Both sites, Lukung and Chushul, witnessed bloody battles during the 1962 India-China war

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, July 7

As armies of India and China maintain their respective positions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, New Delhi, in an apparent psychological operation (psyop), has added an element of “faith” and “reverence” by installing statues of Lord Buddha at two LAC hotspots —Lukung and Chushul.

The statues have been installed as part of the “developmental effort” under the government’s “Vibrant Village Programme”.

Both Lukung and Chushul stood witness to bloody battles during the 1962 India-China war. The Indian troops held back the Chinese at both these places.

2 unveiled, 2 on cards

• Statues showing Buddha in Bhumisparsha Mudra were unveiled at Lukung & Chushul along the LAC last week
• Two more similar statues will also come up; one of these at Demchok, while the location for the other is yet to be finalised

Similar statues are planned to be installed at two more locations. One of these will be installed at Demchok, while the location for the other one is yet to be decided, sources maintain.

The statues at Lukung and Chushul were unveiled last week with Army officials and the local population in attendance. Indian Army’s 14 Corps put out a post on X yesterday with a video of the statues, besides mentioning: “Upholding essence of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family) to foster solidarity, preserve spiritual values and eternal peace in forward areas of eastern Ladakh.”

The locations of the statues are significant. Lukung is on the north-western edge of Pangong Tso, while the statue at Chushul faces the Spanggur Gap, the border meeting point of the two armies. The Chinese garrison of Moldo is around 8 km from there.

History of the Conflict with China-1962, a book released for “restricted” circulation by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in March 1993, tells how Indian troops held on in Ladakh, most notably at Rezang La in eastern Ladakh, 5 km south-east of Chusul hamlet.

“The Indian soldier was defeated but not disgraced in Ladakh,” it said. Lukung is near “Finger 4” on the north bank of Pangong Tso where the Chinese had been held back by the Indian Army in 1962.

According to the video released by 14 Corps, the statues show Lord Buddha in “Bhumisparsha Mudra”. Stanford University’s newsletter “Mudras of the Great Buddha: Symbolic Gestures and Postures” describes the “Bhumisparsha Mudra” as “touching the earth”. “It symbolises Buddha’s enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, when he summoned earth goddess Sthavara to bear witness to his attainment of enlightenment,” it adds.

“Guns, tanks, missiles and troops will remain at their existing locations. The statues of the apostle of non-violence (Buddha) are not indicative of any change in our military and diplomatic stance,” said an official.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the SCO Summit at Astana in Kazakhstan on July 4.

A statement said: “The two ministers had an in-depth exchange of views on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in eastern Ladakh to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations.”

An official said the statues were also an attempt to bolster the morale of Ladakhi Buddhists residing here for centuries. “The Great Game in the Buddhist Himalayas”, former diplomat Phunchok Stobdan’s book that was published in 2019, says: “Modern-day Buddhism in the Himalayas is influenced by ‘Tibetenisation’. The book mentions how the Indian Buddhist tradition of Nalanda and Vikramshila practised by Sakyas and Vajracharyas is being allowed to die down. There was no effort to sustain the Indian Buddhist tradition.”

Were part of unit crossing gushing Shyok in Ladakh

Tribune News Service

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, July 7

The five Army men who recently drowned in the Shyok river in eastern Ladakh had battled the gushing waters for almost six hours before being washed away, Army sources said. A Court of Inquiry, which is currently underway, is looking at multiple angles behind the mishap.

Rescue boat too capsized in river

• Incident took place on June 20 when tanks were crossing river
• A Russian T-72 tank with 5 crew members got stuck due to sudden rise in water level

The incident took place at 1 am on June 20 when the Army men were crossing the river in a Russian T-72 tank as part of a drill to practice movement in exigency. The exercise was being held at a mountainous terrain at an altitude of more than 13,000 ft. The tank got stuck in the river due to a sudden increase in the water level.

With their tank getting submerged and rescue efforts underway, the five stood on the top of it for almost six hours before the river washed them and the tank away, the Army sources said. The Shyok was flowing at almost 40 km per hour that night. The Army’s attempts to launch rescue missions failed with one rescue team barely surviving a mishap of its own. The Army’s 14 Corps headquartered at Leh, in a statement on X on June 29, said the incident happened while the tank crew was de-inducting from a military training activity. “An army tank got stuck in the Shyok river, near Saser Brangsa, Eastern Ladakh, due to a sudden increase in the water level.”

