ex-Servicemen face hardships in reaching polyclinics because of the distance. There are over 30 lakh ECHS beneficiaries now. On an average 60,000 Servicemen retire every year and this results in a further addition of 60,000 Ex-Servicemen and 1,44,000 dependents to the list of beneficiaries each year. Over 7 lakh Ex-Servicemen, who retired prior to April 01, 2003 have not opted for the scheme primarily due to non-availability of polyclinics near their places of residence. There are also insufficient number of regional centres to monitor the polyclinics.
The expansion is pan India. In Kerala the clinics will come up at:
Mavelikara (Alleppey), Kanhangad (Kasargode), Kalpetta (Wayanad), Thodupuzha (Idukki), Thiruvananthapuram, Changanacherry (Kottayam), Moovattupuzha (Ernakulum), Iritti (Kannur), Kunnamkulum (Trichur), Kottarakara (Kollam), Ranni (Pathanamthitta), Killimanur (Thiruvananthapuram)
IMPORTANT ISSUES REQUESTING WIDE PUBLICITY AND BE PREPARED
1. Issue of letter by GOI MOD - Implementation of the 4th CPC Rank Fiasco. DROA has already petitioned the Ransha Mantri. Their mail already circulated by me. This needs Top Priority as I know after having done an analysis most of the retired fatertinity affected by this are in the age group of 62 and 73 years. Those who retired between 1.1.86 and 31.12.86 are affected in more than 1 way - Refixation of Pay, Pension, DCRG, Leave encashment, Commutation.......New Pension arrears on that Pension, Arrears of Dearness Reliefs.
2. On the above how is the Family Pension going to be tackled ? This needs wide publicity as the wives of the late officers who are effected may not even now. Most of our Officers don't know, so how can we expect them to aware of this.Refixation of Pay, Pension, DCRG, Leave encashment, Commutation.......New Pension arrears on that Pension, Arrears of Dearness Reliefs.
3. In the case of Major Generals case, PCDA has asked them to submit an application giving the details of arrears etc with in one month (put up their web site) or else they would not be entitled for the interest of 10%. Therefore, all those due should make their charts with interest of 6% and keep it ready for forwarding to PCDA / CDA(N) / CDA(O). The interest of 6% is cumulative and hence it not restricted till 31.12.1995, but till year on year till date.
Some Officers have doubts on why they should get additional Rank Pay, when they have already received it
Sir, at the out set the Pay scales as per the 4th Pay Commission were a running one from Rs. 2300 - to Rs.5100 from the rank of SLT to COMMODRE. The second part is the Rank Pay from LT - 200, LT CDR - 600, CDR - 800, CAPT WITH LESS THAN 3 YRS SERVICE- 1000, MORE THAN 3 YRS / CMDE - 1200.(SLT not entitled to Rank Pay)
When fixing the PAY w.e.f. 1.1.1986 giving you an eg:-
LT CDR FIXED AS FOLLOWS :-
PAY = 3400
RANK PAY = 600
TOTAL PAY ON WHICH DA ADMISABLE = RS.4000
HOWEVER, SINCE RANK PAY IS A PART OF THE INITIAL FIXATION SHOULD HAVE BEEN AS FOLLOWS, TAKING THE ABOVE EXAMPLE:-
INITIAL FIXATION = PAY 3400 + RP 600 = 4000
RANK PAY 600
TOTAL INITIAL PAY FIXATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DA RS.4600.00
DIFFERENCE OF RS.600/-
SUBSEQUENTLY PROMOTED TO CDR - AGAIN THE SAME MISTAKE AND HENCE CORRECTION AT EACH LEVEL OF PROMOTION. SOME HAVE GOT THREE PROMOTION DURING THIS PERIOD. LT CDR - CDR - CDR - CAPTAIN / CDR - CAPTAIN - CMDE
This is applicable only from 1.1.1986 to 31.12.2005. So all those who were in Service as on 1.1.86, subsequently promoted also affected, those who retired between the above period also affected. Those retired first their Pay has to be refixed and then Pension. For retirees this has a direct affect on the Commutation, DCRG, Leave encashment, Revision of Pension - DA on that and indeed the ramifications are wide ranging.
What about Family Pensioners ? What about the 6% interest part, it is cumulative and till the date you don't receive your arrears you would earn interest.
However, the Supreme Court Judgement is silent on the interest part in respect of Pensioners, but it has to assumed, which I am sure PCDA will object. So it would again go to Supreme Court.
