Pay Band-4 confirmed. Lt Cols to be placed senior to Dy Secys to Govt of India but junior to Directors Govt of India

Well folks.

My inputs suggest that Pay Band-4 (Rs 37400 - 67000) is finally through albeit with a Grade Pay of Rs 8000. All Lt Cols at 13 years of service are to be upgraded to PB-4.

Lt Cols, Wg Cdrs (IAF) and Cdrs (IN) have been placed higher than the grade of Deputy Secy to Govt of India (erstwhile Rs 12000-16500 scale / now Pay Band-3 with Grade Pay Rs 7600) but lower than Directors to Govt of India (Pay Band-4 with Grade Pay Rs 8700).

The minimum pension of Lt Cols who retired prior to 2006 is however likely to be jacked up above Directors GoI.

The basic minimum pension of pre-6th CPC retirees of the rank of Lt Col is expected to be Rs 25700. Basic pension of pre-6th CPC Directors (GoI) is Rs 23050.

Again, I still would suggest readers to take the above with a pinch of salt till the final official announcement.

Tango Alpha Delta Alpha Orders

TA DA Entitlement orders have finally been issued by the MoD.

You may access / download the same by clicking here.

In case of any queries on this subject, please post your comments under this blog-post so that a cross-section of readers can join in and enlighten us all. Though all are welcome to write/email to me anytime on any subject, individual mails on the modalities of these orders may please be avoided unless something absolutely pertinent is to be pointed out :-)

Thank You and a Very Happy New Year to everyone. See you in Two-O-O-Nine.

Some important 6th CPC clarifications for those with 'doubts' :-)

On CAA : Some authorities have raised doubts in respect of disabled personnel in receipt of Constant Attendance Allowance (CAA). It has been stated by some that CAA at new rates (Rs 3000 per month) shall be admissible after 2nd September 2008 and not before that. The said stand is incorrect. CAA is very much admissible with effect from 1st January 2006 and the fact has already been clarified by Govt of India, Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare vide an Office Memorandum dated 3rd October 2008. Also, even personnel who retired prior to 1st January 2006 would be amenable to CAA at new rates w.e.f 1st January 2006. No DA is admissible on CAA though.

On double pension : Some of our staff members really suffer from an interpretational malaise. After the 6th CPC, a minimum floor ceiling of Rs 3500/- has been applied to pensioners meaning thereby that no pensioner would be granted a pension below Rs 3500 per month. Pension is to be stepped up to Rs 3500 level in case it turns out to be less than the said amount. In certain cases, individuals are in receipt of two pensions – one from the military and one from the civil, or two pensionary elements such as ‘service element of disability pension’ from the military and normal service pension from the civil. Many a times a combination of both basic pensions (civil and military) turns out to be less than Rs 3500 and some of our great minds dealing with pension including those in banks were of the opinion that the total of both pensions would be stepped up to Rs 3500/- and a stepped up total basic pension of Rs 3500 would be admissible to such cases. This is blatantly incorrect. It is made clear that both pensions would have to be treated individually and both would have to be separately stepped up to Rs 3500 each leading to a total basic pension of Rs 7000 per month. Services rendered in two services in two capacities have to be treated independent of each other. The same has been adequately clarified by the MoD in the ‘pre-2006 pension’ letter dated 11th November 2008 too, and it takes half a brain to interpret the provision so clearly mentioned in Para 11 :

“11. In the case of pensioners in receipt of civil and military pension, the floor ceiling of Rs. 3,500/- will not apply to the two pensions taken together and the individual pension will be governed by respective Pension Rules. Accordingly, the floor ceiling of Rs. 3,500/- will apply individually to the civil and military pension. In case a pensioner is in receipt of pension as well as a family pension, the floor ceiling of Rs. 3500/- will apply individually to such pension and family pension.”

I fail to understand as to how on earth was it possible to interpret it differently that what it apparently means. I hope these troubles end at the teething stage and do not go beyond it !