Rescue teams rushed to the location, but due to heavy water current, the rescue mission couldn’t succeed and the five tank crew members lost their lives, the Army had said.

Giving details of the incident, the sources said the Army had specialised boats on standby, called BAUT (boat assault universal type). One such BAUT was launched to rescue the tank crew, but it capsized in the fast-flowing river and the rescue team barely survived.

Tanks have the ability to float in the water and keep moving forward. A column of tanks was crossing the fast-flowing Shyok river as part of the exercise in the dead of the night. The five were in the last tank in the column. In Eastern Ladakh, the Army has identified spots where tanks can cross the Indus and some its tributaries.

The Shyok that descends from the Eastern flank of the Rimo Kangri glacier is a rapidly flowing tributary of the Indus. There was a sudden increase in its water level due to the melting of snow. The terrain is tree-less and the water after the melting of snow at the mountain peaks rushes straight into the river running through the valley. The river is about 60-70 m wide and swimming in these conditions would have been impossible for the rescue team as also for the five who got washed away, the sources added.

Under The time has come that we have to file our Income Tax returns by 31 July 2024, Unfortunately Forms 16 from SPARSH are still awaited. As per information available these are likely to be loaded on our SPARSH accounts during first week of July 24. Even though Enough information is available on our Annual Information Statement which ch can be downloaded from the Income tax site after logging in. 

   Our Financial adviser has advised that we should compare the Form 16 , Form 26AS and AIS with our own charts made based on pension slips 

before filing the ITRs. The very first question is which regime we may take, this post is being published for the benefit of our veterans to decided themselves rather than the advise from their return filers. 

**HOW IT IMPACTS OUR TAX SAVING INVESTMENTS**

Under the New REGIME revised tax slabs were announced so as to make the NEW REGIME more popular and lesser taxing than the OLD REGIME which stands unchanged for the last many years. This REGIME is applicable for the currrent ITR Filing by 31 Jul 2024 and is the default REGIME as such if one wishes to take Old Regime one needs to select the option while editing your ITR while filing irrespective of the option exercised earlier on SPARSH for the deduction of TDS.

There being thus two options for us for Income Tax Filing.  Which one should we select is the main question in our mind. Our team has researched to resolve this complexity and have found that there can

be no set thumb rule which may be followed universaly. We have to know even if roughly our Tax Liability under both regimes based on your age, Gross Income and applicable deductions under the OLD REGIME to take the final decision, for this we need to calculate tax separately for the two REGIMES . To simplyfy this issue our team has devised here a comparitive “on line tool” to know in one minute as to which Regime should be taken by you based on your data.

While there are no changes in the OLD REGIME on deductions, some deductions have now been allowed under the New Regime as well. Apart from the Standard deduction of Rs 50000/- for the pensioners and  deduction under Sec 57iii i.e Rs 15000 or 1/3 of the basic family pension for family pensioners all other deductions are not applicable for us as defence veterans. 

KNOW YOUR NCOME TAX

FOR FIN YR 2023-24 CORRESPONDING TO AY 2024-25

There are many methods “On line” as well as manual for calculation of the Tax under the two Regimes turn by turn. We are much pleased to present our simple method, devised by our techy team member in the lay man’s language for ease of knowing your opetion with least of efforts in five minutes, that too accurately. 

Before we explain the methodology, we need to firstly work out our Gross Total Income from all sources as usual, Secondly jot down our deductions applicable for OLD REGIME as we have been doing till date (help is also available in this post in this regard at the end) and Thirdly the applicable deductioon for REVISED NEW REGIME if you are a salaried employee or a pensioner. as explained above. 

These three items are the only figures you need to know to proceed further as given in succeeding paras. 

CALCULATION WITH OUR ON LINE TOOL

There are number of on line calculators which are availbale on the web for calculations. However we present here our own tool designed by one of our techy manager for your use. It is so simple that it required NO MATH CALCULATIONS by us. It is the only tool which simultaneously give results for both regimes and compare them to for both Regimes.