As in the recent Major General's case PCDA had asked them to submit the details with in 1 month or else they would not be entitled to 10% interest. So be prepared to make out your chart.
In this case I was informed that CGDA has already stated that old records are not available. FYI Sir, NPO has the record of every officer for a period of 33 years from the date of retirement. Only on completion of 33 yrs FROM THE DATE OF RETIREMENT can the file be destroyed and this is from my own personal experience having served in NPO as ALOGO and also held the portfolios of ALOGO (S/DMOB /O/DMOB).
Since, many serving Officers are also affected, it is hoped that the letter would be issued soon.
Just to quote an eg of BABUDOM. The additional Pensionary benefits to JCOs and below w.e.f 1.7.2009 were accepted some time in Sep / Oct 2009. No letter was issued for its implementation. Shri LK Advani raised this on the floor of the house on 3.3.2010 and our PM not being correctly briefed stated on the floor of the house that it has been implemented. This caught the BABUs on the wrong foot, as they were sleeping on this very important issue. THE ORDERS WERE ISSUED ON 8.3.2010.
Those of you who have not collected Annexure IV to GOI letter dated 11.11.2008 from your bankers are requested to approach and collect the same. No PPO for revised Pension is going to issued and this is going to be the Authority for future. Please don't delay and in case the Bank dily dalies please give it in writing and collect it.
Lt Cdr GK Balaji(Retd)
Member, Pension Cell, IESM
099625-00199
2. On the above how is the Family Pension going to be tackled ? This needs wide publicity as the wives of the late officers who are effected may not even now. Most of our Officers don't know, so how can we expect them to aware of this.Refixation of Pay, Pension, DCRG, Leave encashment, Commutation.......New Pension arrears on that Pension, Arrears of Dearness Reliefs.
3. In the case of Major Generals case, PCDA has asked them to submit an application giving the details of arrears etc with in one month (put up their web site) or else they would not be entitled for the interest of 10%. Therefore, all those due should make their charts with interest of 6% and keep it ready for forwarding to PCDA / CDA(N) / CDA(O). The interest of 6% is cumulative and hence it not restricted till 31.12.1995, but till year on year till date.
Some Officers have doubts on why they should get additional Rank Pay, when they have already received it
Sir, at the out set the Pay scales as per the 4th Pay Commission were a running one from Rs. 2300 - to Rs.5100 from the rank of SLT to COMMODRE. The second part is the Rank Pay from LT - 200, LT CDR - 600, CDR - 800, CAPT WITH LESS THAN 3 YRS SERVICE- 1000, MORE THAN 3 YRS / CMDE - 1200.(SLT not entitled to Rank Pay)
When fixing the PAY w.e.f. 1.1.1986 giving you an eg:-
LT CDR FIXED AS FOLLOWS :-
PAY = 3400
RANK PAY = 600
TOTAL PAY ON WHICH DA ADMISABLE = RS.4000
HOWEVER, SINCE RANK PAY IS A PART OF THE INITIAL FIXATION SHOULD HAVE BEEN AS FOLLOWS, TAKING THE ABOVE EXAMPLE:-
INITIAL FIXATION = PAY 3400 + RP 600 = 4000
RANK PAY 600
TOTAL INITIAL PAY FIXATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DA RS.4600.00
DIFFERENCE OF RS.600/-
SUBSEQUENTLY PROMOTED TO CDR - AGAIN THE SAME MISTAKE AND HENCE CORRECTION AT EACH LEVEL OF PROMOTION. SOME HAVE GOT THREE PROMOTION DURING THIS PERIOD. LT CDR - CDR - CDR - CAPTAIN / CDR - CAPTAIN - CMDE
This is applicable only from 1.1.1986 to 31.12.2005. So all those who were in Service as on 1.1.86, subsequently promoted also affected, those who retired between the above period also affected. Those retired first their Pay has to be refixed and then Pension. For retirees this has a direct affect on the Commutation, DCRG, Leave encashment, Revision of Pension - DA on that and indeed the ramifications are wide ranging.
What about Family Pensioners ? What about the 6% interest part, it is cumulative and till the date you don't receive your arrears you would earn interest.
However, the Supreme Court Judgement is silent on the interest part in respect of Pensioners, but it has to assumed, which I am sure PCDA will object. So it would again go to Supreme Court.
As in the recent Major General's case PCDA had asked them to submit the details with in 1 month or else they would not be entitled to 10% interest. So be prepared to make out your chart.
