(The Rot N Sloth in the MoD ?)The Great Whitewash By the Ministry of Defence – By Lt Gen PC Katoch (Retd)

NEW DELHI: During a press conference on March 4, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar made a startling announcement, revealing he had discovered India was paying the US Department of Defence (DoD) for new weaponry, even though US$ 3 billion which had been earlier paid by MoD was piled up and lying forgotten in a Washington account. Despite Parrikar stating this at a press briefing, the issue curiously didn’t find mention in national dailies. MoD had reportedly put the said money in a Pentagon account for weaponry that was to be bought under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement. This is the shortest way of procuring weaponry from the US under which the DoD procures equipment on behalf of the foreign government from US vendors. The US opened up FMS sales to India in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

It is unclear when the money was paid by MoD but if it was piling up in Washington, it obviously was paid over a period of years. US$ 3 billion is not a small amount considering that in rupees today it amounts to some Rs 20,100 crores. How could it be “forgotten” if FMS procurements are supposed to be in quick time? Isn’t it intriguing that such a large amount lying unspent and earning interest money for the US was not once pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)? Of course if the CAG is a former Defence Secretary who himself was party to such stashing away of defence money in his former avatar, he obviously would remain mum.

It certainly raises a stink that needs to be thoroughly investigated by the CBI. What military modernization could have been done with US$ 3 billion can be gauged from the fact that INS Vikrant, India’s indigenously built aircraft carrier launched in August 2013 was at a cost of US$ 7.7 billion. Parrikar referred to the lapse as “because of ill-management or lack of attention to this account”. Did this comment indicate a lid was to be put on the issue in the exuberance of this new find of forgotten billions? 

With reference to the above, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has now come out with a statement which says MoD has fine-tuned FMS procedure with the US Government where all the bills have been pooled together in a corpus; so for contractual obligations the said amount is being withdrawn from the corpus - payment is being effected from the corpus of 2.3 billion US Dollars. The PIB release adds, “This has happened through scrupulous and holistic financial management. Consequently, while US government will continue to meet their contractual obligations, there will be no additional burden on Government of India on this account”. 

But under what regulations does MoD have the mandate of creating a corpus abroad to the tune of billions of dollars, especially when Parrikar clarified on March 4 that this $3 billion stash was not earning any interest for India. If , as the Defence Minister refers in an open forum, the lapse was “because of ill-management or lack of attention to this account”, without doubt it is ill-management because such an amount can’t simply be forgotten”.

On the contrary this was most likely a willful act. It does seem that billions of dollars accumulated like this over years with the CAG not pointing out the lapse could have ulterior motives? What if it was “forgotten” for a few more years? The question also arises whether there are more such stashes abroad, a possibility which exists with CAGs failing to point this out even once.

The question begging an answer is how come within a fortnight of the Defence Minister’s remarks about “ill-management”, the government is patting the bureaucracy of MoD on the back for “scrupulous and holistic financial management”? What an incredible whitewash by the MoD? What next? Awards for this stupendous feat, perhaps a cash award or allowance for Scrupulous and Holistic Financial Management? After all if the 7th Central Pay Commission recommends Rs 45,000 per month for a civil servant just to be posted at Shillong, scrupulous and holistic financial management of this type deserves many times more that paltry sum.

What the MoD has tied up with US about the corpus (PIB release) obviously is post discovery of the lapse by the Defence Minister. So, if the guilty instead of being punished are being given a pat on the back it simply leads to just one conclusion – the current dispensation like all previous ones is incapable of undertaking vital administrative reforms because of the vice like grip of the bureaucracy and the rampant corruption in the defence and governmental defence-industrial complex.

That is why the MoD simply blocks out the military’s recommendations to the 7th CPC. That is why successive CPCs have degraded the military to the best of their abilities, with the 7th CPC taking the cake. That is why 28 anomalies of the 6th CPC pointed out by the military have not even been addressed. That is why while violent quota protest causing crores of rupees loss to public and private properties evokes a response from the Govt in that the issue will be taken up in the next Parliament session, military veterans peacefully protesting at Jantar Mantar are baton charged by the police and the Defence Minister refers to the protesters as holding a gun to the head of the Govt.