Please see the colourful window below, there are three green boxes/cells  where some default figures are already there as an example given later in this post. Apart from these three boxes/cells none other is editable and cannot be manuplated,

Please insert the three figures as worked out above in the respective.Green Box by clicking on the box and re-typing your figures, After entering  click any where on the tool, Your results will COME UP.

   NOTE – The default result of More Beneficial REGIME at the bottom right is for Senior Citizen Pensioners as applicable for the OLD REGIME.  As you know there are no specified categories, Sr Ctz etc  of the tax payers under NEW REGIME.

Since the above results are for senior citizen, individuals below 60 yrs should add Rs 2500/- to the basic tax only under old regime and those above 80 Yrs should deduct Rs 10000/- from the basic tax ONLY  under the old regime. 

ALL CHANGES IN THE SLABS AND RATE OF TAX  FOR NEW REGIME AND DEDUCTIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN THIS TOOL INCL MARGINAL TAX RELIEF UNDER THE NEW REGIME. 

The accuracy of the calculations is 99.9%. 

  Members may also take their decisions on their tax saving investments for the Financial year starting on 01 Apr 2024, based on the results displayed by  the calculator. Since deductions have been done away in NEW REGIME there is no need to invest for tax saving option.

OLD  Vs NEW REGIME – Example as default in ON LINE TOOL ABOVE

  Let us suppose that for the Fin Yr 2023-24 your GROSS  Income from pension etc incl interest from FDs amounting to more than 50K  ,  is Rs 13.5 Lakh and you had contributed to PPF Rs150000/- during FY 2023-24. Your deductions under OLD REGIME will add up to Rs 250000/-. 

  OLD REGIME –  Your (Sr ctz between the age of 60 to 80 yrs) tax before Cess under old regime will be Rs 140000/- .  if you are under 60 yrs of age add Rs 2500/-   to this basic  tax amount   and if you are above 80 yrs deduct Rs 10000 from this amount of tax).   

   NEW REGIME  – On deducting the Std Deduction from Gross income  the tax on Rs 13 lakh will be  just 110000/- only.

   Here then the New Regime is more beneficial by 30000/- for  Sr Citizen. This difference will remain even if the Gross Income is more than 13.5 lakh or above 15 Lakh. 

MANUAL CALCULATIONS – STEPS TO FOLLOW:-

STEP-ONE – Note down your total gross income that includes your pension, rent income and income fronm other sources. 

STEP-TWO  – Note down your appliable deductions both under the Old Regime (Applicable as hither to fore) as well as the New Tax regime (Std Deduction for salaried/Pensioners and for family pensioners 1/3rd of basic pension or Rs 15000/- which ever is less).                   

STEP- THREE – Now calculate your Taxable Income by deducting the above deductions from the gross income. Note the same under both the regimes separately.   

NOTE- If your Total Taxable income is less than Rs 5 Lakh inder old regime or less than Rs 7 Lakh under New regime the tax payable will be ZERO due to rebate under Sec 87A

STEP -FOUR – Calculate and note down your pur applicable basic Income Tax under new regime based on the Taxable Income for the new regime as mentioned above using the slabs as under :-

NOTE – If the taxable income was less then Rs 7,77,779/-apply marginal tax rebate as explained below to get the actual tax liability.

STEP- FIVE –  Similarly calculate and note down your payable basic income tax under the old regime based on the taxable income as calculated above using the tax slabs (There is no change to the slabs of previous years under old regime) as given below :-

 STEP- SIX –   Compare your tax liability under bothe the regimes and take the one which is more beneficial. 

Note –  under most cases if your deductions are less the Rs 250000/- under the old regime the Bew Regime is likely to be more beneficial.

            The Income Tax dept site has a tax calculator available which can also be used to confirm your manual calculations.

CALCULATIONS BY GOING THROUGH QUESTION ANSWERS SESSION AS PER FLOW CHARTS.

The next method shown here to calculate your income tax liability is by question answeres. 

FLOW CHART FOR NEW REGIME

Please follow the questions and answers as per the flow chart after working out your Final Taxable Income i.e after deducting all the entitled deductions separately for New and the Old regimes.

No Tax is charged if the income is up to 7 Lakhs for all. In case the income is marginally above Rs 7 Lakh marginal Tax rebate is applicable under Sec 87A as amended.

