New disability pension norms will aid genuine cases: CDS General Anil Chauhan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 6

Even as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, defended the new rules for granting disability pension in the armed forces, a body of ex-servicemen yesterday shot off a letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh seeking withdrawal of the rules, terming these “regressive” for widows and disabled soldiers.

General Chauhan, while addressing a press conference here, said the new rules, titled “Entitlement Rules (ER) for Casualty Pension and Disability Compensation Awards to Armed Forces Personnel, 2023”, were aimed at protecting the interests of “genuine” personnel and ensuring a fitter military. These had been formulated after wide-ranging discussions among the three services. Recommendations were made by a study involving the three services, the Armed Forces Medical Services and the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare.

“The new rules do not, in any manner, alter the emoluments of war widows, family pensioners or veterans. There is no change in the entitlement for any category of personnel being granted compensation for death or disability,” General Chauhan said. Meanwhile, the All-India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association, in its letter to Rajnath Singh, said, “A disinformation campaign is underway by the official social media handles trying to project that the recent entitlement rules do not change the entitlement for any category of death or disability in service.”

There would be no retrospective implementation of the norms, General Chauhan said. “The aim of the study was to protect the genuine interests of personnel who acquire disability during service while preventing the exploitation of its liberal provisions from misuse,” the Chief of Defence Staff said at a media briefing. The Navy Chief, Admiral R Hari Kumar, the IAF Chief, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, and the Vice Chief of Army, Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar, were also present.

The new rules were brought out over five months after the Comptroller and Auditor General asked the Defence Ministry to carry out an analysis of disability among soldiers. It had found that nearly 40% of the officers and 18% of the jawans were drawing disability pensions.

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