A survey in The Hindu had reported, “...while the Army continued to be the most trusted institution. The civil service was perceived as the most corrupt, more so than local, State and Central governments“. The political leadership allowing the bureaucracy to weaken the morale of the military will cost the nation dear in terms of national security, as the military is called out by the state and central governments as their instrument of last resort, to pull the chestnuts out of fires frequently caused by a combination of political chicanery and bureaucratic incompetence-cum-corruption.

The civil-military divide has become the widest under the present dispensation, quite visible on national TV channels, which is making our adversaries exceedingly happy.

Rather than taking refuge behind the Make-in-India allure, the Defence Minister needs to muster courage and address the much needed reorganization of the higher defence set up including the MoD bringing in military professionals. It is disheartening to note that the Defence Budget 2016-2017 is the lowest since 1962. 

But getting back to the $3 billion stash, the Defence Minister should have pushed for institutionalizing the recommendation of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence recommendation of April 2015 . This is for a “non-lapsable and roll-on allocation” fund for 5-10 years for defence equipment, administered by experts with strict controls on timelines to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and be more attuned to practical realities. 

(The author is veteran, Special Forces of Indian Army.)

(Source- Via e-mail from A Sunder Rajan, Vet / The Citizen, online daily)

MUSINGS OF A GREAT VETERAN INVITED TO REPRESENT HIS ILK BEFORE THE RM's DARBAR - THE LIMIT OF DISSERVICE

Lt Gen Satish Bahri has circulated the following details, (With my comments juxtaposed in red), of what transpired at the last meeting of the veterans with the so called sympathetic RM :

RM started by saying that Rs 2000 crs had been distributed as arrears and pensions under OROP till date and the balance will be completed by 20 Mar 16. : Well,  Mar, '16 has come and gone, but I, (And I am sure many like myself), are yet to receive the arrears. So much for the continued false promises of the Govt, especially this RM, which is its hall mark.

Then he asked if there were any questions on OROP. A number of people like Col Arasu, Maj Gen NB Singh, Col Nain etc put up points. RM directed that now that the one man Judicial Committee has been setup all issues be referred to it. He pointedly said that if you send your points through DESW, to mark copies to him so that he can follow them up. He also said that if some one desires he can request for personal attendance to argue his point. Gen VK Singh further clarified it will be ensured all issues raised are dealt with sympathetically. Well, then again, it is typical of this Govt to continue its effort to hood wink, not just the simple soldier, but the entire Nation. Teh RM first asks the veterans, "Have you any questions on OROP, and then in the same breath, say, "Raise all issues on OROP with the one man judicial commission". Great!!! 

Is Gen V K Singh the one man  judicial commission? Since obviously he is not, who is he to assure the veterans, (On behalf of the Commission), "It will be ensured that all issues will be dealt with sympathetically"? Is he or the Govt directing the Commission on what to do?

Lastly, Maj Gen Satbir Singh raised the issue that four issues are outstanding regarding OROP, which have a total cost of approx Rs 800 crs only. The RM was quick to respond that money is not the problem but if you hold a gun to his head and demand then the govt is not going to accede to any request. He clarified that our continued fast at Jantar Mantar is putting up the back of the govt and it will not listen to anything under duress. He also clarified  regarding the claim by Satbir that Parliament has accepted the Koshiyari Committee report twice is incorrect. RM said that many committee reports are received by the govt and they are never accepted in 'toto', as it is the decision of the govt as to what it can and what it cannot. (I have seen it myself after being involved in the passage of Real Estate Regulation Act . The govt accepted/rejected some of the recommendations and improved on some).  The RM says, "If you hold a gun to its head and demand, then the Govt is not going to accede to any request". Great! The Govt, through the RM has made a few things clear to the Nation: 

(a)    No one in this largest democracy in the World, has a right to protest or agitate, even 

         peacefully and in a highly disciplined manner. To do so would not only debar the 

         person or group of people from receiving any justice, even rightful ones, from the Govt, 

         but also make the person or group of people subject to highhanded illegality 

         harassment and debasement at the hands of the Police.

(b)   Any one wishing/hoping to have their rights given to them, must go begging to the 

         Govt on bended knees, crawl before them and say, "Yes Sir, no Sir, three bags full Sir; I 

         am your humble and loyal servant; I beg of you to please oblige me."