The chart placed opposite is for the New Regime and can be enlarged by clicking on it as per your convenience..

FLOW CHART FOR OLD REGIME

Here again follow the questions and your answers as fiven in the flow chart placed opposite. 

When you reach the final answer just make one multiplication and you will get the Tax liability under the Old Regime. 

The flow chart can be Zoomed  by clicking over it.  

The taxes calcilated are for individuals below 60 yrs of age. here the Sr Ctz should deduct Rs 1250 and Super Sr Ctz Rs 12500 from the amt of tax so calculated.

 The marginal rebate as in New regime is not applicable here.

Old Regime vis-à-vis New Regime as approved by Finance Act, 2023 from Income Tax India

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has in Budget 2023 announced slew of changes in income tax slabs under the new tax regime. The key changes announced on February 1,2023, are:

Changes in the income tax slabs under the new tax regime

Standard deduction introduced for salaried individuals, pensioners under the new tax regime

* Basic exemption limit hiked to Rs 3 lakh from Rs 2.5 lakh under the new tax regime

* Highest surcharge rate reduced to 25% from 37% under the new tax regime

* Rebate under Section 87A increased to taxable income of Rs 7 lakh under the new tax regime only* from Rs 5 lakh under the old scheme. This means that individuals having taxable incomes up to Rs 7 lakh and opting for the new tax regime will not pay any tax since the rebate of Rs 25000/- is applied under Sec 87A. In addition to this Marginal Relief is also applicable if the taxable income is slightly more than Rs 7 Lakhs. 

                     Marginal Tax .Relief – Without going into definition please folllow this example . Suppose the Taxable income works out to rs 720000/- the tax calculated as per slabs will be Rs 27000/-.  It means that you pay Rs 27K for an additional income of Rs 20K ie much more than the exceded income. The marginal tax relief will be applicable in this case as such one will not pay  Rs27000/- , but on application of the marginal relief one will pay only Rs 27000/-  MINUS 20000/- i.e the amount by which one exceeds Rs 7 Lakh equal to  Rs 7000/- only . 

      Here one gets a rebate of Rs 20000/- and pay only Rs 7000/- rather than Rs 27000/-. 

      The breakeven amount is approximately Rs 7,77,779/- beyond which one pays tax as calculated.

*There is, however, no change to rebate under the old tax regime  upto Rs 5 Lakhs as the limit for No Income tax (REBATE UNDER SEC 87(A)).  Marginal Relief is not applicable under old Regime.     

     For those veterans who have been migrated to SPARSH they can report these investments to PDA (PCDA(P)) and their choice of the Old or New Regime on line by logging into their SPARSH account. However they still have a choice while filing the ITR to select the more beneficial Regime Old or New.

Just for your info here are the income tax slabs for earkier year i.e FY 2022-23 that you may need to calculate your Taxes while filing revised income tax return the financial year ended on 31 March 2023.

Income tax slabs under pre-revised  new tax regime for FY 2022-23 (LAST ASS YEAR)

OLD TAX REGIME – TAX SLABS – FYs 2022-23-24

Edn Cess is applicable at 4% on the income tax payable for FY 2022-23-24. Further, surcharge will be applicable on taxable incomes above Rs 50 lakh. A rebate under Section 87A was available in both tax regimes for taxable incomes up to Rs 5 lakh for FY 2022-23 which has been evised only for the New Tax regime for the current year to 7 Lakh.

DEDUCTIONS PERMITTED OR NOT-PERMITTED UNDER REGINMES FINANCIAL YEAR 2023-24.

Allowances which are allowed as exempted under both regimes.

1. Any allowance granted for meeting the cost of travel on tour or transfer;
2. Any allowance, whether, granted on tour or for the period of journey in connection with transfer, to meet the ordinary daily charges incurred by an employee on account of absence from his normal place of duty;
3. Any allowance granted for meeting the expenditure incurred on conveyance in the performance of duties of an office or employment of profit if the free conveyance is not provided by the employer; and
4. Transport allowance granted to an employee, who is blind or deaf and dumb or orthopedically handicapped with a disability of lower extremities, to meet his expenditure for the purpose of commuting between the place of his residence and the place of his duty.
5. Deductions allowed under Secs. 80CCH(2), 80CCD(2), 80JJAA, family pension deduction under section 57(iia)

Following Deductions are not allowed under the New Regime. 