In this case I was informed that CGDA has already stated that old records are not available. FYI Sir, NPO has the record of every officer for a period of 33 years from the date of retirement. Only on completion of 33 yrs FROM THE DATE OF RETIREMENT can the file be destroyed and this is from my own personal experience having served in NPO as ALOGO and also held the portfolios of ALOGO (S/DMOB /O/DMOB).
Since, many serving Officers are also affected, it is hoped that the letter would be issued soon.
Just to quote an eg of BABUDOM. The additional Pensionary benefits to JCOs and below w.e.f 1.7.2009 were accepted some time in Sep / Oct 2009. No letter was issued for its implementation. Shri LK Advani raised this on the floor of the house on 3.3.2010 and our PM not being correctly briefed stated on the floor of the house that it has been implemented. This caught the BABUs on the wrong foot, as they were sleeping on this very important issue. THE ORDERS WERE ISSUED ON 8.3.2010.
Those of you who have not collected Annexure IV to GOI letter dated 11.11.2008 from your bankers are requested to approach and collect the same. No PPO for revised Pension is going to issued and this is going to be the Authority for future. Please don't delay and in case the Bank dily dalies please give it in writing and collect it.
Lt Cdr GK Balaji(Retd)
Member, Pension Cell, IESM
099625-00199
MNS OFFICERS ENTITLED TO SERVICE PRIVILEGES
MNS Officers entitled to service privileges of regular officers : AFT
In a well reasoned decision, the Hon’ble Principal Bench of the AFT has held that MNS officers are also commissioned officers and are authorised to the privileges of their respective ranks.
The decision comes in the backdrop of the refusal of authorities to allow a Major General of the MNS from sporting stars and flying a flag on her official car.
The order has settled the controversy once and for all, but the issue makes one wonder as to why were stars and flags refused to such officers in the first place ? When an officer is holding a particular military rank, then it makes no sense to deny the ceremonial ancillaries of the same. It is the rank that is entitled to such privileges and not the service or the person who is wearing that uniform. When there is no bar on sporting the ‘stars’ on the collars, then in my humble opinion there should be no reason as to why a bar should exist on sporting the same very stars on the car !.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh
In a well reasoned decision, the Hon’ble Principal Bench of the AFT has held that MNS officers are also commissioned officers and are authorised to the privileges of their respective ranks.
The decision comes in the backdrop of the refusal of authorities to allow a Major General of the MNS from sporting stars and flying a flag on her official car.
The order has settled the controversy once and for all, but the issue makes one wonder as to why were stars and flags refused to such officers in the first place ? When an officer is holding a particular military rank, then it makes no sense to deny the ceremonial ancillaries of the same. It is the rank that is entitled to such privileges and not the service or the person who is wearing that uniform. When there is no bar on sporting the ‘stars’ on the collars, then in my humble opinion there should be no reason as to why a bar should exist on sporting the same very stars on the car !.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh
NEW ECHS CARD
ECHS is planning to introduce new card with 32 kb memory chip. At present the master card issued to the primary member has all the details of his dependents also. Some of us have applied for add on cards for our spouses but most of the ESM have only one card for all their dependents.
The new software under production / trials envisages use of individual card for each user so that the individuals photo and medical details can be recorded in the card. This means that if there are 3 dependents to an ESM, he will have to perforce apply for and get four cards for getting treatment in ECHS polyclinics. All ESm who are applying for membership after 01 jun 10 will get only the new card.
The old card which we are all having and using will continue to be in use and we will continue to get treatment with that card.
The old card was not used to its full potential due to certain limitations in the software and lack of knowledge / familiarity of the software. The old card is also usable at all ECHS polyclinics across the country.
If an ESM goes for treatment to any polyclinic, which is not his parent polyclinic, on insertion of the card in the reader, a pop up window appears statitng that " the parent polyclinic code is different. Do you want to change the code." If YES is selected the code gets changed to the new polyclinic.If NO is selected the code does not change.In spite of the yes / no selection the prescription slip gets printed and we can avail treatment.
The present card also allows entering of the medical details in the card. The medical details entred in the card is printed in the subsequent prescription slips. This feature of the software is not being used at all more due to administrative difficulties. The ESM will have to come back to the reception after treatment and get his card updated. The ESM do not have the inclination and the Polyclinic staff lack patience to do this.
I request all of you to get your card updated , if need be by making a separate visit to the polyclinic, as this information will come handy at time of emergency. Those of us who have drug allergy please ensure that the detail is entered in the card.
