| This info is a periodic repeat. Subject: Army Officer's Benevolent Fund-Platinium 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 - 011-26196217 Best wishes. Note - This info is also available on website signals-parivaar.blogspot.in for future ref . Brig Narinder Dhand (Veteran) |
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Army Officer's Benevolent Fund --Platinium Grant at 75 yrs age
Islamic Republic of Iran Navy IRIN
Islamic Republic of Iran Navy IRIN
https://www.google.com/search?q=Damavand+destroyer&rlz=1T4GUEA_enIN629IN629&tbm=isch&imgil=ONTdyXbX_C5u5M%253A%253Bcb152_yo-RcM2M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.islamicinvitationturkey.com%25252F2014%25252F04%25252F28%25252Firan-to-unveil-damavand-destroyer%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=ONTdyXbX_C5u5M%253A%252Ccb152_yo-RcM2M%252C_&usg=__sUTeADiHbn0IQ0aVw1Sklqdxet8%3D
Damavand (frigate) :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damavand_(frigate)
Home-Made Damavand Destroyer Joins Iran Fleet
Iran's domestically-made destroyer, Damavand, has officially joined the Navy's fleet in the Caspian Sea north of the country.
The country's state-of-the-art training destroyer, equipped with modern radar, electronic and reconnaissance systems, was delivered to the Iranian naval forces stationed in the northern port city of Anzali in a ceremony on Monday.
High-ranking Iranian officials, including Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani, Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan and Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari attended the ceremony.
Speaking at the event, Shamkhani described the Caspian Sea as a sea of peace and friendship, saying the Islamic Republic has played a unique role in providing security, particularly energy security in the sea.
The Caspian Sea is bounded by Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan Republic, Iran, and Turkmenistan
Also Sayyari said Damavand is a Jamaran-class destroyer which is more sophisticated than Jamaran.
Earlier in May 204, Sayyari said the Damavand destroyer is equipped with advanced sea-launched drones as well as cruise missiles.
The Iranian commander said that efforts have been made to employ cutting-edge technology in building the destroyer, stressing that Damavand would also be equipped with more advanced cruise missiles than those of domestically designed and built Jamaran destroyer.
The Iranian Navy launched its first domestically-built destroyer, Jamaran, in the waters of the Persian Gulf in February 2010.
The 1,420-ton destroyer is equipped with modern radar systems and other electronic warfare capabilities and has a top speed of up to 30 knots and a helipad.
The vessel, equipped with torpedoes and modern naval cannons, also features highly advanced anti-aircraft, anti-surface and anti-subsurface missile systems.
Damavand, however, is longer but lighter than Jamaran destroyer and is capable of tracking and targeting aerial, surface and sub-surface targets simultaneously.
It is equipped with a cruise missile system, torpedo launchers, 40-mm and 76-mm cannons, radar processing systems as well as tactical surface and aerial radars.
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured other states that its military might poses no threat to other countries since the Islamic Republic's defense doctrine is based entirely on deterrence.
Source:
Further Reading
Islamic Republic of Iran Navy IRIN
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy
Iran has two naval forces: the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, or IRIN, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, or IRGCN. The IRIN is the naval branch of Iran's Artesh, the traditional military force that existed prior to the 1979 revolution. In addition to the original ground forces element, the IRGC also formalized an emerging naval component in the mid-1980s, following successful amphibious operations in the southern marshlands of Iraq. Over the intervening decades, the IRGCN was politically favored over the IRIN and has capitalized on this status to acquire advanced weaponry and better platforms to develop additional capabilities.By 2013 there were 18,000 IRIN naval personnel, and 25,000 IRGCN naval personnel, and nearly 8,000 naval infantry. The Iranian navy had always been the smallest of its three principal services, having about 14,500 personnel in 1986, down from 30,000 in 1979. Throughout the 1970s, the role of the navy had expanded as Iran recognized the need to defend the region's vital sea-lanes.
