Very Positive development: Finally, a time-bound committee to look into, and implement the resolution of anomalies affecting defence personnel and veterans

The defence community would be pleased to know that the Prime Minister’s office has directed the constitution of an anomalies committee to look into many vital anomalies affecting serving and retired personnel and also their families.

The best part of the directions signed this week is that the committee is to submit its recommendations within a month and the implementation of the accepted recommendations may also be announced on 15 August 2012, thereby marking a radical signal of positivity.

Though a chunk of the bureaucracy in the Ministry of Defence was not inclined to let any such committee come through, this has been possible due to multiple channels of Track-II diplomacy and the stellar efforts of the Chairman COSC and the Pay Cells of the three services which evoked direct response from the Raksha Mantri who then took it upon himself to get this committee approved from the Prime Minister personally and directly without being blinded by comments of lower bureaucracy of the MoD.

The only negative offshoot is that the committee does not have any serving or retired military member and that a proper consultative process was not initiated before identifying the anomalies which required immediate examination. Ideally, the stake-holders should have been a part of the process. However, the saving grace is that the committee has been granted the authority to co-opt any additional member if required. The Committee shall function under the Cabinet Secretary with the Defence Secretary, Secretary Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Secretary DoPT, Expenditure Secretary and Principal Secretary to PM, as members.

Howsoever we may view the development, many important issues such as Non-Functional Upgradation, enhancement of pensions of widows, One Rank One Pension, dual family pension, fixation of pay of Lt Cols/Cos/Brigs, enhancement of Grade Pays, universalisation of scales, grant of HAG+ to all Lt Gens, removal of pay anomalies of other ranks etc have been listed in the charter of the committee. Five anomalies concerning serving personnel and four concerning veterans and pensioners shall be taken up. One surprise (and actually infructuous) entry in the list of anomalies is that the committee would be looking into the issue whether a handicapped family pensioner could be granted family pension on marriage since as per the current interpretation, family pension to handicapped family pensioners is discontinued on marriage. However this issue already stands addressed by the Hon'ble AFT in the case of Vinod Kumar Vs UOI and the judgement also already stands implemented and hence the inclusion of this point in the committee seems totally redundant once it has been judicially adjudicated.

It is however surprising that while the PM had directed that the constitution of the committee may be publically announced, the same has not been done by the staff at MoD till date despite the fact that the directions were conveyed by special courier (by hand) to the MoD for immediate action by the PMO.

RIP - Sub Major (Hony Capt) Mohinder Singh, MVC

The War Decorated India
PRESS RELEASE
BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE PASSES AWAY

RIP - Sub Major (Hony Capt) Mohinder Singh, MVC

Sub Major (Hony Capt) Mohinder Singh, MVC passed away yesterday peacefully. His mortal remains were consigned to flames today. He was living in the Urban Estate at Patiala.

He was born on 03 January 1939 at village Sham Nagar in Amritsar district of Punjab.

Sub Major (Hony Capt) Mohinder Singh, MVC was enrolled on 03 January 1950 in 18th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment of Infantry.

Sub Major (Hony Capt) Mohinder Singh, MVC is survived by his wife Sardarni Gurmit Kaur and two sons: Mittarpal Singh & Charanjit Singh. His son, Mittar Pal Singh, can be contacted on mobile: 981583076

Subedar Mohinder Singh was commanding a platoon of a battalion of Punjab Regiment in an attack on a well-fortified enemy post supported by medium machine guns in the Kargil Sector. The attack was held up by enemy medium machine guns which were effectively bringing down a heavy volume of fire. He exhorted and inspired his men by personal example to maintain momentum of the attack. With utter disregard for his personal safety, he charged forward, destroyed one of the medium machine gun bunkers and inflicted casualties on the enemy in close combat. His personal example and gallantry so inspired his men as to ensure success of the attack.

Throughout, Subedar Mohinder Singh displayed conspicuous gallantry and leadership of a very high order and performed his duties beyond the call of duty.

For this act of valour he was awarded the Mahavir Chakra on 07 December 1971.

After retirement from the army Sub Major (Hony Capt) Mohinder Singh, MVC settled down at Patiala where he worked with the Punjabi University for some time as Security Officer.

Punjab, the state which has got the highest number of gallantry awards for a show of valour in the face of enemy, has lost another one of its Gallant Sainiks. Now the state is left with 12 living MVC awardees.

Punjabis have won 4 Param Vir Chakras, 48 Mahavir Chakras (plus two Bars) & 250 Vir Chakras (plus two bars). The total number of awards of the Vir Chakra series conferred in India since 1947 is as follows: PVC: 21, MVC 218 & VrC 1318 total: 1557.

This implies that Punjabis have won 19 % of PVCs, 22.9 % of MVCs, 18.96 % of VrCs awarded by the nation so far.

Condolence messages from the President, The War Decorated India, Brig Narinder Singh Sandhu, MVC, Brig Amarjit Singh Brar, VrC (Director Punjab), Brig Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, MVC, VSM (Director Punjab) & Capt Reet MP Singh, VrC were conveyed to the family.

The cremation ceremony was well attended. 18th Battalion the Punjab Regiment had sent a contingent under its Subedar Major in full military regalia. However, the presence of a Bugler to sound the Last Post was missed.

