Benefit Schemes for Ex-servicemen

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

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

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

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

Published in THE HINDU: Vijayawada

NDA & Naval Academy Exam (I), 2012

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

Married Daughters Entitled for Dependent Certificates: HC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ex-servicemen to be Employed as Guides

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

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

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

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

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