The navy is perhaps Iran's most important military service. The Persian Gulf must remain open for Iranian commerce since the Gulf is the primary route for all of Iran's oil exports and most of its trade. However, Iran's current navy structure is outdated and in need of substantial modernization, an effort that Iran is gradually attempting to accomplish. For the present, Iran's naval capacity remains limited and barely supports its status as essentially a coastal defense force. Iran's economic dependence on the free and uninterrupted use of the Persian Gulf for its commercial shipping combined with its past lessons in confrontations with the United States Navy in the 1987-88 time frame have reinforced Iran's determination to rebuild its naval forces.
In 2007 the IRIN and IRGCN underwent a reorganization that included new base openings and a re-division of duties between the navies. Although the two navies had traditionally shared operations in the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Gulf of Oman, the reorganization split the IRIN and IRGCN areas of responsibility. The IRIN was assigned to the Gulf of Oman and Caspian Sea, while the IRGCN was given full responsibility for operations in the Persian Gulf. This reorganization and the establishment of new bases are in keeping with Iranian naval strategy in the event of a conflict. Because Iran's naval doctrine is based upon access denial, the realignment of IRIN assets further into the Gulf of Oman and the costly for the perceived benefit. It does not attempt to win by defeating the enemy's military forces. Instead it directly attacks the minds of enemy decision makers to destroy the enemy's political will. The geographic split of the two services not only streamlines command and control by reducing the need to coordinate and deconfhct between different naval services operating in the same water space, but should also reduce confusion or miscommunication that an enemy could exploit in wartime.
Iran's navy personnel as of 2014 were young and inexperienced, and many of them were riflemen and marines based on Persian Gulf islands. At higher levels, there had been a fierce rivalry between the IRGC and regular navies for scarce resources. Due to these shortcomings, Iran's three Kilo-class submarines would be vulnerable, and they were limited to laying mines in undefended waters. Mines, however, are one area in which Iran had made advances. It can produce non-magnetic, free-floating, and remote-controlled mines. It may have taken delivery of pressure, acoustic, and magnetic mines from Russia. Also, Iran was negotiating with China for rocket-propelled rising mines.
The Navy's airborne component, including an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and minesweeping helicopter squadron and a transport battalion, continued to operate despite wartime losses. Of six P-3F Orion antisubmarine aircraft, perhaps two remained operational, and of twenty SH-3D ASW helicopters, possibly only ten were airworthy. Despite overall losses, the navy increased the number of its marine battalions from two to three between 1979 and 1986.
Iranian naval forces held several exercises in early 2001 to improve their capabilities and also have had exchange visits with Pakistan and India. As a result, defense officials called for the consolidation of Iran's commercial and military fleets to increase their strengths, overcome any weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and address future threats. Iranian naval forces held the three-day Fath-9 exercises in the northern end of the Persian Gulf in Mahshahr during the first week of March 2001. These exercises involved 6,000 people from the regular navy and air force, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps navy and air corps, the Basij Resistance Forces, and the Law Enforcement Forces.
Iran's navy held more than a week of war games in the Persian Gulf in early 2007 using tactical submarines and small vessels carrying missile launchers. The March 2007 exercises were the latest in a series of maneuvers staged by Iran's military in the Persian Gulf, where the United States had deployed two aircraft carriers in recent months, a move widely seen as a warning to Tehran over its nuclear ambitions. Though Iran cannot come close to matching US forces, it could cause trouble for shipping in the Persian Gulf and disrupt the flow of oil in the waterway through which 40% of the world's traded oil flows.
The Iranian navy has developed its presence in international waters since 2010, regularly launching vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirates operating in the area.
Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced at a press conference 25 February 2013 the presence of the Navy’s 24th flotilla in the Pacific… Sayyari emphasized, “This is the first time that we have passed the Strait of Malacca and entered the Pacific Ocean,” and added that the warships would pay a port call at Zhangjiagang, China. An Iranian warship’s passage through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean on 22 February 2011 and Iranian warships paying port calls in the Sudan a year later reinforced the fact that the Iranian Navy has expanded its operational reach. The push into the Pacific came less than three months after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared that the Iranian Navy’s new emphasis should be expanding its reach beyond the Persian Gulf.