In a lighter vein, the above is pretty simple to understand and not like the following military jargon for Combatant Cooks :

"Attention is drawn to the undesirability of the overlapping of functions in the preparation of liquid comestibles in catering establishments. It has been observed and established that in cases of reduplication among mess executives a 'deduction in nutritional value and palatability’ has resulted.”

An old proverb has it in six words: "Too many cooks spoil the broth." :-) (Thank You Miljokes)

Misc. (Not a very long wait now !)

Just a short wait now before the GoM recommendations are finally brought into motion. Hold on to your wits.

Whew. Some queries keep pouring in continuously.

I’ll attempt to clarify these.

Yes, DA is admissible on MSP, Chapter closed. Don’t know who is spreading this disinformation about DA not being admissible on MSP.

Yes, pension calculation of post-2006 pensioners is underway. It is taking time since unlike pre-06 pensioners there are no pension tables for post 2006 retirees. The pension of such retirees is basically 50% of last drawn / average of 10 months' emoluments and for that the office of PCDA(Pensions) Allahabad has to wait for data from agencies such as CDA(O). So hang on there for a little while, things are moving and they are moving fast, do not worry.

Yes, a discount of 20% on broadband net usage and subscription is available to defence officers and pensioners too. In fact, it is available to all serving and retired govt and PSU employees. Any doubts should be dispelled by having a look at this BSNL circular.

Thank You.

Determination of seniority between cadres on the basis of ‘Grade Pay’ recommended by the 6th CPC. Why was the system changed to ‘only within a cadre’?

As all of us know, the 6th CPC had made Grade Pay the bench mark of inter-se equivalence and seniority between different services and cadres.

But after the Cabinet decision, it was clearly stated in the resolution that Grade Pay shall only determine seniority within a cadre. The 6th CPC recommendation was hence modified by the Cabinet.

Ever wondered why this happened ??

This simply happened to maintain the existing parities and equations within various organisations and also to maintain the superiority of certain services over the others.

Let me elaborate. Let us take the example of the district administration. In a district, the District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner / Collector) is the head of the civil administration and the Superintendent of Police (also known as Senior Superintendent of Police in certain states) functions under the District Magistrate. The Police is just one of the various departments under the DM. The DM can be an officer of the Senior Time Scale (STS), Junior Administrative Grade (JAG) or in rare cases of the Selection Grade (SG), the same goes for the district Police Chief. Now it many-a-times happens that the district Police Chief is of a senior grade (and higher Grade Pay) than the DM and in such a case the DM would have been automatically declared lower in status in case of acceptance of GP equivalence between cadres. Hence purely to maintain such superiority, the system was changed by the Cabinet. Similarly at a more senior level, the Home Secretary, who is usually an officer of the Senior Administrative Grade (SAG) in a State may have to exercise supervisory functions over the DGP (Apex Grade or HAG +) and acceptance of the Pay Commission recommendation would have meant dilution of the State Home Secretaries over IPS officers actually their superiors. The same applies elsewhere too. College Lecturers would become senior to Directors of Education or Public Instruction (DPI) which the administrators would never want, Doctors would become senior to administrators of the Health department etc. To give you a live example, In Chandigarh, the Chief Engineer of the Chandigarh Housing Board is considered junior to an IAS officer of the JTS (GP Rs 5400) posted as the Joint CEO of the same board. This was the actual reason why the original recommendation was tweaked and tinkered into something else.

But the practical situation is otherwise. Notwithstanding the stipulation of Grade Pay determining seniority only within a cadre, it becomes the de facto determinant of status, seniority and standing in practice. In cases of deputation to specific posts, it is the GP of officers of different services which is usually taken into account. In case of entitlements, again GP matters irrespective of service. I think it is high time this seniority system is set aside altogether except for Constitutional posts. The way ahead may be to give a fillip to specialists and slowly phase out the generalists. And this applies not just to the IAS but elsewhere too.