Cdr V Vaidyanathan IN (Retd)
Phone 0431 2351963
Mobile +91 94431 51088
The new software under production / trials envisages use of individual card for each user so that the individuals photo and medical details can be recorded in the card. This means that if there are 3 dependents to an ESM, he will have to perforce apply for and get four cards for getting treatment in ECHS polyclinics. All ESm who are applying for membership after 01 jun 10 will get only the new card.
The old card which we are all having and using will continue to be in use and we will continue to get treatment with that card.
The old card was not used to its full potential due to certain limitations in the software and lack of knowledge / familiarity of the software. The old card is also usable at all ECHS polyclinics across the country.
If an ESM goes for treatment to any polyclinic, which is not his parent polyclinic, on insertion of the card in the reader, a pop up window appears statitng that " the parent polyclinic code is different. Do you want to change the code." If YES is selected the code gets changed to the new polyclinic.If NO is selected the code does not change.In spite of the yes / no selection the prescription slip gets printed and we can avail treatment.
The present card also allows entering of the medical details in the card. The medical details entred in the card is printed in the subsequent prescription slips. This feature of the software is not being used at all more due to administrative difficulties. The ESM will have to come back to the reception after treatment and get his card updated. The ESM do not have the inclination and the Polyclinic staff lack patience to do this.
I request all of you to get your card updated , if need be by making a separate visit to the polyclinic, as this information will come handy at time of emergency. Those of us who have drug allergy please ensure that the detail is entered in the card.
Cdr V Vaidyanathan IN (Retd)
Phone 0431 2351963
Mobile +91 94431 51088
ARMY OFFICERS BENEVOLENT FUND
For Your Information............if you can remember it........
Retired army officers, who have completed 75 years of age, are entitled to a grant of Rs 50,000.00 from the Army Officers Benevolent Fund.
Kindly share this information among the retired Army Officers in your city. (In case of demise of an officer, during service or later before completing 75 years, this amount is payable to the next of kin immediately after the demise of the officer. It is also applicable to officers settled abroad.)
No formal application is required for claiming the platinum grant. However the retired officers are required to intimate their postal addresses and Bank Account Numbers as and when they enter their 75th year at following address for updating the records :-
Director Accounts
Ceremonial & Welfare Directorate
Adjutant General's Branch
Army Headquarters
South Block, Room No 279
DHQ PO New Delhi - 110011
Tele No - 2337 5138
Retired army officers, who have completed 75 years of age, are entitled to a grant of Rs 50,000.00 from the Army Officers Benevolent Fund.
Kindly share this information among the retired Army Officers in your city. (In case of demise of an officer, during service or later before completing 75 years, this amount is payable to the next of kin immediately after the demise of the officer. It is also applicable to officers settled abroad.)
No formal application is required for claiming the platinum grant. However the retired officers are required to intimate their postal addresses and Bank Account Numbers as and when they enter their 75th year at following address for updating the records :-
Director Accounts
Ceremonial & Welfare Directorate
Adjutant General's Branch
Army Headquarters
South Block, Room No 279
DHQ PO New Delhi - 110011
Tele No - 2337 5138
Mar 15, 2010
PRESS RELEASE MAJ DHANAPALAN CASE
PRESS RELEASE
Sub: 4th Pay Commission: Grant of Rank Pay
In accordance with the recommendations of the 4th Pay commission and the Govt. decision thereon, as promulgated under Gazette of India (Extra ordinary) Notification No 91 dated 18.3.1987, officers of the Army. Navy and Air Force were granted an integrated pay in the scale of Rs.2300-100-3900-150-5100. .
In addition to the pay in the integrated scale as above, Rank Pay for Captain, Major, Lt Colonel, Colonel and Brigadier and equivalent in the Navy and Air Force, were also granted @ Rs.200/-, 600/- , 800/-, 1000/-, and Rs. 1200/- PM respectively.
Although the Rank Pay was sanctioned in addition to the basic pay, while fixing the pay in the integrated scale: an amount equal to the Rank Pay was deducted from the total emoluments and the pay was fixed. This has resulted in heavy financial loss to the officers which have also cumulative effect on pay, D.A. Pension, Gratuity, etc.
Having failed to get a proper consideration of the ease, Major A.K.Dhanapalan, now retired had approached the Hon’ble High Court or Kerala for justice. in the case or Major .A.K Dhanapalan Vs Union of India in O.P 2448/96, the Hon’ble High Court or Kerala was pleased to allow the plea of the officer and held that the deduction of the Rank Pay from basic pay is NOT correct and directed to re-fix the Basic Pay with effect from 1.1.1986.