In January 2014, Iranian navy announced that its deployed naval group, consisting of a frigate and a replenishment ship, were making a voyage to the Atlantic, with a port visit to South Africa, to demonstrate the country's ability to project power beyond the Middle East. Iranian warships were ordered to approach US maritime borders as a response to Washington’s stationing of US vessels in the Persian Gulf. Admiral Afshin Rezayee Haddad said “Iran’s military fleet is approaching the United States maritime borders, and this move has a message”. Haddad, commander of the Iranian navy’s northern fleet, said the vessels had started their voyage toward the Atlantic Ocean via “waters near South Africa”. In Washington, a US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, cast doubt on any claims that Iranian ships are approaching US maritime borders. But the official added that “ships are free to operate in international waters”. The United States and its allies regularly stage naval exercises in the Gulf, saying they want to ensure freedom of navigation in the waterway through which 40 percent of the world’s seaborne oil exports pass.
Iranian Navy announced 13 April 2014 that it had called off plan to deploy warships near U.S. territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean. IRIN Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said in Tehran such changes in naval plans are routine, “considering the situation in the region.” Adm. Sayyari, however, did not provide specific reasons for the change, but hinted that the “rise in piracy in the Gulf of Aden” might have prompted the decision to cancel deployment to the Atlantic.
India to Invest $25 Billion in Fifth-Generation Fighter Joint Project With Russia - Media
Source :
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/india/2015/india-150309-tass01.htm?_m=3n%2e002a%2e1362%2eka0ao00b2h%2e1916
Picture of the Sukhoi T-50 aircraft
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India to Invest $25 Billion in Fifth-Generation Fighter Joint Project With Russia - Media
TASSThe aircraft is a single-seat, twin-engine jet fighter, and will be the first operational aircraft in Russian service to use stealth technology
MOSCOW, 9 March. /TASS/.
India is ready to seal a big project with Russia for the stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA), The Times of India wrote referring to the country's defense ministry.
'Faced with continuing deadlock in the mega deal to acquire 126 French Rafale fighters, India is now pressing the throttle to seal the even bigger project with Russia for the stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA),' the newspaper wrote.
'India will overall spend around $25 billion on the FGFA project if it goes ahead with its plan to induct 127 such fighters, as earlier reported by TOI.
Meanwhile, India is ready to forego the earlier plan for a 50:50 design and work-share agreement with Russia on its under-development FGFA called PAK-FA or Sukhoi T-50.'
The PAK FA - 'Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation' - is a fifth-generation fighter program of the Russian Air Force. The T-50 is the aircraft designed by Sukhoi for the PAK FA program. The aircraft is a single-seat, twin-engine jet fighter, and will be the first operational aircraft in Russian service to use stealth technology. It is a multirole combat aircraft designed for the air superiority and ground attack functions. It combines supercruise, stealth, manoeuvrability, and advanced avionics to overcome previous generation fighter aircraft along with many ground and maritime defences.
The PAK FA is intended to be the successor to the MiG-29 and Su-27 in the Russian Air Force and serve as the basis for the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) being co-developed by Sukhoi and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force. The T-50 prototype first flew on 29 January 2010 and production aircraft is slated for delivery to the Russian Air Force starting in 2016. The prototypes and initial production batch will be delivered with a highly upgraded variant of the AL-31F used by the Su-27 family as interim engines while a new clean-sheet design powerplant is currently under development. The aircraft is expected to have a service life of up to 35 years.
© TASS
SOURCE: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/india/mca.htm
Further Reading
Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA)
Medium Combat Aircraft
India's Hindustan Aeronatics Limited (HAL) is to build the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), a derivative of the Sukhoi T-50, in India. The two nations signed a 50/50 joint venture to build the aircraft in December 2011. At that time Russia was testing a handful of prototypes of the T-50 aircraft, which was due to enter service with the Russian Air Force after 2017.