Anomalies addressed (To an extent...?)

There may be some good news in the offing.

Lt Cols stand placed in Pay Band 4, grade pay modality unknown but there are hints that the grade pay has been granted at an amount between Rs. 7600 and Rs. 8700. A percentage of Lt Gens has been upgraded to HAG+ grade and PBOR have been granted enhanced pensionary weightage.

Finer modalities and official announcements not yet made so take it with a pinch of salt. More when authentic information comes my way. Also I would request readers that we should all hold our horses and our 'opinions' till things come out in black & white. There are bound to be slips but we'll take them all one by one. There are also indications that equivalence / seniority of the defence services vis-a-vis civil services may be dumped for good. Chill, relax, have faith, the Chapter is not yet closed my friends...

Old Wine, New Bottle, New Brand

Readers of this blog would be glad to know that this blog is now on a new, simpler, better and easier address www.indianmilitary.info

Of course, the old address http://www.indianmilitarybenefits.blogspot.com/ would remain operational and valid till eternity and would also lead and get re-directed to the new one. In case of any teething technical glitch in reaching the new address, please visit the old domain name.

I would also like to inform that this blog would retain its original interactive format and would not be converted into a regular website notwithstanding its new domain name. I have tinkered a bit with the layout though – added a 3 column template for reducing clutter, added an auto-refreshing chat box and a new link list. Visitors can decide whether they want the earlier (faster) non-auto-refreshing c-box or the new auto-refreshing chat box.

Any other suggestions regarding the layout are welcome and would be appreciated. Use the comments tab of this post for the same. Any ideas for adding new widgets or features on the blog or for removal of existing ones are also welcome. Decision could be taken by a consensus.

Thanks for your time. Happy browsing.

Released SS Officers may be recruited for a new contingency force in Mumbai

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There are indications that released Short Service Commissioned Officers may be recruited in a new contingency force being raised for emergent situations by the State of Maharashtra. The force has been tentatively (and fancily) named ‘Force ONE’.

Ex-SS Officers of the military would most probably be recruited at ACP / Addl DCP levels through the public service commission.

Released officers who after leaving the army are missing their uniforms (as it usually happens- as they say, the grass is always greener… :-) ) may keep their eyes and ears open for a formal announcement soon. Such officers who miss their uniforms also have an option of joining as Territorial Army (TA) volunteers with full protection of their rank and seniority. The ‘Force ONE’ news more or less stands confirmed now since the same has today been reported in a section of the media too.

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Transport Allowance, LTC etc

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Before I’m flooded with more emails :-) Here are three letters issued yesterday on the subject of LTC and Transport Allowance.

My schedule does not allow me to respond to individual queries on such issues through email hence you may post your questions as comments on this post which can be replied to by a cross-section of readers, a method which also leads to a quality addition to the knowledge base of all of us.

Authority for the newly introduced Transport Allowance

Letter on LTC

Letter on travel on LTC to North Eastern Regions


It was said by someone somewhere that govt employees can only avail the newly introduced LTC-80 scheme fares by IA and AI. That may not be the case. People should be free to avail any fare lower than the ones provided in the LTC-80 scheme subject to govt guidelines. In another welcome move, as also reported before, the central govt has removed campus/distance restriction for claiming transport allowance. The said allowance is Rs 3200, 1600, 600 for Officers, JCOs and OR respectively in A/A-1 cities and 1600, 800 and 400 in other cities. DA is also admissible on Transport Allowance. Happy driving and Happy travelling !!!

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E.Q.U.A.L.I.T.Y

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If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost - Aristotle

I don’t think Aristotle’s words can ever turn true in our nation’s context though I sincerely feel that the Govt is going to shortly announce a package for the services.

Well, after the new scales were announced for university and college teachers, there has been a flood of queries about their modalities. In the past I’ve also received some queries on the nitty-gritty of pay progression into Pay Band-4 for services other than the military.