There also were men from a local unit carrying wreaths from the local Divisional Headquarters - in normal uniform.

Secretary General
The War Decorated India
303, Urban Estate“ I (B)
Patiala. Punjab 147002-04

Kargil Martyrs Day on 26th July 2012 at Bangalore

There will be a Memorial Function to honour Kargil Martyrs on 26 July, 2012 at the under construction War Memorial at the Musical Fountain grounds at Bangalore. A similar event was held at this location last year.

We are looking for personnel from Army, Navy and Air Force who took part in the Kargil War and would be willing to speak about their experiences on the occasion. Naval personnel who participated in the 1971 Indo-Pak war could also give their account.

There is a plan to honour Kargil War Widows on that day. Any member from these groups who know about Kargil War Widows may kindly give such details to the undersigned.

Requesting members to give this wide publicity in other groups/through other means.

Air Mshl Narayan Menon(Retd)

505 Jal Vayu Vihar

Kammanahalli Main Road

Bangalore-560043

Landline-080-23682505

Mobile-9880438267

Alternative Mobile No. 9972099576- Mr Suresh of The Flags of Honour Foundation.

Introducing ‘The Alpha Stories’, a stellar effort by a military spouse

While most of military publications tend to focus on the strategic and operational aspects of the military, what was lacking in India was a magazine on the day to day life led by the men and women in uniform and their families. 'The Alpha Stories’ bridges that gap. Following is a reproduction of a write-up received from Nishtha Gautam, a fauji wife and the Managing Editor of the magazine. I’m sure the readers of this blog would contribute material to the magazine, subscribe to it, enhance its reach and also ensure its success. The first anniversary issue of the magazine is going to be out soon. The maiden issue was released in June last year.

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The Alpha Stories is a contributory bi-monthly magazine through which defence personnel and their families present the military perspective to the world. Every uniform, be it of the Army, Navy or Air Force, has a story behind it, and ‘The Alpha Stories’wishes to share these with our readers. In spite of having earned laurels in various wars and operations worldwide, and also having carved out an exclusive niche as one of the most professional Armed Forces in the world, our men and women remain under-represented. The human aspect of the armed forces is rarely a part of public discourse in our country and many stories of valour sacrifice and professional commitment remain untold. While most defence-related publications focus the technological and strategic aspect of military, The Alpha Stories attempts to bring the focus back on the man behind the machine. A lot more needs to be told to discerning readers who have been deprived of wholesome stories related to the armed forces.

  

‘The Alpha Stories’ is making an attempt to highlight the lesser known positive aspects of life in uniform, with a view to restore the glory of the armed forces and share them with our readers. The altruistic spirit of the Indian armed forces must be brought to the forefront once again. Each organization has maladies and the best way forward is diagnosis. And that can only happen when there is a discourse. The magazine aims to bridge the gap between the armed forces and the civil society.

Through its multiple sections, The Alpha Stories encompasses all the nuances of life in armed forces. Focusing equally on all vital aspects of life in uniform, the magazine contains news reports, opinions, profiles and history among other things. The Alpha Stories also projects lifestyles, ambitions and expectations of the different generations of defence personnel. What makes it stand out as a unique publication is the fact that all the published material is contributed by the forces fraternity. Thus, the magazine also serves as a platform for the creatively oriented defence personnel and their families. As and when a serving officer wishes to contribute an article, s/he is free to do it after obtaining a simple clearance. The Alpha Stories is meant to be a collective dream. You are welcome to be a part of the Alpha family.

If you wish to subscribe to the magazine, all you need to do is send your postal address to thealphastories@gmail.com.

Subscription fees can be paid through cash/cheque/DD or an online transfer to the publisher's account. A/C number will be communicated to you after you e-mail your details. Cheques/DDs are to be drawn in the favour of New Era Publication. These may be sent to the registered office:

New Era, Near New Tehsil, Gautam Market, Jalesar Distt. (Etah) UP 207302

I am sanguine that you will enjoy reading this unique bouquet of ‘expressions from the barracks,’ something which I have always cherished to bring out, especially as a proud wife of an equally proud Army officer. This a novel maiden venture, and its long term popularity and sustainability will require your magnanimous support and impetus, and I am hopeful that you will give us the encouragement that we need.

Nishtha Gautam

Managing Editor

The Alpha Stories

Courtesy: Major Navdeep Singh

Online Pension Calculation software for defence pensioners goes online

‘Suvigya’ is a software developed after great research by the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) to provide exact calculation of pension for various categories of defence pensioners.

Since the canvas of defence pension is very vast with pension varying with each rank, year of release and trade/category, effectively compiling and effectuating the software was an enormous task for CGDA. To complicate matters, orders issued from time to time had resulted in confusing even the pension disbursing authorities in this regard.

The said system is now online and can be accessed through the following link:

http://cgda.nic.in/Suvigya

Pensioners / family pensioners have to enter basic details on the website for obtaining the correct amount of pension admissible to them under various orders issued from time to time.

There is however a disclaimer on the website that the amount calculated therein cannot be quoted as authority.

Courtesy: Major Navdeep Singh