New Delhi: The new rules for granting disability pensions to armed forces personnel were brought out following wide-ranging discussions among the three services and they are aimed protecting interests of the “genuine” people and ensuring a fitter military, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan said Friday.
The provisions of the revised entitlement rules will be applicable for the armed forces personnel who retired after September 21 and there will be no retrospective implementation of the norms, he said.
The new rules titled ‘Entitlement Rules (ER) for Casualty Pension and Disability Compensation Awards to Armed Forces Personnel, 2023’ was brought out based on the recommendations of a study involving the three services, Armed Forces Medical Services and the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare.
“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 in presence of Navy Chief R Hari Kumar, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Vice Chief of Army Lt Gen M V Suchindra Kumar.
The new rules were brought out over five months after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) asked the defence ministry to carry out an analysis of the disability among soldiers after finding out that nearly 40 per cent of the officers, and 18 percent of personnel below officer rank (PBOR), who retire every year, were drawing disability pensions.
There have been apprehensions among certain quarters of the ex-servicemen after the new rules governing the grant of disability pension were unveiled.
The Chief of Defence Staff said most of the concerns of the ex-servicemen community were addressed by a panel of officers at a meeting October 3.
In the new rules, the defence ministry introduced a new concept of ‘impairment relief’ that is largely aimed largely at addressing lifestyle related diseases.
The armed forces personnel get higher payouts of up to 30 per cent of their pension emoluments based on the percentage of disability.
“The provisions of the revised ER for grant of disability pension will be applicable for those personnel who retire after September 21. It has no retrospective application,” Gen Chauhan said.
“It does 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,” he said.
Gen Chauhan said the “disability element” has been renamed as “impairment relief in respect of only those personnel who are not invalidated out due to their nature of disabilities and continue to serve till their term of engagement.”
“The change in name to impairment relief does not affect the nature of entitlement or quantum of emoluments,” he said.
The Chief of Defence Staff said the new rules were brought out also to enhance the efficiency of the overall functioning of the three services.
Separately, the defence ministry said there are no policy or entitlement related changes in the revised ER.
It said ER have been revised with the aim to streamline the procedure followed for assessment and entitlement without any ambiguity to avoid litigation.
“All deaths and disability reported/recorded after September 21 will be governed by ER 2023 and GMO (Guide to Medical Officers) 2023,” it said in a statement.
“The ER and the GMO, 2023 do not in any way affect past pensioners/family pensioners already in receipt of death/ disability compensation/family pension,” it said.
The ministry said only those personnel who are boarded out of service on medical grounds before completing their terms of engagement are treated as invalided from service.
“They are eligible for disability pension which is a composite monthly pension that comprises a service element and a disability element,” it said.
“The PBORs and equivalent who are permanently placed in a low medical category and are discharged because no alternative employment could be provided to them suitable to their medical category or are discharged before completing their terms of engagement after providing suitable alternative employment are ‘deemed to have been invalided’ from service,” it said.
This provision does not apply to officers.
The ministry said “armed forces personnel who are retained in service despite a disability, held attributable to or aggravated by military service post conduct of retention cum impairment assessment medical board are eligible to be awarded ‘capitalized impairment relief’ on foregoing which they become eligible for the award of monthly ‘impairment relief’ at the time of his retirement/discharge.”
“This ‘impairment relief’ may be paid in addition to retiring pension/ gratuity (officers) or service pension/gratuity (PBORs), as per their length of qualifying service,” it said.
The ministry said the impairment relief is the same as the erstwhile ‘disability element’.
It said the name has been changed to distinguish it from ‘disability element’ of ‘disability pension’, awarded to personnel invalided from service.
“There is no change in the rate of ‘Impairment Relief’ vis-a-vis ‘Disability Element’,” it said.
PTI