1. Exemption with respect to travel concession or assistance as covered in section 10(5);
2. HRA exemption as covered in section 10(13A);
3. Any other allowance as covered in section 10(14) or section 10(17);
4. Entertainment allowance and professional tax as covered in section 16(ii) and section 16(iii) respectively

Comparitive Income tax slabs (In Rs)

For Individual/ HUF/ AOP/ BOI/ Artificial Juridical Person (AJP) 
as per section 115BAC proposed by Finance Bill, 2023

TAX CALCULATOR OF THE I-TAX DEPT:-  The Income Tax Department has brought out a detailed Tax Calculator for us to calculate of tax under Old as well as the New regime as applicable for filing the returns oby 31 Juky 2024. This is available after one logs into one’s ITR filing account on https://incometax.gov.in . One must make use of the same.

Take your decision with regard to the Option to be taken by you after you have calculated your tax liability under both the regimes.

INVESTERS –  Old vs new income tax regime for investors: Know which one suits you best

Dear Veterans,

I must give out the entire saga of the second OROP equalization due from 01 Jul 24 so that as many of the 25 lakh Veterans are in full knowledge of the happenings of the past few days. It’ll be long story.

I was called by the Secy Kendriya Sainik Board (KSB) for a meeting on 3 Jun 24 at 10.30 AM. I was briefed that the Govt will be announcing the Second Revision of OROP post the Cabinet Meeting scheduled that evening. And IESL was to convey it’s gratitude on behalf of the Veterans. What better news than this I thought to be conveyed. For this media would come to IESL Office in Chanakyapuri in the evening.

Between 4 PM and 8 PM on 03 Jul media teams from MoD PR, PTI, Doordarshan and ANI came to our office. Since I wanted a few others to be part of the event I called two more fauji friends so that it gives a better picture. We expected the news of OROP to be telecast around 8 PM. Having had a hectic day along with the two friends we met at the DSOI to celebrate the announcement. Nothing came. No problem. We celebrated.

The next morning, 04 Jul I was told by one of our staff that there is a serious flaw in the tables and hence OROP not announced. I posted this news in some of the groups. This was not b true. I was to return back to Ludhiana on 4th evening when I got the message the CDS, Gen Anil Chauhan would be meeting the reps of ESM organisations at 2 PM on 5 July. I stayed back. The meeting was at DIAV Hq in Delhi Cantt.

The CDS arrived on time. He spoke on the following issues.

1. Agniveers. He said a wrong perception about Agniveers is being spread. He’d met them at training centres and in units and they were happy with the terms and conditions of their employment. The govt was planning to undertake some corrective steps and we should wait for some time. He asked Veterans not to criticize the scheme and see it from larger perspective.

2. Reforms and Theatre-isation. This he said is his main role and progress is being made in this. He said again there’ll be some negative views and criticism but this is the need for our defence forces. Not for Veterans to comment I thought.

3. OROP. The CDS stated that as per the policy the govt will implement the second revision and about Rs 6700 crores will go towards this. He gave comparisons of how much new equipment like submarines, aircraft and space assets etc would cost.

4. SPARSH. He accepted there have been problems in implementing SPARSH but with help from TCS, hopefully the problems will be resolved in the next three months.

Coming to questions from the audience, a lady spoke on Agniveer issues. Then it was my turn.

5. Agniveer Issue. I conveyed to the CDS that former Army Chief Naravane called it “bolt from the blue” and Naval Chief Karambir Singh made a statement it’s about savings on pensions. I said this is going to be a huge problem for the effecient functioning of the defence forces but since it doesn’t affect us today I will give my views on the subject subsequently. I conveyed IESL can resolve their post release employment and income generation better than DGR etc. Let the time come.

6. OROP. I reminded the CDS that over a year back along with one of our VP I met him and suggested that there are anomalies in pension of practically all the ranks and only meetings of reps of PCDA Pensions, Service Hq and Veteran organisations can resolve it. But you turned down my suggestion. Capts with 12 years service in this rank, mainly RCOs getting the same pension as an Hony Capt with 6 days holding of rank, 26 Jan to 31 Jan. Older majors who left after 20 years are getting pension of 12 years because there’s no major beyond 13 years today. Similar problems with other officers ranks and also in lower ranks. I said now more anomalies will come up. I addressed the Secy ESW sitting next to the CDS till we have these meetings nothing will be resolved. In the end I couldn’t resist saying that our friends in service have told us the PCDA doesn’t even answer our queries you can forget about everything.