However the Union of India preferred an appeal before the larger Bench of the High Court against the judgment. Larger bench of High Court has been pleased to dismiss the appeal but the Union of India again filed an SLP in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. This appeal was also dismissed on 10-7-05.
Officers (Serving/Retired) of the Armed Forces who were in service on 1-1-86 in the Rank of Captain, Major, Lt Col, Col, Brigadier are affected by the above judgment. According to the judgment, Pay of Major A.K Dhanapalan has been re-fixed with effect from 1-1-86 and Govt. sanction for payment of arrears was issued, whereas the benefit has not been extended to other similarly placed Officers of the Army, Navy & Air Force. This is in justice to the affected Officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force. Officers are eligible to receive minimum* arrears after re-fixation will be as under:-
Captain and Equivalent Rs. 55,000/
Major and Equivalent Rs. 1,50,000/-
Lt. Colonel and Equivalent Rs. 2,00,000/-
Colonel and Equivalent Rs. 2,50,000/-
Brigadier and Equivalent Rs. 3,30,000/-
*This is subject to length of service from 1-1-86
Fwd By Brig (Retd) CS Kamboj
Sub: 4th Pay Commission: Grant of Rank Pay
In accordance with the recommendations of the 4th Pay commission and the Govt. decision thereon, as promulgated under Gazette of India (Extra ordinary) Notification No 91 dated 18.3.1987, officers of the Army. Navy and Air Force were granted an integrated pay in the scale of Rs.2300-100-3900-150-5100. .
In addition to the pay in the integrated scale as above, Rank Pay for Captain, Major, Lt Colonel, Colonel and Brigadier and equivalent in the Navy and Air Force, were also granted @ Rs.200/-, 600/- , 800/-, 1000/-, and Rs. 1200/- PM respectively.
Although the Rank Pay was sanctioned in addition to the basic pay, while fixing the pay in the integrated scale: an amount equal to the Rank Pay was deducted from the total emoluments and the pay was fixed. This has resulted in heavy financial loss to the officers which have also cumulative effect on pay, D.A. Pension, Gratuity, etc.
Having failed to get a proper consideration of the ease, Major A.K.Dhanapalan, now retired had approached the Hon’ble High Court or Kerala for justice. in the case or Major .A.K Dhanapalan Vs Union of India in O.P 2448/96, the Hon’ble High Court or Kerala was pleased to allow the plea of the officer and held that the deduction of the Rank Pay from basic pay is NOT correct and directed to re-fix the Basic Pay with effect from 1.1.1986.
However the Union of India preferred an appeal before the larger Bench of the High Court against the judgment. Larger bench of High Court has been pleased to dismiss the appeal but the Union of India again filed an SLP in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. This appeal was also dismissed on 10-7-05.
Officers (Serving/Retired) of the Armed Forces who were in service on 1-1-86 in the Rank of Captain, Major, Lt Col, Col, Brigadier are affected by the above judgment. According to the judgment, Pay of Major A.K Dhanapalan has been re-fixed with effect from 1-1-86 and Govt. sanction for payment of arrears was issued, whereas the benefit has not been extended to other similarly placed Officers of the Army, Navy & Air Force. This is in justice to the affected Officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force. Officers are eligible to receive minimum* arrears after re-fixation will be as under:-
Captain and Equivalent Rs. 55,000/
Major and Equivalent Rs. 1,50,000/-
Lt. Colonel and Equivalent Rs. 2,00,000/-
Colonel and Equivalent Rs. 2,50,000/-
Brigadier and Equivalent Rs. 3,30,000/-
*This is subject to length of service from 1-1-86
Fwd By Brig (Retd) CS Kamboj
BRIEF ON PAY FIXATION AS ON 01-01-86 MAJ DHANAPALAN CASE
BRIEF ON PAY FIXATION AS ON 01-01-86 CONSEQUENT TO JUDGMENT
OF KERALA HIGH COURT IN RESPECT OF MAJ DHANAPALAN (RETIRED)
1. The success of Maj AK Dhanapalan (Retd), in getting arrears of pay, based on a case filed by him, in the Kerala High Court, is one that has engendered considerable, interest among serving and retired service Officers. The case pertains to refixation of Pay, post 4th CPC, as on 01 Jan 86 and its carry forward effects, thereafter.
2. This note has been prepared to bring out the Salient aspects of the issues involved and the present status vis-a- vis officers, who are/were similarly placed.