Keeping in view the deluge of such questions, I have attempted to make a basic comparative table providing rudimentary features of pay progression for the All India Services, the Group-A Civil Services, University & College teachers and of course the Defence Services.

You may click here to view the above mentioned table of comparison.

As Germans believe, the only real equality is in the cemetery.

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First visible dent to status which was bound to happen : Direct 6th CPC fallout

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Before I come to the main issue, a brief background.

So I laughed when I saw in the 6th CPC report that there was an ‘established relativity’ between a DIG of Police and a Brigadier.

There had been none, relativity that is. There was nothing common between a DIG and a Brig except the rank badges. More so since in the late 1950s when the MHA had upgraded the rank badges of IPS officers, in a meeting between senior functionaries of the MoD and them, MHA representatives had promised that though they had granted an Ashoka and three stars to a DIG, the rank badges would have no bearing on the actual status of a Brig. Clearly there could be no comparison since 100% of IPS officers attain the rank of DIG in 14 years of service including training whereas less than 7% make it to Brig in the defence services and that too in 28 years of service excluding training.

If the 6th CPC had talked of relativity, here is what the actual relativity was till the 6th CPC :

At the time of independence, according to Governor General of India’s notification No F/49/9/35-Public (G), a Colonel was placed on Serial No 38 for status, a DIG on Number 45 and a Lt Col on Number 47. Hence a DIG was 7 steps lower than a Colonel and 2 steps higher than a Lt Col. At the most recent stage of 5th CPC scales, the starting pay of a DIG (Rs 16,400) was sandwiched between a Lt Col (Rs 15,100) and a Col (Rs 17,100).

The 6th CPC and subsequently the CoS however equated a DIG with a Brig (both granted a Grade Pay of Rs 8900). The 6th CPC and elements in the MoF also emphasized that they had not disturbed any status equation and even earlier a DIG was considered equal to a Brig.

How wrong they were. A recent example was of Scheduled Banks in India who have an appointment known as the Chief Security Officer (CSO) in Senior Management Grade Scale -5 (SMGS-V) the requirement for which was that the applicant should be either a Colonel or a DIG.

After the 6th CPC, the same advertisement has been issued with the requirement that the applicant should be either a Brigadier or a DIG.

And they said that the 6th CPC has merely maintained the existing relativities. Below is proof as to how on the contrary existing and established relativities have been blatantly disturbed only after the 6th CPC :

Here is a pre-CPC (2006) advertisement for the post of CSO of a Bank with a rank requirement of Colonel / DIG

Here is a post-CPC (2008) advertisement for the post of CSO of a Bank with a rank requirement of Brigadier / DIG

Isn’t the slide visible to the naked eye ?

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While some wait, Doctors can rejoice…

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Many readers may not know, a new career progression system known as the Dynamic Assured Career Progression Scheme (DACP) has already been implemented for all Medical / Dental Doctors appointed under the Central Govt.

Under this scheme, following shall be the career progression structure for General Duty Doctors appointed under any Ministry / Department of the Central Govt :

On appointment : Pay Band-3 (Rs 15600-39100) with Grade Pay of Rs 5400 (equal to Lieutenant after the 6th CPC)

After 4 years of total service : Pay Band-3 with Grade Pay of Rs 6600 (equal to Major after the 6th CPC)

After 9 years of total service : Pay Band-3 with Grade Pay of Rs 7600 (equal to Lt Col after the 6th CPC)

After 13 years of total service : Pay Band-4 (Rs 37400-67000) with Grade Pay of Rs 8700 (equal to a full Colonel after 6th CPC)

After 20 years of total service : Pay Band-4 with Grade Pay of Rs 10000 (equal to Maj Gen after 6th CPC)

The following (believe your eyes – this is no joke) shall be the career progression for specialists under any Ministry / Department of the Central Govt :

On appointment : Pay Band-3 with Grade Pay of Rs 6600 (equal to Major after the 6th CPC)