Towards the end I raised the issue of Wg Cdr C K Sharma that he had been arrested and bodily removed by Haryana police even though they did not produce an arrest warrant. R M said that Haryana police is a law unto itself and passed some uncomplimentary remarks about it. However, he also seemed to have noticed, as I had written to him, that policemen and CAPFs are wearing disruptive pattern clothing and consequently army flag columns had to carry placards to identify themselves. He said that he had spoken and written to the HM to stop this practice. Under whose govt is the Haryana Police operating? One thing must be said of this Govt, "They are quick on the uptake". They learnt their lessons at JM, where they tried to dislodge the veterans in broad day light, in full view of the whole Nation and had to quickly step back. 

This time around, the Police went at the dead of night and yanked the sleeping soldier of the Indian Army, (The bravest of all in the 'Race'), from his bed and dragged him in his pyjamas to the police lock-up, most illegally, without any warrant.

As the RM, he is supposed to look after the welfare of all soldiers, including the veterans. What action did he take to have the Haryana Police charged for their illegal act upon a soldier on his charge? Should this act too not have been taken as an act of 'SEDITION'?

I have received a number of queries as to what had happened during the meeting even though IESM had omitted my presence, senior most retired officer, in their communications on this meeting, people somehow were aware that I too was invited. Mr R Chandrashekar or Gen VK had also brought out that due to the continued fast at JM we are losing sympathy of general public. I am also called by number of officers, JCOs and OR that why are we continuing at JM after achieving so much and why don't we negotiate amicably with the govt. Hope some one listens as I have tried my best. Well, well well, Satish Sir, as the senior most veteran, (The claim is debatable as many a chief are still alive and kicking), you did your comrades-in-arms (veteran soldiers), a great service by concurring with the Govt that the activities at JM are illegitimate and amounts to holding a gun on the Govt's head. We would have appreciated if you had to protest even politely. In fact it is the Govt which is repeatedly holding the gun of 'anti-nationalism' and the 'charge of sedition' on the head of each and every one who protests against it, even when it is for non-grant of rightful entitlements.

Where do we go from here? Is this the fate of all peacefully disciplined agitations as against the violent one recently seen in Haryana, where the Govt first abdicated all its responsibilities and then catapulted in quick time? 

Do we need to review our modus-operandi?

(Source- Samuel's world blog)

Points for Discussion With RM: 14 Mar 16

From: Satish Kumar Bahri 

 After the meeting I handed over copies of the points given in the attachment  to the RM, Gen VK Singh and Mr Rajeev Chandershekhar. FYI 

Satish Bahri
(Lt Gen SK Bahri, PVSM, Former MGO,
Chairman Alliance Of Ex Servicemen Organisations, 1^st JSW Course)

Points for Discussion With RM:
14 Mar 16

I would like to state at the outset we pensioners are dependent on what a serving soldier gets. So it is important for the govt to look after its serving soldiers as they are the spearhead of any country, even though some of our CAPFs are claiming that they are the 1^st line of defence! I have been in three ops and can tell with confidence none of these khaki clad pseudo soldiers want to be in the front line when the balloon goes up. This spearhead now feels that it is under siege from all sides. Somebody had the temerity to say that they have volunteered for this job with their eyes open and they knew their conditions of service, so why are they cribbing now. I can say with authority that when I was commissioned in 1952 we were a service apart with a special status, but after Gen Thimayya’s resignation due to his differences with his Commie RM, the then pacifist PM’s statement that the civil govt is supreme gave the civil servants an excuse to claim supremacy over the defence forces, while the political masters did not interfere. Thereafter, a concerted effort has been on to down grade the importance of the armed forces. I daresay a very dangerous course has been set which may cost the nation an unbearable price. One must remember that if the civil servants make any amount of blunders the country has a chance to rectify matters, but if the defence forces make a blunder the results could be worse than what happened to us in 1962 and to Pakistan in 1971.

