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Has the military been given a raw deal on the pay front?
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Lt Gen Harwant Singh | Date:04 Aug , 2012 17 Comments
Lt Gen Harwant Singh
Former Deputy Chief of Army Staff. He also commanded a corps in J&K.

6Th Central Pay Commission (CPC) had, besides a few bureaucrats as part of the commission, approximately 125 officers drawn from various central services, (but none from the defence services)  such as, postal service, Indian forest Service, police  etc, on its staff to work out the nitty-gritty of the report. Predictably, these representatives from the central services, exerting pressure, did manage to extract their pound of flesh by way of Non Functional Up gradation, (NFU) besides a number of other perks.

… a babu may avail all the privileges that accrue to a senior citizen, the day after he retires. As against this, ninety nine percent in the military retire well before the age of 60 years.

NFU implies that, if the 1992 batch IAS officer climbs into the Joint Secretary grade in 2012, then every Group A central service officer of the 1990 batch would automatically get the pay and allowance equivalent to the 1992 batch IAS officers, irrespective of the post they may be occupying. This would happen at approximate service of 18/20 years. It also implies that every single central service officer will retire with the same pension as that of an additional secretary to the government of India.

Competency and performance would no more come into play for advancement is service with no limit to the higher level pay and allowances.  Bureaucracy has obviously been on the rampage and this indeed is scandalous. When the retirement age for the babus was raised from 58 to 60 years, the age at which one became a senior citizen was also brought down from 65 years to 60 years, whereas all this while age expectancy has been going up in India.   This was done so that a babu may avail all the privileges that accrue to a senior citizen, the day after he retires. As against this, ninety nine percent in the military retire well before the age of 60 years.

Non Functional Up-gradation ( NFU ) is applicable to all group A central services (over four dozen of them ) but not the military, because, it is argued, that military is not a  central service. If that be so then how come there have been common CPCs, for the armed forces and group A central services. This exclusion of defence services from NFU, is not only  a case of gross injustice, it has created a set of command and control, as well as functional problems for the military in dealing with, BRO, MEO, central police, ( in many sectors along the national borders, such units work under the control of the military )  etc.

This exclusion of armed forces personnel from NFU has also led to lowering the status of military officers vis-à-vis Group A central service officers. With over 97 per cent armed forces officers retiring in the Grade Pay of 8700, their exclusion from the NFU is seen as a deliberate and calculated attempt to grossly disadvantage and marginalize them. This differential disturbs financial parity and further lowers status of defence services officers. Even directly recruited officers of Group B services, attain  better pay and promotional avenue and manage to reach the level of Joint Secretary/ maj-gen before retiring, where as less than one percent in the armed forces get up to that rank. Even if NFU is granted to the military, it will not, unlike the civil services, come into full play due to early retirement for the vast majority.

Army’s demand for grant of NFU is a mere reaction to the above noted development. Veterans returning their medals to the President is indication enough of their desperation.

It is a case of each to itself. When Legislators and Parliamentarians have cornered all manner of perks and privileges, higher judiciary could not be left behind and the IAS, IFS, IPS and allied services not only engineered proliferation of higher appointments but arranged ample re-employment avenues. Therefore, others, amongst the class A central services have sought bonanza in NFU. Administrative efficiency, country and its economy is the least concern of the powers that be.

Army’s demand for grant of NFU is a mere reaction to the above noted development. Veterans returning their medals to the President is indication enough of their desperation. Finally, PMO has appointed a committee of secretaries under the cabinet secretary to go into six of the 39 anomalies created by the 6ht CPC in relation to the armed forces.

A President, two PMs, two RMs and two Committees of Parliament, have in the past, unequivocally accepted the need for grant One Rank One Pension ( OROP ) and now this committee of secretaries has been tasked to pass judgment on this very issue! So this then is Indian democracy for you!

Committee of secretaries under the cabinet secretary in the past rejected the demand for OROP. All members of this committee will, on retirement, end up getting some or the other government job for another five to ten years, so how can they feel the pain of those who are retired at age 35/37 or for the vast majority of officers at age 54 years.

If this relentless and persistent discrimination against the defence forces and their periodic down gradation, were to continue, few bright young men would want to join the armed forces. When suitable young men shun military service during peace, the nation will inevitably find its troops badly led during war with predictable consequences for the country.

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The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Indian Defence Review.

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17 thoughts on “Has the military been given a raw deal on the pay front?