After 2 years of total service : Pay Band-3 with Grade Pay of Rs 7600 (equal to Lt Col after the 6th CPC)

After 6 years of total service : Pay Band-4 with Grade Pay of Rs 8700 (equal to full Col after the 6th CPC)

After 13 years of total service : Pay Band-4 with Grade Pay of Rs 10000 (equal to Maj Gen after 6th CPC)

While this has already been implemented for all Ministries and Departments of the Central Govt, instructions regarding Army Medical Corps and Army Dental Corps have not yet been issued. There is no reason why this should not be implemented on a non-functional basis (pay progression without rank progression) in the AMC/ADC too since the DACP Govt of India letter in Para1 and Para 3 clearly states that it shall be extended to all Medical and Dental Doctors under the Central Govt not just in organised services but also including isolated posts. It is hoped that the office of DG AFMS would have taken note by now.

Readers desirous of having a first hand look at the said Govt of India letter (or those who do not believe their eyes) may do so by clicking here. (Courtesy : Ministry of Health & Family Welfare)

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From 'US NEWS' : Blocked by bureaucrats. Sounds familiar ??

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Well this one was sent by our friend Pragmatic :-)

Surely should ring a bell in us Indians too.

It appears on USNEWS.COM and the complete piece can be read here.

When You're Blocked By the Office Bureaucrats

Michael Wade

Regardless of your rank, you should never underestimate the power of others to circumvent, delay, and block your decisions.

Some classic bureaucratic smothering techniques are:

Mistakes. “The plans for the kick-off were sent to Brussels instead of the Boston office. Don’t worry, we’ll get matters straightened out.” Eventually.

Inflated Estimates. “That will take at least three days.” (That = one phone call + two hours of work.)

Non-Agreement Agreement. “When we said yes, it meant that we understood you, not that we agreed.” And no, these individuals don't speak another language.

Convenient Memory Lapses. “Gee, that must have slipped my mind.” All undesirable instructions slip the mind.

Parsing. “When you said that you wanted an update on the status of the move, I thought you simply wanted the date of the move.”

Musical Chairs. “Rex is no longer in charge of that project. Ellen now has it. She’s in Europe for three weeks. We can’t find her notes.”

Timing. “We meant to send that out two months ago, but felt the recipients might confuse it with the Marketing Report so we didn’t mail it. Should we have told you?”

Barrier Collusion. “Our colleagues in the Cleveland office found a reason why that won’t work. They are opposing any action until upper management has reviewed it.”

Sandwiching. “We’ve analyzed the situation and have produced three possible courses of action. You’ll note two extremes. Our recommendation is the moderate one in the middle.”

Michael Wade writes Execupundit.com, an eclectic combination of management advice, observations, and links. A partner with the Phoenix firm of Sanders Wade Rodarte Consulting Inc., he has advised private and public-sector organizations for more than 30 years.

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Great, now CDA authorities goof up and they goof up well – they send incorrect pension tables to banks !!?!!

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Don’t ask me how this happened. Don’t even try to rack your brain; you’ll come to a big nought.

Govt of India, Ministry of Defence, had issued the pension sanction letter for pre-2006 pensioners on 11 November 2008. The said Govt letter covered both PBOR as well as officers. Pension fixation tables based on old basic pension and rank were also enclosed with this letter. As we all know by now, basic pension is either to be fixed by

Multiplying the old basic pension by 2.26

OR

@ 50% of lower end of pay band + Grade Pay + MSP

whichever of the two is higher.

An annexure (Annexure-II) was also enclosed with the letter dated 11 Nov 08 which detailed the calculation based on the second option for different ranks. By way of the second option, the pension of Major Generals and Lt Generals was coming to be lower than that of Brigadiers (Rs 26150) since MSP is not admissible to Maj Gens and Lt Gens. As a result, the pension for Maj Gens and Lt Gens was also stepped up to Brig level because as per policy, senior ranks cannot be placed in lower pension grades than a junior rank. Consequently, as per Annexure-II of the letter, the pensions for the ranks of Brig, Maj Gen and Lt Gen were all placed at Rs 26150 and the same was correctly reflected in Annexure-II of the Govt letter.

The Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions) or PCDA(P) in short, has also floated detailed guidelines to all banks across India alongwith the said Govt letter dated 11 Nov 2008 but surprisingly, the Annexure-II attached with the said letter in the PCDA(P) circular is different than the one released by the Govt. Same letter but different pension scales !!

To take an example, in Annexure-II of the Govt letter dated 11 Nov 2008, the pension of Brigs, Maj Gens and Lt Gens is mentioned as Rs 26150 after completion of 28+ years of service. However it is mentioned as Rs 26150 for Brig but Rs 24566 for Maj Gen and Lt Gen in the same Annexure-II of the same Govt letter dated 11 Nov 2008 forwarded by PCDA(P) to banks. There are many other inconsistencies too.

You don’t believe me : Click here to have a look at this. The table on the top is the one enclosed with the actual govt letter and the table on the bottom is the table of the same govt letter floated to banks with a covering circular from the PCDA(P).

You still don’t believe me. OK, then download the pre-2006 pensioners Govt Letter No 17(4)/2008(1)/D(Pen/Policy) Dated 11 November 2008 from the official Ministry of Defence website at http://mod.nic.in/6thCPC/6thCPC-Index.htm and then download the same letter from the PCDA(P) website at http://www.pcdapension.nic.in/6cpc/default.htm

Now compare the two and take a look at Annexure-II at Page 93, can you spot the difference ?

And again, please don’t ask me how this happened ! I have no explanation whatsoever. Do not also ask me as to what happened to the direction of Govt of India vide Para 22 of the letter which ordained 'immediate' and 'expeditious' payment to pensioners. Of course all this is not deliberate, but lack of application of mind or lack of coordination, whatever, take your pick !

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On popular demand : Complete fixation tables for Colonel (Time Scale)

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As published by me, complete fixation tables with stagnation modalities in the form of Corrigendum to SAI 3/S/08 were issued yesterday (10th December 2008) by the Ministry of Defence. It may be recalled that as per Special Army Instruction 3/S/08, the rank of Colonel (Time Scale) has been granted the same pay band (PB-4), Grade Pay (Rs 8700) as well as status as enjoyed by a Colonel by Selection. Hence as far as comparison with civil posts is concerned, the rank of Col (TS) is equivalent to Colonel by Selection. The fixation tables should also bring good news for all Colonels (TS).

There were many emails requesting for a copy of the Corrigendum to SAI 3/S/08 and the complete fixation tables. Thanks again to my friend ‘D Square’, the same can be viewed and downloaded now by clicking here.

May I also request all readers / visitors again not to send me individual requests for calculation of fixation, arrears or pension. My profession does not allow me time to individually reply to such requests and queries. Emails other than ones seeking calculations are however most welcome.

Thank You


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Fixation tables for Col (TS) issued. And secondly : yes it’s true, in a welcome move, PBOR of the three services can now purchase cars from CSD

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Before I start with the main post, some news for Colonels (TS). Corrigendum to SAI 3/S/08 has been issued and complete tables including stagnation modalities have been forwarded by the MoD, and the fixation is not bad, happy counting !!! (Thanks to my friend 'D Square')

Now the main post. Consequent to some press reports, there was confusion amongst some establishments and retired personnel whether PBOR have actually been authorised the purchase of four-wheelers from CSD. The answer is in affirmative.

In a welcome move, PBOR have been included in the ‘entitled’ category for purchase of cars subject to some light restrictions.