I personally am disappointed with the Govt for the following reasons:-

a)    The defence services are aware that the bureaucratic environment is against them and hoped that the political hierarchy will look after their interests. Unfortunately, this hope has been belied. What is more galling is that while the civil services take the cream away, soldiers are grudgingly given watered down “chaach”, despite their sacrifices.

b)   It took us over 30 years to get the Parliament to approve OROP but again there is quibbling over a few hundred crores. Soldiers don’t quibble when the task given to them is to be carried out with inadequate equipment, for no fault of theirs. Did the political masters ever question NFU being granted for all civil servants, and how much it cost? The civil servants do not even provide an estimate so that public is not shocked as to how much it costs the country to keep the golf playingbabus in velvet. NFU has its unwarranted side effects as all civil servants are assured of progression in their careers whatever the quality of their service is, because there is no selection of the fittest one for a job. Imagine the cost to the country in terms of mediocrity being rewarded. For me to become a Lt Gen I was screened by 5 selection boards. Pray tell me how many selections our counterparts go through. It is a cakewalk for them! 

c)    It is often thrown in our face that as we get MSP, so we are adequately compensated. They never tell as what percentage of them draw deputation allowance, for just working from a different desk. We do not ask for a special allowance for being deployed in the desert, mountains or jungles. Even a person serving in Siachen is being offered a lessor allowance than a babu in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh or Ladakh. That too as a percentage of his salary unlike soldiers, who get a fixed amount whatever be their salary.

d)   Despite govt orders that no one will wear uniform items similar to the army uniform. But right under the nose of the MHA and MOD every CAPF wears camouflage uniforms. With the result that in the recent Haryana riots Army flag march columns had to carry banners with ARMY written on them to identify themselves, as the police and BSF/CRPF personnel standing by the roadside were wearing similar uniforms. It is surprising that every police force wants to play soldiers without its culture or training.  Some of us noticed that the last DG NSG was wearing a red band on his turban instead of a black/navy blue band. Also, it is disheartening that an outfit whose backbone is sourced from the Army is headed by a policeman, who has not run through even an obstacle course in the last 20 years, and is not an officer from the Special Forces. The Defence Security Corps has been guarding airbases, naval installations, ammunition depots, ordnance factories, defence PSUs and army workshops but are not required to wear camouflage uniform. But CISF wears it while guarding airports (not done in any other country) and even I am sure, Reliance oil refinery in Jamnagar!

e)   Soldiers have to fight, go to Courts to get their dues. 6^th CPC is a prime example of soldiers having to fight for rank pay, pension fixation at bottom of pay band, and broad banding of disability pension. A few years ago Maj Gens had to go to court as their pension was fixed below that of Brigs. Why does MOD let this happen? Does it not know the difference in ranks of the armed forces? And when SC ordered payment of 6 % interest to the affected people who had been denied rank pay, MOD appealed against this and got SC to amend the order to deny interest worth 20 yrs. A reasonable govt would not have appealed and instead taken action against the people who had played this fraud on the soldiers. Something unthinkable in our country.

f)    A recent instance is of the CDA(P) seeking clarifications from MOD on payment of OROP. To every query the answer from MOD was to ensure that the soldier gets lesser of the two options posed by the CDA(P). The Chairman 7^th CPC has lauded the Secretary of the Commission, an IDA&AS officer for his extensive knowledge of the armed forces and so had tendered expert advice. I would like to state that I as a CO had to send cases of rum to our PAO at Deolali, like other COs, just to get the Part II orders of my JCOs & OR published so that they could get their legitimate allowances. I also had the honour of informing the Secy Def Fin, Chief and the RRM, as MGO that a Director (Budget) in the MOD was demanding Rs 20 Lakhs from the CMD of a company for issuing an order for engines, which I had got cleared from the RRM. Nobody did anything about it and he was instead posted to the UN. But the man was sentenced to 10 yrs RI in New York as he tried the Indian tricks when posted in UNO’s procurement section.

Sir, in the interest of National security, please integrate servicemen in the Ministry in the true sense of the word, so that there is transparency and expert advice in its functioning and you get to know what is happening. When I retired in 1990 I am aware that none of the Chiefs was on speaking terms with the Defence Secretary. The DESW must be headed by a service officer who can do justice to ESM. Most western countries have e retired General officer as Minister of Veteran Affairs so that the PM and RM get correct advice, uncoloured by parochial views. Why do we do it differently?