The Medium Combat Aircraft [MCA] was envisioned as a replacement for the British Jaguar and Mirage 2000 the IAF flies, which as of 2002 were to be phased out by 2015. Development costs were expected to be over US$2 billion. As of mid-1997 the MCA design concept had no vertical stabilizer and employed an advanced flight control system coupled to axisymetric nozzles. At that time, India's DRDO intended to develop a stealthy Medium Combat Aircraft, a further extension of its LCA design, in order to replace the Jaguar and Mirage inventory beginning around 2010. The twin engined aircraft was planned to have a thrust ratio of 7:8:1, and GE, SNECMA, and Klimov have all offered to provide the engines for this aircraft.
In June 2001, India was offered 'joint development and production' of a new 5th generation fighter by Russia. Russia had been trying to sell this concept both to China and India for some time, but this time it was made directly to India's Defense Minister. The Russian Perspektivnyi Aviatsionnyi Kompleks Frontovoi Aviatsyi (PAK FA), which means 'Future Air Complex for Tactical Air Forces'. It is intended to be the same size as the US JSF but have a mission profile closer to the F-22 Raptor, with air superiority being the primary mission and ground attack and reconnaissance being secondary. In November 2001, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister, Ilya Klebanov's announced that India and Russia had agreed to jointly develop a fifth-generation strike aircraft. This was the result of a four-day visit to Russia by India's Prime Minister.
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal F.H. Major said in July 2007 that the air force wanted to reduce the inventory in its combat jet arsenal to three aircraft systems only, and over the next few years, it would use the home-made Tejas as the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), the new foreign-built MRCAs as the Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA) and the 35-ton SU30-MKIs as the Heavy Combat Aircraft (HCA). [that is, he made no mention of an indigenously-developed stealthy Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA).]
In October 2007 India and Russia signed a pact on jointly developing and producing a fifth generation combat jet. The fifth generation fighter deal is valued at $8 billion - making it the largest between India and Russia. 'What we are looking at is an aircraft that can match, if not equal, the (Lockheed Martin) F-22 (Raptor),' currently the only fifth generation fighter flying anywhere in the world, an Indian official said. 'Toward this end, the plane will have the most advanced avionics like AESA radar, electronic warfare capabilities and a multi-role armaments package,' the official added.
In February 2008 Air Chief Marshal F H Major told India Strategic that discussions to finalise the technical specifications of the Indo-Russian project were on, and that its induction should begin "from 2017 onwards." The Air Chief said: "FGFA's development is expected to take up till 2016 and induction (should be) from 2017 onwards."
In December 2008 it was reported that Russia would soon sign a contract with India to jointly develop and produce a fifth-generation combat jet from next year. The director general of Russian aircraft maker Sukhoi, Mikhail Pogosyan, said "We plan to begin flight tests (of the fighter) as early as in 2009". The Russian-Indian advanced multi-role fighter is being developed by Sukhoi, which is part of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), along with India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
Russia and India will simultaneously develop two versions of the combat aircraft - a two-seat version to meet the requirements of India's air superiority policy, and a single-seat version for the Russian Air Force.
In February 2009 P S Subramanyam, Director of the Aeronautical Development Agency, a Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) lab, said that the ADA planned to design and develop a medium combat aircraft with "stealth features" in partnership with Indian Air Force. "We are working with (Indian) Air Force as to what their requirement is ... They (IAF) are also coming forward to evolve the specifications of medium combat aircraft...what we call next generation fighter aircraft," Subramanyam said. He said it would be in the 20-ton category, twin-engine aircraft, likely to be powered by the Kaveri-Snecma engine. "It will have stealth features," he said. "It's going to be a joint activity (between ADA and IAF) from beginning", Subramanyam said, adding "it's good that even Air Force is also feeling that we should take up this program".
M. Natarajan, DRDO chief and scientific adviser to the defence minister, told reporters at the 7th edition of the international air show Aero India-2009 in Yelahanka that "It is possible to have an MCA with a twin engine, with less weight and improved electronics. It will also have an inbuilt weapon load for stealth reasons. It is doable and it is a challenge."
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal F H Major said in February 2009 that in about 10 years, IAF should have manned Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) produced jointly with Russia.
