NDA & Naval Academy Exam (I), 2012

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

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

Global Peace Palace a ‘monument for war heroes’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ex-CPMF to be at par in Canteen Facilities

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

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

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

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

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

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

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