OROP must be given in the true form with effect from 1 Apr 2014 based on pensions drawn during FY 2013/14 2014 as the start point, it should be based not on the average but on the maximum pension of the rank and qualifying service, this will leave room for fudging of figures by CDA(P). Also pensions should be revised every year and not every 5 years as envisaged by the Koshiyari Committee. The Nation has enough money and it should not stint on its armed forces, which have ensured the security of the nation and allowed it to prosper unhindered. Therefore, Soldiers should be rewarded for their consistent performance.

Lt Gen SK Bahri

(Source- Via e-mail from Col NK Balakrishnan (Retd)

Big reform: Modi government plans to redeploy bureaucrats and reduce patronage postings - By Vasudha Venugopal, ET Bureau

 | Mar 22, 2016, 10.57 AM IST

Officials familiar with the reform plan told ET this redeployment will coincide with a broader plan to “rightsize” the government.

NEW DELHI: Modi Sarkar is radically reorganising the bureaucracy, and the two signature reforms will be, first, one out of every five bureaucrats in the Centre will work on PM Narendra Modi's top priority schemes — Make in India, Jan Dhan Yojana, Swachh Bharat, Digital India and Skill India —and, two, the long-standing practice of post-retirement sinecures will come under serious scrutiny.

To start with, 1,800 bureaucrats in top ministries, excluding a few such as the defence, will be scrutinised in the first phase, of which at least 400 will be put to work on half a dozen key schemes championed by the PM— unprecedented in India's administrative history.

The reform may also kill several posts created to accommodate retired babus. Officials familiar with the reform plan told ET this redeployment will coincide with a broader plan to "rightsize" the government.

Recruiting high-skilled professionals and dedicRecruiting high-skilled professionals and dedicated specialist technology/communications team in each department are also part of this reform. Officials, who spoke on the condition they not be identified, said a task force set up by the Prime Minister's Office ( PMO) and manned by "senior, trusted bureaucrats" will give its recommendations by April-end.

Officials from the cabinet secretariat, the department of personnel and training and the expenditure department are leading the task force and analysing manpower requirements and appointments in 600 departments, over 2,000 subordinate offices and over 10,000 aligned government organisations spread across the country.

The task force has been mandated to rationalise senior positions, review roles, and take a radical look at recruitment processes and numbers. Giving an example, an official said many ministries retain posts for schemes even after schemes have been discontinued or merged. "Across ministries there are officials deployed for the previous United Progressive Alliance government's flagship schemes that no longer exist...there is no work, but posts remain. And we need more people for the present government's programmes.

We are looking at ways to partly shift this workforce to priority areas of the government." The task force will identify "patronage postings" or post-retirement postings created across ministries over many years and examine their utility. Five meetings with senior officials, with the PM present in two, have been already held on this issue. Reallocating work to states, since financial devolution to states has increased dramatically, is also a part of the plan.

"The government reduced the number of centrally-sponsored schemes to 27 from 72 last year. Now, with 42% of the central funds going to states, the central bureaucracy must be refashioned," another official closely involved with the reform plan said.

Reducing the number of steps in making government appointments is also a major goal for the task force. Officials said if implemented thoroughly, the reform will reduce the number of ministries and departments, but added that this won't be the immediate effect.

__._,_.___

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(Source - Via e-mail from Col  YR Raghavan Retd)

Pay Commission Award To Get Cabinet Nod In June: PMO

New Delhi: The Seventh pay commission award for Central Govt employees will be placed for Cabinet’s nod in June after the completion of T N, W B, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry States assemblies’ poll process, the Prime Minister’s Office official said on Thursday. The proposal is almost ready to be recommended by the Empowered Committee of Secretaries on the VII th CPC recommendation, according to the PMO official.

There were some disputes among the Central Govt employees’ bodies about the Pay Commission recommendations, which are under consideration of Secretaries Committee. Following the context, the Finance Ministry sent an interim report on the proposed pay structure, including the disputes surrounding it, to the PMO.

PMO sent it back to the ministry with instruction to address the genuine concerns raised by stakeholders and accommodate their demands as much as possible. After these processes, it will be sent to the cabinet in June, the official said.

Although, there is indication that the Empowered Committee is also positively mulling the demand of Central Govt employees for hiking the minimum pay, which was recommended very low by the Seventh pay commission and removing anomalies of Seventh pay commission recommendations like scrapping of advances, allowances.