  1. Straightforward, factual n brilliantly articulated piece. Its high time the RM n PM understand the seriousness of the matter brought out by the distinguished senior Veteran. There is a need for these leaders to understand the meanness of these Babues n injustice/step-motherly treatment given to the Defense Forces. We veterans must continue our efforts relentlessly n fight for justice n fairness. Thanks Gen Harwant Singh n kind regards, Sukhi.

  2. THE DEFENCE SERVICE GENERALS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SORRY STATE OF THE OFFICER CADRES AND THEN BLAME THE MOD BABUS . WHAT STOPS THE GENERALS FROM PROMOTING ALL OFFICERS UPTO MAJ GEN RANK ON TIME , IF A OFFICER IS UNFIT LET HIM GO AFTER 2TO 3 YEARS . THEY WANT TO FIRST SUCK HIS BLOOD , THEN RETIRE HIM AT 40 WHEN HIS BACK IS BROKEN . IF HE WANTS TO LEAVE AFETR 5 OR TEN YEARS THEY HARRASS HIM . EARLIAR THE CLEVER BABUS HARRASSED OFFICERS OF JUNIOR AND MIDDLE RANK TODAY THE GENERALS FIND AFTER RETIREMENT THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE COMMON MAN ON THE STREET . FOR PERSONNEL PELF AND GLORY THE GENERALS SACRIFICED THE OFFICER CORPS TODAY THEY FIND THEY ARE HUMILATED , SIDELINED AND PUSHED BY THE BABUS . WHO LET IT HAPPEN . THEY THEMSELVES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DOWNSLIDE , WHY BLAME OTHERS .

  3. THE SCHEME OF NFU IS NOT APPLICABLE TO OFFICERS OF PARAMILITARY FORCES .IT IS ONLY APPLICABLE TO IPS OFFICERS COMING ON DEPUTATION TO THESES FORCES.THE BSF, CRPF OFFICERS ARE STAGNATING AT AT POST OF DY COMDT FOR MORE THAN 17 YEARS AND THERE IS NO HOPE FOR NEXT 4-5 YEARS .IT MEANS THEY WILL DY COMDTS FOR TOTAL ABOUT 20 YEARS.THIS SITUATION IS GOING TO DETERIORATES FOR JUNIOR OFFICERS AND MANY OF YOUNG OFFICERS GOING TO RETIRE FROM THE POST OF DY COMDTS. IN BSF THERE IS PEACE POSTING. PERSONS FROM KASHMIR ON POSTING GOING TO NE OR NAXAL PRONE AREA.IT IS ALSO A MISCONCEPTION IN THE MINDS OF PUBLIC THAT AT THE TIME OF WAR BSF WILL BE CALLED BACK,BUT IT IS A FACT THAT DURING WAR BSF POSTS ARE RE-ORGANISED AND BSF COMPANIES FOUGHT UNDER THE COMMAND OF ARMY.NO ARMY TACTICAL PLAN CAN BE MADE WITHOUT INVOLVING BSF. THE CONTRIBUTION OF BSF DURING 1971 IS A EVIDENCE OF THIS FACT.HEN THE GOVT WANTS DUTY FROM THESE FORCES THEY SAID THEY ARE ARMED FORCES OF INDIA BUT WHEN THESE FORCES ASK FOR THEIR DUES THEY SAY ,THESE FORCES ARE PART OF CENTRAL POLICE HENCE HOLDING A CIVIL POST.THE SACRIFICES BY TROOPS OF THESE PARA MILITARY FORCES IS MUCH MORE THAN ANY OTHER FORCE OF THE NATION.YOU CAN FIND OUT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CAUSALITY THEY SUFFER EVERY YEAR.

  4. Sir, the Defence is always given a raw deal in every pay commission, so it is our second nature to lump them all.

    But don’t you think if non-IAS service offrs are promoted with this two year rule, they should all be considered Time Scale promotion. A promotion by merit and vacancy is a promotion by selection. But if all who meet a certain basic criteria and happen to be two years senior to their IAS counterparts are promoted without considering availablity of vacancies, then it should be considered Time Scale promotion only.

    So the Army Offrs in some of the Departments like DRDO, Svy of India, DEAL, DGQA who get promoted to Maj Gen ranks primarily upon the years of service criteria should be considered Time Scale promotion only.

    Sir, I after serving 26 years in the Army got my Col rank but it is Col (TS). All these Major Generals in Svy of India, DRDO, DGQA and so on, they also got their ranks because of length of service in that department which does not retire them at 54, so they will have long years of service and will qualify for promotion under this rule. I am sorry to say, but are such time scale Maj Gen of civilian departments (though looking after services interest) equal to the Selection Grade Generals of the defence services. When I get a time scale rank, my submission is that all such convertee Generals/Brigadiers/Colonels who get the rank because of this rule be considered Time Scale only.