3. Genesis of the Problem The fourth Pay Commission appreciating the pyramidcal and truncated careers of Service Officers sought to correct the anomaly, by including an element of Rank Pay, for Officers of the rank of Captain (Army) up to Brigadier. The Pay Commission envisaged, that whilst changing over from the 3rd CPC scale to the 4th CPC scales, the fixation was to be done in the same manner as that of civilians. Rank pay, would be a separate element of pay, that was to be added to the basic pay for switching over the 4th CPC scales.
4. Government Resolution In the Govt resolution that followed, the recommendations of the Fourth CPC, on one hand indicated that Rank Pay would from part of Basic Pay. However, on the other hand, in the methodology of fixing pay, Rank pay, Rank pay was to be deducted from the revised consolidated pay and thereafter pay fixed in the next higher slab of pay. This method of consolidating pay, after deducting the Rank pay, was the issue that Major Dhanapalan contested in the Kerala High Court.
5. The High Court of Kerala, upheld the contention of the officer and directed the Union of India to refix the pay of the petitioner, with effort from 01 Jan 86, without deducting the Rank pay.
6. The Govt filed and appeal to this judgment, which was dismissed by a Divisional Bench of the same Court.
7. Thereafter, an SLP was filed in the Supreme Court, which was dismissed not on the merits of the arguments given in the SLP, but owing to an inordinate delay in filing the SLP. Accordingly Maj Dhanapalan was given arrears based on the judgment of the Keral High Court.
8. Present Status Since Maj Dhanapalan's case was decided in his favour, there have been a number of representations and even 2 separate writ petitions, filed in the Kerala High Court. These have all been referred to the MoD.
9. The issues are being examined by the MoD, in consultation with Finance. Simultaneously the Services are also working out the financial implications, in case the Govt decides, after due consideration of the facts, to extend the benefits to other similarly placed serving and retired officers.
10. The Directorate of Ex-Servicemen Affairs (DESA) will keep you apprised of the position from time to time.
Col NK Balakrishnan (Retd)
OF KERALA HIGH COURT IN RESPECT OF MAJ DHANAPALAN (RETIRED)
1. The success of Maj AK Dhanapalan (Retd), in getting arrears of pay, based on a case filed by him, in the Kerala High Court, is one that has engendered considerable, interest among serving and retired service Officers. The case pertains to refixation of Pay, post 4th CPC, as on 01 Jan 86 and its carry forward effects, thereafter.
2. This note has been prepared to bring out the Salient aspects of the issues involved and the present status vis-a- vis officers, who are/were similarly placed.
3. Genesis of the Problem The fourth Pay Commission appreciating the pyramidcal and truncated careers of Service Officers sought to correct the anomaly, by including an element of Rank Pay, for Officers of the rank of Captain (Army) up to Brigadier. The Pay Commission envisaged, that whilst changing over from the 3rd CPC scale to the 4th CPC scales, the fixation was to be done in the same manner as that of civilians. Rank pay, would be a separate element of pay, that was to be added to the basic pay for switching over the 4th CPC scales.
4. Government Resolution In the Govt resolution that followed, the recommendations of the Fourth CPC, on one hand indicated that Rank Pay would from part of Basic Pay. However, on the other hand, in the methodology of fixing pay, Rank pay, Rank pay was to be deducted from the revised consolidated pay and thereafter pay fixed in the next higher slab of pay. This method of consolidating pay, after deducting the Rank pay, was the issue that Major Dhanapalan contested in the Kerala High Court.
5. The High Court of Kerala, upheld the contention of the officer and directed the Union of India to refix the pay of the petitioner, with effort from 01 Jan 86, without deducting the Rank pay.
6. The Govt filed and appeal to this judgment, which was dismissed by a Divisional Bench of the same Court.
7. Thereafter, an SLP was filed in the Supreme Court, which was dismissed not on the merits of the arguments given in the SLP, but owing to an inordinate delay in filing the SLP. Accordingly Maj Dhanapalan was given arrears based on the judgment of the Keral High Court.
8. Present Status Since Maj Dhanapalan's case was decided in his favour, there have been a number of representations and even 2 separate writ petitions, filed in the Kerala High Court. These have all been referred to the MoD.
9. The issues are being examined by the MoD, in consultation with Finance. Simultaneously the Services are also working out the financial implications, in case the Govt decides, after due consideration of the facts, to extend the benefits to other similarly placed serving and retired officers.
10. The Directorate of Ex-Servicemen Affairs (DESA) will keep you apprised of the position from time to time.
Col NK Balakrishnan (Retd)
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