It is likely to take another 45 to 60 days to settle the issue, in the mean time, the model code of conduct, which is currently in place for five states assemblies’ poll, which will end May 21, so,that’s the right time to implement the Seventh pay commission award in June, according to the official.

This means although the new pay structure is to be in place since July 1, the Central Govt employees may start drawing the increased salaries from January with arrears of the previous six months. But the House Rent Allowance (HRA) will be paid from the date of the Seventh pay commission award implementation.

The Seventh Pay Commission headed by Justice A K Mathur recommended the minimum basic pay of central government employees is Rs 18,000 per month while the maximum is Rs 2.25 lakh per month, its increased the pay gap between the minimum and maximum from existing 1:12 to 1: 13.8.

“All pay commissions made up pay gap between employees and higher officers from second Pay Commission 1:41 ratio to Sixth pay commission 1:12, except it,” said the official.

(Source : Staffnews.in / The Sen Times )

MODIJI HIS LIFE, JOURNEY & AS A 'SADHU' IN YOUTH - FROM CHAI WAALA TO PRIME MINISTER - FROM SADHU TO WISDOM PM (and REVIVAL OF HINDU INDIA)

Look at PM, Modi's life......a journey from a humble background to the PM of modern India. This will tell you why he is so clean and devoted to India.  The following are some rare pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, living as a 'sadhu' in the Himalayas in his youth. According to Lord Krishna, the spiritual knowledge of Bhagavad Gita was originally meant for the raja-rishis, the saintly kings, who would help guide society with that divine knowledge. evam parampara praptam - imam rajarshayo viduh – Bhagavad Gita 4.2 “Through the spiritual chain of parampara the saintly kings understood this spiritual knowledge of yoga, union with the divine.” Let us pray that for first time modern India will be guided by a raja-rishi, and society will again be governed by dharma.....Amen! Sitting on the banks of the Ganges in the himalayas. Here are some other rare photos of Narendra Modi in his youth when he was working for RSS. A picture of young Narendra Modi in which he is seen as a volunteer of National Cadet Corps (NCC). 14 year old Narendra Modi is seen participating in a school play at B. N. High School, Vadnagar, Gujarat, playing the role of 19th century chieftain Jogidas Khuman who waged a principled armed struggle against the then ruler of Bhavnagar, Gujarat. MODIJI WALK ON..... WONDER ON... N SAVE MOTHER INDIA Walk on Modiji and save Mother INDIA Jai Bharat Jai HindYOUR INDIA MY INDIA OUR INDIA The current Prime Minister is a rare gem, hard to find especially in the murky world of politics, like a diamond among coals. Let us hope if any of those in the picture, peons or cleaning staff, become Prime Minister, they also keep high ethical and moral standards like Chi. Narendra Modiji. MODIJI WITH THE WORKERS = CLEANERS/SWEEPERS                                                                                                                                    Sitting on stairs in BJP office with peons and cleaning staff.  It is hard to deny the fact that India has got such a PM after Independence.  जी की सादगी और संस्कार हर जनता के दिल को छूती है। हमें गर्व है ऐसे व्यक्ति की #भक्त होने पर । 3/6 PM Modi doing Aarti to the Deities at the Centenary  Celebrations of Gaudiya Mission and Math

(SOURCE-VIA E-MAIL FROM COL RB MISTRY RETD)

National Commission for Ex-servicemen, Veterans Commission

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 2474

ANSWERED ON: 11.03.2016

National Commission for Ex-servicemen

MAHEISH GIRRI
Will the Minister of DEFENCE be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the Government is planning to set up a National Commission for Ex-servicemen;

(b) if so, whether the Government had drafted National Commission for Ex-servicemen Bill, 2015;

(c) if so, the status of the Bill; and 

(d) the expected timeline for setting up of the commission?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (RAO INDERJIT SINGH) IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

(a) & (b): In pursuance of Hon’ble President’s Statement made in the Address to the Joint Session of Parliament on 9th June 2014, regarding Government’s decision to appoint a Veterans Commission, the National Commission for Ex-Servicemen Bill, 2015 has been drafted.

(c) & (d): The comments of Department of Legislative Affairs and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances have been obtained. The matter is under consideration of the Government.

(Source- Staff news)