The proposed HAL-UAC joint venture to develop and manufacture 250 fifth-generation fighters each for the Russian and Indian Air Forces remained in negotiation following Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's 5th visit to India in March 2010. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will have 25% share in the design and development. The fifth-generation fighter jointly developed by India could be completed by 2015-2016.
India's Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne told India Strategic on 16 October 2012 that India would reduce by a third its order for the fifth-generation stealth fighter being developed jointly with Russia. India will now order just 144 of the fighters, all single-seat models, Browne said, down from an originally-intended batch of around 200, including 48 two-seaters. The original figure, of 200 aircraft, would have been possible if the aircraft was ready by 2017, with the first batch coming from Russian production lines. But India wanted to take on a greater share of development, pushing back the production date for the Indian variant, which is likely to be 2020 at the earliest.
India wanted to produce some of the aircraft's computers, software, guidance systems and other systems, as it did for a similar project with Russia producing a locally-made variant of the Sukhoi Su-30MKI strike aircraft. Russia would provide the aircraft's Saturn 117S engines and some stealth technology elements for the plane.
A total cost for the program had yet to be worked out, but could total around $30 billion including development costs, HAL sources told India Strategic. The two countries were in talks on the first research and development phase. After this agreement was signed, a first prototype would likely be delivered to India in 2014, followed by two more in 2017 and 2019. Series production aircraft “will only be ordered based on the final configuration and performance of the third prototype,” Browne said.
The downward shift in number may be indicative of the projected cost of the platform, although given that the aircraft is still likely a decade away from Indian service then the planned off-take number could well change. Also of note is the suggestion that the aircraft will all be single-seaters. The air force had in the past, including with the MMRCA program to buy light fighters, tended to prefer a mix of single and two-seat aircraft.
India’s The Economic Times newspaper reported on 17 October 2013 that Indian military officials were concerned over the country’s work share in the FGFA project, which is currently only 15 percent even though New Delhi is bearing 50 percent of the cost. According to the paper, India’s defense minister was expected to raise that issue during his visit to Russia beginning November 15. By late 2013 the $11 billion final design and research-and-development contract was under negotiation between the two countries. The total program was expected to cost India about $25 billion to $30 billion.
India’s share in research-and-development work for the joint Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project with Russia was limited by India's domestic industrial capabilities but will gradually increase with the project’s implementation, a Russian military expert told RIA Novosti 25 October 2013.
“The figure cited by the Indian side reflects current capabilities of India’s industry, in particular the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited [HAL] corporation,” said Igor Korotchenko, head of the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Global Arms Trade. “With the progress in the implementation of this project, we expect the Indian engineers and designers to approach the share determined in the [Russian-Indian] agreement: 50 percent,” Korotchenko said in an exclusive interview with RIA Novosti. Russia will certainly provide all necessary knowledge and logistics support to Indian specialists, but developing skills and acquiring experience in design and development of advanced fighter aircraft takes a long time and substantial effort, the expert added.
The Indian fighter jet will be based on the Russian single-seat Sukhoi T-50 or PAK-FA fifth-generation fighter, which now has four prototypes flying, but it will be designed to meet about 50 specific requirements by the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Russia and India have completed the preliminary design for the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), Andrey Marshankin, the regional director of international cooperation at the united Russian-Indian aircraft manufacturing company said 10 January 2015. Marshankin noted that while the Russian version of the fifth generation fighter jet is operated by a single pilot, the Indian Air Force prefers aircraft that are operated by two pilots. “In difficult conditions of modern warfare it is extremely difficult to simultaneously maneuver [the aircraft] and attack the enemy. Currently, the Indian side suggests that the Indian version of the fifth generation fighter will be made for two pilots,” he said. Deliveries in Russia are set to begin in 2016, but in India bureaucrats had also pushed back certification to 2019, after which production could be authorized.