Finally about OROP I asked the CDS has it been announced? He turned to the Secy ESW. He too had no answer. Then addressing the Secy I said Sir if you are not aware and we were asked to convey thanks to the govt on 3 July then something is seriously wrong. He said the I&B ministry was to announce it. Hasn’t it been announced he asked. Now this is how our govt works. Then I couldn’t stop myself from saying that sadly the Secy ESW is probably not important for the govt. A budget of about 700 crore, mostly from CSR for running KSB, RSB and ZSB. Finally I said 6700 crores have been alloted for OROP. Is it based on calculations or the tables have to be prepared within this budget? I don’t need to say more at this stage except for all of you to ponder how the system works. It’s putting the cart before the horse. Rightfully thanks expected from Veterans for which we were ready, allotment of budget done but no tables and no OROP announcement. And let me say that PCDA Pensions has not yet prepared the tables.

7. On SPARSH. I conveyed that when SPARSH was announced one of the prime reasons given was govt will save about Rs 250 crore being paid to banks for disbursal of pensions. I asked have we saved this amount? Firstly most pensions are with PSBs and income accruing to these banks comes to the govt. Second we would have paid TCS and now 300 or 400 SPARSH centres are being set up. Are they free of cost? Plus we got problems. He said it’ll be resolved in the next three months.

8. Finally I said IESL was the oldest organisation founded by Gens Cariappa and Thimayya in 1964. Till date we have not got a single rupee from any service hq and MoD. I said everyone is out to condemn colonialism in any which way. The former Naval Chief wants Navy to wear Kurta Pyjamas. I forcefully said IESL is indebted to the British Ex Services League. They paid pensions to all Indians who served in the British Forces till 1946 and were not eligible for pension. The Indian govt absolved itself from this responsibility. They didn’t get pensions because they were thrown out after Independence. The British League paid for our office expenditure for organising this disbursal of pensions. Our office vehicle is from them. They paid Rs 180000 for our building in 1970. And five years back the GoI stopped our FCRA registration. About 1000 or so 1946 era Veterans or their widows were still living. Even today someone from Hisar called me asking “meri dadi ki pension bahut din se nahin aa rahi”. Told him govt stopped it. Which govt he asked. The present govt I replied.

Then I asked the CDS why two more Veteran organisations have been granted official recognition in the past few years by the present govt. Is it to weaken IESL or create a divide within the ESM fraternity. Told him everyone is fully aware why these organisations have been propped up by the Govt. I said Air Force had only one organisation, AFA, accorded approval by the Govt. Then there is DIWAVE for war wounded Veterans. Till recent years only these two and IESL were recognised by the Govt. And IESL has by an Act of Parliament in 1982 been accorded the status of Apex Organization of ESM. CDS said this is in the domain of the govt.

In the end I told the CDS whichever case has been taken by any ESM organisation or individual to the court has been decided in their favour. IESL has not taken up any case against the govt in the past 60 years. But we are under pressure. We had no choice but to start the OROP agitation in 2015. I requested that please resolve the anomalies and we don’t want IESL to take these cases to the courts.

I also conveyed to the CDS that IESL has decided that since no financial help will come from the govt, we have embarked upon the path of commercial activities to help Veterans earn better and we’ll do it better than DGR which is as much tied up in knots as any govt organisation.

In the tea at the end of the meeting I told the CDS that I commanded 114 Inf Bde from 2001 to 2003. It was the most neglected bde of the Indian Army looking after Eastern Ladakh. One bde looking after 500 km. My gross salary then was about 38000. Rs 3500 was High Altitude Allowance. Today a jawan gets Rs 35000 HAA allowance. And from 2000 troops it’s over 60000 now plus 500 tanks and Inf Combat Vehicles. That’s why Agniveers created. He said it’s the hottest brigade now. I said to myself why didn’t the Chinese do it then? I too would have been in the limelight and maybe one or two more ranks. But in hindsight good. 2000 troops of 114 Inf Bde kept the Chinese away. It was then that not an inch of land lost. Not as we say now.

