Panel seeks to make short service commission attractive
The seventh pay panel has sought to make short service commission (SSC) in the armed forces an attractive option by recommending easier norms for exiting service and increasing the payout of retiring personnel.
The panel has recommended that SSC officers be allowed to quit any time between seven and 10 years of service, compared to the existing exit option at 10-14 years.
The panel noted the attractive exit options would encourage SSC officers to switch to other careers. It noted that such a move would provide the industry and other sectors a young crop of well trained and disciplined officers at the middle-management level.
The panel has recommended that the military service pay (MSP) and hardship allowances for soldiers also be raised. Officers up to the rank of brigadier are now likely to get an MSP of ` 15,500 per month compared to the existing ` 6,000. For junior commissioned officers and jawans, the MSP will go up from ` 2,000 to ` 5,200.
The panel has also recommended an attractive severance package for lateral entry of officers into para-military forces. A sepoy’s salary will go up ` 8,460 per month to ` 21,700 plus allowances.
The allowance for soldiers serving on Siachen is likely to go up from ` 14,000 to ` 21,000 while for officers it will increase from ` 21,000 to ` 31,500.
The pay commission has recommended that the retirement age in central armed police forces (CAPFs) like the CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB should be uniform 60 years for all CAPFs. As of now, the retirement age for officers up to commandant level is 57 years.
The pay commission has also agreed to accord martyr status to CAPFs personnel and central police organisations like the CBI, NIA as well as police forces of Union Territories and Railway Protection Force, in case of death in the line of duty.
It has also suggested an “attractive severance package” for lateral entry of retired or decommissioned defence personnel into the CAPFs apart from other services. It batted for a full coverage of House Rent Allowance to troops and officers who are deployed in difficult and far-flung border areas for various internal security duties. The commission also recommended hiking the ex-gratia lump sum compensation paid by the government to the next of kin of these troops in cases of death in the line of duty.