India was ready to invest $25 billion in the development and purchase of 127 fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft (FGFA). It would also make concessions to speed up the delivery of fighters and have the first ones available in 36 months instead of the previously envisaged 94 months, sources told The Times of India 09 March 2015. “We have agreed to a lesser work-share for a realistic contract, with the initial lot of the FGFA being imported and the rest being made here under technology transfer,” a source at HAL told the Times of India. And it appeared that future Russian-made fifth-generation fighter aircraft for India will cost little more than European 4G jets, as the final negotiations with Dassault for purchase of 126 Rafale medium multi-role combat aircrafts indicated the price would exceed $20 billion.
MISCHIEVOUS ARTICLE IN INDIAN EXPRESS CONCERNING
Dated: 09 Mar 2015
MISCHIEVOUS ARTICLE IN INDIAN EXPRESS CONCERNING
DEFENCE PENSIONS
Dear Veterans
1. Indian Express today has published a mischievous article titled “Need to debate the Rising Defence Pension Bill” copy of the Article is enclosed.
2. The timing of the article is a suspect as it appears to put a spoke in the Implementation of the OROP which is in the final stages of execution.
3. Suggestions made in the article are not only inimical to the interests of Armed Forces but have serious ratifications as for as the national interests are concerned.
4. There is need to nip this serious mischief in the bud. You are requested to appropriately responded to the Article to the editor of the concerned News Paper and also send your responses on the Twitter of PM & RM. You may also write articles refuting the scandalous suggestions made.
With regards
Maj Gen Satbir Singh, SM (Retd)
Chairman IESM
Mob: +919312404269, 0124-4110570
Email ID: satbirsm@gmail.com
Chairman IESM
Mob: +919312404269, 0124-4110570
Email ID: satbirsm@gmail.com
Copy to :-
General Dalbir Singh
PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC
Chief of the Army Staff
Integrated HQs of Ministry of Defence (Army)
South Block, New Delhi-110011
|
For information and necessary action as deemed fit.
|
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha
PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC
Chief of the Air Staff & Chairman,
Chiefs of Staffs Committee (CoSC),
Integrated HQs of Ministry of Defence (Air Force) Vayu Bhawan,
New Delhi 110011
|
Our request as above.
|
Admiral R K Dhowan, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC
Chief of the Naval Staff
Integrated HQs of Ministry of Defence (Navy) South Block, New Delhi -110011 |
Our request as above.
|
By:
Published on:March 9, 2015 12:00 am
There is an urgent need to debate the rising defence pension bill. In 2004, a debate over the mounting civilian pension bill led to the New Pension System for government employees, where pension contributions were defined and not benefits. But the armed forces were excluded from that system. Now, a beginning can be made by including pensions in the official defence budget.
In 1985, when Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister, defence pensions were removed from India’s overall defence expenditure, presumably to assuage global concerns about India’s defence bill, which was linked to its regional ambitions. The defence expenditure was then 3.6 per cent of India’s GDP. When that ratio has now come down to 1.75 per cent, the lowest in the post-1962 era, defence pensions still continue to be excluded from the defence bill. Over the years, defence pensions have grown exponentially — from Rs 1,670 crore in 1990-91 to Rs 15,244 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 50,000 crore in the current year — at a much faster pace than the defence budget. Next year, defence pensions are budgeted at Rs 54,500 crore, placed outside the official defence budget of Rs 2,46,727 crore. The pension bill is likely to rise by another Rs 8,400 crore with the implementation of the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for military veterans. Every successive Pay Commission has raised the pension burden exponentially and the Seventh Pay Commission, coupled with the effect of OROP, will hit the exchequer even harder.
Approximately 60,000 soldiers retire from the 1.3 million-strong armed forces every year but early recruitment and retirement age, coupled with increased life expectancy, means that military veterans get pensions for a longer period than their civilian counterparts. Thus India now has 1.7 defence pensioners on its rolls for every serving soldier, compared to civilian employees where the ratio is 0.56 pensioners per employee, and defence pensions will soon exceed defence salaries. Even if military veterans and soldiers can’t be moved to a New Pension System, there is a need to look at other measures, such as reducing the minimum military service period, pushing for early retirement with lateral absorption schemes and identifying a new model of defence pensions for new recruits. These are desirable not only on the grounds of fiscal prudence, but also to keep the military lean and young.
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