    Also I do not find your email ID in the end of the article where I can send you some more relevant material because posting all such information on the net which is freely accessible to any will not be in the best interest of the services.

    Warm regards,

    Col HS Panvar

  5. THE GOVT AND THE COUNTRY DOES NOT CARE FOR THE SERVICES. THERE IS NO JUSTICE AND FAIR PLAY EITHER. THIS IS JUST A CAREER OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE. CONSEQUENTLY,THE MORE SUITABLE, ARE FINDING OTHER AVENUES OF EMPLOYMENT. ONLY THE LEFT OUT ARE OPTING FOR THE SERVICES. THIS IS TRUE FOR THE SOLDIERS AND OFFICERS. IT HAS BEEN A GREAT MISTAKE TO HAVE TAKEN UP THIS CAREER AND RETIRED. ASPIRANTS LOOKING FOR THIS CAREER – BEWARE !

  6. The Military has been getting a raw deal from the Govt.of India since the 1950 ‘s..Mr Nehru’s Forward policy against china which ended in a disaster in 1962 is well known…Less well known is The Hidden & insidous ” FORWARD POLICY ” AGAINST THE MILITARY that the Politico-Bureaucratic nexus of india started in the 1950’s by systematically ENROACHING on their Territory / Domain / Turf / responsibilities / Status, protocol & pay etc.It started with the abolition of the post of C in C in the 1950’s,Keeping the Service HQ’s & Military out of the Min.of defence, Disregarding professional advice by the Generals,Degrading the Military in Status / protocol / Pay vs the Civil officers, Keeping the Military out of the loop in Decisions relating To Defence & National Security,Neglecting the Armed Forces & their proper requirements & Continually humiliating & Downgrading the Military at every level. India needs a new Breed of rulers that Stop this neglect & the raw deal that is being handed out to the Military.

  7. The Govt has devised a fantastic solution to treat the Army the way it does. Tame the top and screw the rest. The so ‘Tamed Top’ does all the unscrupulous bidding for these scheming politicians and bureaucrats for the post of a ‘Governor’ here or once in a while an ‘Ambassador’ there. Notice these Generals talking before they are expecting to be so rewarded and after they have lost hope of all such rewards. Suddenly every thing that a soldier should stand for comes back to them. So where was this soldier in you Sir, all these years when you were dancing to the tune of the same scheming politicians and bureaucrats.

  8. The best brains join the corporate world, the second best join the govt service.The fools join the forces and idiots among them get to be generals ! A quote of a management Guru !

  9. There was a time when the cream of Indian youth were keen on joining the Defence Forces. No more. If you pay peanuts and you will get monkeys. That’s what is happening in the Indian Defence Forces now. Sad that I have to say this.

  10. The writing is on the wall … leading the military at junior levels is becoming more and more difficult due to the failure of successive govts to look after the interests of the foot soldiers.The senior military leadership is as responsible as the civilian side of the govt… if a soldier does not fight well for his country he is coward… same analogy for an officer who does not fight for the rights of his soldiers/subordinate officers.
    But history is replete with examples of soldier being overlooked after nations are no longer involved in wars of survival… and very soon these hitherto powerful nations no longer have best soldiers and are defeated by another upstart…so will be the case with us … just a question of time.

  11. Editorial Page

    Thursday, June 2, 1949

    NO SECOND PRIZE IN WAR

    When Congress defeated the Bill providing better pay for Commissioned and Non-Commissioned Officers of the Armed Services, blunt General Omar N Bradley, Chief of Staff of the Army, did some plain talking. He said:

    “More than any institution, the Army is in the business of People. If we are forever to be outbid for the services of outstanding men, then I submit that we shall entrust our Security future to rejects content to make their way in a steady job at steady pay.

    An Army so handicapped in peace time cannot cope to produce the Marshalls and Eisenhowers it needs in War.

    Bargain personnel seldom produce a bargain Security system. Yet our Government clings to the theory that it can deal forever in basement prices on the talents of men. We are in danger of making Patriotism a luxury that the most able men can no longer afford. For today, a talented young manmust choose between a Military career and the prospect of greater abundance for his family. By our failure to modernize pay scales, we have told him he can’t have both.

    Inferior inducements attract second rate men. Second rate men invite second rate Security. In war there is no second prize for the runner-up”.

    ——————————

    That is the case in a nutshell.

    There is no Security in having the world’s second best Defence establishment.

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