Air Marshall Jagjeet Singh brought out the problem of resolving pension anomalies. He said it took 21 years for pension of former Chief ACM Sarin to be resolved. Every month hundreds of cases are coming to AFA to resolve SPARSH problems.

A Short Service officer rightfully projected the problems of SS officers. No pension after 5 to 14 years service. ECHS problems.

Capt Mahajan brought out the problems of War Disabled and how the govt has gone back on it’s own decisions.

My request to Veterans across the country. Please strengthen the hands of IESL by becoming it’s member. It’s one life time cost of Rs 200, 300 and 500 for NCOs, JCOs and Officers respectively. We have four rooms for your use at the cheapest rates in Delhi. Let me assure the Veterans that I will spare no effort to live upto the ideals of Gen KM Cariappa and Gen KS Thimayya and helping the Veterans in every which way. All Veterans are welcome to meet me at our office; 9 Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. I’m there for three days atleast thrice a month. I need your ideas and contacts to move forward. I’ll be posting the online membership application once again through the social media.

Please post this in your respective groups for maximum Veterans to know. Do translate it into your regional languages if possible for better understanding by our NCOs and JCOs.

Jai Hind.

Brig Inder Mohan Singh (Retd)

President, IESL.

06 July 24.

92169 19004.

Ministry moves note for Union Cabinet’s nod

In a move that will benefit about 30 lakh retired soldiers and their families, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has mooted the revision of the “One Rank, One Pension” (OROP) Scheme.

A formula for the increase in emoluments has been suggested by the MoD. With the Union Budget scheduled to be tabled in Parliament on July 23, a formal announcement regarding it is expected during the session or before it.

Under the OROP scheme, pension of the past pensioners, who retired at a particular rank, would be re-fixed on the basis of retirees of the calendar year 2023. Those with same length of service and same rank would get same pension as those retiring in 2023.

Sources said the MoD had moved a note for approval by the Union Cabinet led by PM Narendra Modi.

This will be the second such revision of the OROP, the first one was ordered in 2019 and okayed in 2022.

During its first tenure, the Modi government had taken a decision to implement the OROP for personnel of the defence forces and family pensioners (widows or minor children of dead soldiers). It issued a policy letter on November 7, 2015, and the OROP was given from the cut-off date of July 1, 2014.

In the policy letter, it was mentioned that in future, the pension would be re-fixed every five years.

OROP Pension Table:- The One Rank One Pension program amendment was announced by the Indian government on December 23. 4.52 lakh more recipients have been added to the list, according to the most recent report. The new total of OROP Pension recipients is 25.13 Lakh. This OROP Modification will take effect on July 1, 2022. This OROP amendment will apply to retired members of the armed forces who have served until June 30, 2019, excluding pre-mature (PMR) retirees who left on July 1, 2014. Read below to get detailed information related to the OROP Pension Table like highlights, Implementation of One Rank One Pension Table, Benefits, and much more

The OROP (One Rank One Pension) Program modification was approved by the Indian Union Cabinet on Friday, December 23, 2022. According to the One Rank One Pension (OROP) Program, regardless of retirement date, all retired soldiers with the same or equivalent rank and the same amount of time spent serving in the Indian Army will receive the same pension payment. The One Rank One Pension (OROP) 2024 program will cover retired officers from all branches of the armed forces who retired up until June 30, 2019, except for Pre-Mature Retired.

One Rank One Pension Scheme 2024 will reportedly benefit about 25.13 lakh pensioners and family pensioners from all the armed forces. Following the announcements of the OROP Revision, the beneficiaries appeared to be satisfied. The OROP beneficiaries are curious to see what the revised pension will be and what arrears they will receive after the change now that the announcements have been made formally.

Implementation of Pension

The Indian government has introduced the One Rank One Pension (OROP) policy, which attempts to guarantee that retired military personnel of the same rank and years of service receive the same pension, regardless of the year in which they retired. Before OROP, military pensions were determined using the pay commission recommendations that were in effect at the time of retirement. As a result, pensions for personnel who retired in different years could differ significantly, even if they held the same rank and had the same amount of service time.