The new rule shall be made applicable w.e.f 01 January 2009. JCOs and equivalent would be able to buy cars once in five years and for other ranks a seven year restriction has been imposed. A minimum service requirement of 15 years has also been imposed for both serving and retired PBOR wanting to purchase cars from CSD. Though I’m usually not cynical, in my humble (and personal) opinion, I feel we need to re-visit and reconsider this 15 year service requirement since it results in exclusion of personnel who are invalided out of service with disability / war Injury pension before completing 15 years. And of course there may be PBOR with lesser years of service who may want to purchase cars. Also I feel we need to be more magnanimous with our in-house policies like these and do away with such self-imposed policy fetters. But I guess with time such teething problems would be ironed out. A welcome start though.

The complete letter / authority and the requisite forms and procedure are available on the CSD website and can also be viewed and downloaded by clicking here.


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If your bankers do not know, tell them that the entire pension of gallantry awardees is exempted from Income Tax

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A Gallantry awardee retired Lieutenant General recently wrote to me that his bank was deducting Income Tax from his pension, he also enquired if gallantry awardees were indeed exempted from payment of Income Tax on their pensions.

The answer is in the positive. Income Tax is not to be paid on the entire pension of personnel who are recipients of "Param Vir Chakra", "Maha Vir Chakra", "Vir Chakra" or such other gallantry awards as the Central Government may specify by notification in the Official Gazette. Even family pension paid to the family of such gallantry awardees is exempted from IT. As earlier published in this blog, the entire pension of disability pensioners is also exempted from IT and more on it can be seen by clicking here.

Exemption of IT on pension and family pension of gallantry awardees was introduced by the Central Govt with effect from 1st of April 1999 by inserting a new sub-clause (18) to Section 10 of the Income Tax Act. The said amendment / insertion was introduced through the ‘Finance Act, 1999’.

Besides PVC, MVC and VrC, the following awards are also covered under IT Exemption as per Govt of India SRO 1048(E) 1 dated 24-11-2000 when awarded for gallantry :

Ashok Chakra

Kirti Chakra

Shaurya Chakra

Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak

Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak

Jeevan Raksha Padak

President's Police Medal for Gallantry

Police Medal for Gallantry

Sena / Nao Sena / Vayu Sena Medal

President's Police and Fire Services Medal for Gallantry

President's Fire Services Medal for Gallantry

Fire Services Medal for Gallantry

President's Home Guards and Civil Defence Medal for Gallantry

Home Guards and Civil Defence Medal for Gallantry

THE COMPLETE NOTIFICATION LISTING ALL AWARDS EXEMPTED FROM INCOME TAX CAN BE SEEN BY CLICKING HERE

Please inform your bank about Section 10(18) of the IT Act and the above mentioned notification by the Central Govt if you are a gallantry awardee pensioner / family pensioner and if still your bank is deducting IT from pension. If the bank does not cease and desist from deducting IT, then please inform the IT department and also file a Consumer Complaint in the District Consumer Redressal Forum of your district. In case IT has been deducted from your pension or you have paid IT on your pension any time after 2000, you may contact the IT department or your CA for initiating refund of the same.

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Wages down the ages : A comparative analysis of Army and Indian Forest Service (UPDATED)

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A lot has been said on this blog and elsewhere on the Indian Police Service and the Army. As remarked here earlier by a retired flag officer of the Indian Navy, the 6th CPC has been less than honest while visiting history. The historical tables on Page 73 have faced much flak here and elsewhere. Other than IPS, another service having close links with the military has been the Indian Forest Service which forms the triumvirate of ‘All India Services’ alongwith the IAS and IPS. Military and Forest Service Officers have enjoyed close and cordial ties through the ages, maybe it has something to do with the close proximity of the IMA and FRI, I don’t know :-). But here is how the salaries and pensions have compared through the Pay Coms with reference to the rank of Lt Col :
(Note : The Selection Grade of the Indian Forest Service is actually a time-scale based grade which is achievable by 100% Forest officers in 13 years of service)

Click here to see a (better) tabulated format of pay and pension comparison of the defence services with the Indian Forest Service

III CPC

BASIC PAY SCALE

Selection Grade of Indian Forest Service : Rs 1650-1800

Lt Col : Rs 1750 – 1950

BASIC PENSION

Selection Grade of Indian Forest Service : Rs 825

Lt Col : Rs 875

IV CPC

BASIC PAY SCALE

Selection Grade of Indian Forest Service : Rs 4100-5300

Lt Col : Rs 4700-5900

BASIC PENSION

Selection Grade of Indian Forest Service : Rs 2050

Lt Col : Rs 2350

V CPC

BASIC PAY SCALE

Selection Grade of Indian Forest Service : Rs 14300-18300

Lt Col : Rs 15100-18700

BASIC PENSION

Selection Grade of Indian Forest Service : Rs 7150

Lt Col : Rs 7550

VI CPC

BASIC PAY SCALE

Selection Grade of Indian Forest Service : Rs 37400-67000 + Grade Pay Rs 8700

Lt Col : Rs 15600-39100 + Grade Pay Rs 7600

BASIC PENSION

Selection Grade of Indian Forest Service : Rs 23050

Lt Col : Rs 17063

I Guess these were the tables that were required to be placed in the 6th CPC for a better idea of history !

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Rule 49-O. Right to a negative vote ? Not quite

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By now, most of readers of this blog must have received a chain mail stating that there is a right provided to every citizen under Article (sic) 49-O of the Constitution of India wherein voters can refrain from voting and if such voters exceed the number of votes of the winning candidate, then the winning candidate’s candidature gets cancelled and re-poll has to be ordered.

Well, the above is untrue and the email is a fake.

For starters, there is no Article 49-O in our Constitution. The said rumour emanates from Rule 49-O of the Conduct of Election Rules which can be seen by clicking here. The said Rule 49-O reads as below :

49-O. Elector deciding not to vote.—If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form 17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.

Hence this rule deals with persons who decide not to vote. But the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, nowhere provide any cancellation of candidature or negative declaration of result on the basis of this rule. There is no cancellation on the basis of Rule 49-O and there is no re-polling. Readers are advised and encouraged to read the complete rules to satisfy themselves.

Negative voting if introduced may be a debatable concept since just as voters may get swayed by unethical electoral tactics in regular voting, the same can also happen in negative voting resulting in a sway of voters towards negative votes through unethical enticement.

So people, do not get enthused by fake emails, the right to vote is the most potent tool in your hand, exercise it, and exercise it with due diligence. Vote you must.

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An appeal to ex-serviceMEN organisations

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The last few months have seen many Ex-Servicemen (or ESM) organisations in limelight, rightfully bringing into public domain the problems being faced by retired personnel of the three services.

One thing though. Lady Officers have been an integral part of the defence services since long. It started with the Army Medical Corps, then Short Service Commission in other Arms and Services and finally culminating into Permanent Commission for Lady Officers in some branches. In the above light, the term ‘Ex-Serviceman’ no longer holds ground and keeping in view the secular, multi-cultural and sensitised history of our forces, wouldn’t it be prudent to now adopt a gender-neutral term in lieu of ‘Ex-Servicemen’ ?

I respectfully propose the following as a replacement for ‘Ex-Servicemen’ :

Ex-Services

Ex-Servicemembers

Ex-Sainik

Veterans

Even the expanded form of the apex recognized veteran organisation, the IESL stands for the ‘Indian Ex-Services League’ and not ‘Indian Ex-Servicemen League’ as is widely believed.

The transition to the new terminology would be smooth and would also set a good precedent. For instance, if there is an organisation called the ‘National Ex-Servicemen Organisation’ (NESO), the said organisation can retain its abbreviated form by simply shifting to ‘National Ex-Services Organisation’ or ‘National Ex-Servicemembers Organisation’ (still NESO). The word ‘Veteran’ could be even better if acceptable since the negative sounding connotation of the term ‘Ex’ could then be avoided. It is just a humble thought, veteran organisations may consider it if deemed appropriate.

Thank You

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