Search operation launched to track down the terrorists

PTI

Rajouri/Jammu, July 7

An Army man was injured when terrorists opened fire on a security post at a village in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir early on Sunday, officials said.

The terrorists fired on a sentry post of Territorial Army at Galuthi village in Manjakote area around 4 am, prompting retaliation by troops, they said.n

They said the soldier was injured in the exchange of fire that continued for nearly half-an-hour between the two sides but the terrorists managed to flee into the nearby forest.

A search operation was launched to track down the terrorists. 

2 soldiers, including an elite Para Commando, laid down their lives while battling the terrorists

Srinagar, July 7

Six terrorists were killed and two soldiers laid down their lives in twin encounters in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, officials said on Sunday.

“The bodies of two terrorists were recovered from the Modergam encounter site while four bodies were recovered from the Chinnigam site on Sunday,” they said.

The twin encounters in the two villages of Kulgam district began on Saturday.

Two Army soldiers, including an elite para commando, laid down their lives while battling the terrorists, the officials said.

Speaking about the operations, Jammu and Kashmir Director-General of Police RR Swain said the neutralisation of such a big number of terrorists was a major achievement.

“Undoubtedly, this is a big milestone in the efforts towards strengthening the security environment. These successes are very meaningful both substantively as well as in terms of messaging,” he said.

The success of the operations is an indication that the fight for elimination of terror in Jammu and Kashmir will reach its end, Swain said.

“This is an indication that the security architecture and involvement of people is leading to the flow of human intelligence and this fight (against terror) will be taken to its logical conclusion,” he added.

New Delhi, July 7

“I would die with a brass on my chest. I would not die an ordinary death,” a shattered but proud Smriti recalled the words of her husband Capt Anshuman Singh of the Army Medical Corps who has been posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra for exceptional bravery.

Wearing a white sari and grief on her face, the young wife of the late officer, with her mother-in-law Manju Singh by her side, accepted India’s second-highest peacetime gallantry award from President Droupadi Murmu on Friday during an investiture ceremony.

In a video posted by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence on X on Saturday, Smriti shared her memories of her husband and how they became soulmates.

“He was very much capable. He would tell me, ‘I would die with a brass on my chest. I would not die an ordinary death like no one would know’,” recalled Smriti.

And, indeed the story of his death is anything but ordinary. Capt Singh died while rescuing people from a major fire in July last year.

In a post on X, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said, “President Droupadi Murmu conferred Kirti Chakra upon Captain Anshuman Singh, The Army Medical Corps, 26th Battalion The Punjab Regiment, posthumously. Disregarding his own safety, he exhibited exceptional bravery and resolve to rescue many people in a major fire incident.”      

Along with the post, the Rashtrapati Bhavan also shared a photograph of Captain Singh’s wife accepting the Kirti Chakra.

President Murmu conferred 10 Kirti Chakras, including seven posthumously, to personnel of the Army and paramilitary forces for displaying indomitable courage and extraordinary valour in the line of duty.

The video posted on X by the Ministry of Defence spokesperson has been widely shared on the social media platform.

In the clip, Smriti could be seen fighting tears as she shared that their relationship began with “love at first sight” and after eight years of long-distance relationship, they got married.

“So, we met on the first day of college. I don’t want to be dramatic but it was love at first sight. After a month, he got selected into the AFMC (Armed Forces Medical College). We met at an engineering college but then he got selected in a medical college. Super intelligent guy. From then on, after just one month of meeting, it was a long-distance relationship for eight long years,” she recalled.

“Then we decided to get married. Unfortunately, within two months of marriage, he got posted to Siachen. On July 18, we had a long conversation about how our life will be in the next 50 years. We are going to build a house, we are going to have kids, whatnot. On the 19th morning (last year), I got up, and I got a call that he is no more,” Smriti said.

She said that she has been unable to come to terms with the loss till today.

“For the first seven to eight hours, we could not accept that anything of that sort has happened. Till date, I am not coping. Just trying to figure out thinking maybe it is not true.

“But now that I have the Kirti Chakra in my hand, I realise it is true. But it’s okay, he is a hero. We can manage a little of our lives because he has managed a lot. He gave up his life and family so that the other three families could be saved,” the proud wife said.