New Delhi India January 15 ANI Ministry of Defence MoD launched three new initiatives for the welfare of ex-servicemen and their families on the occasion of Armed Forces Veterans' Day, which is celebrated on January 14th every year.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced in a series of tweets that the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare DESW has allotted Rs 320 crore to Armed Forces Flag Day Fund AFFDF to clear all the backlogs of pending welfare schemes, including education marriage grants for widows dependent children of the veterans. The Ministry of Defence said that the AFFDF, administered by Kendriya Sainik Board, will benefit over 1,66, 000 wards widows of ex-servicemen ESMs. The welfare schemes aim to give financial assistance to ESM fraternity widows dependants, as well as maintain various facilities called Cheshire Homes Paraplegic Homes War Memorial Hostels meant for ESMs and their dependents, according to the ministry.
The ministry said that the aim is to facilitate the re-employment of ESM in the corporate sector and provide jobs through schemes for self-employment, in addition to the 7,900 job letters given to newly retired ESMs in Government Sector PSUs Banks and Private sector during the year from April-December 2021, out of the re-employment of over 22,000 during the same period.
The Directorate-General Resettlement is an attached office of MoD that facilitates the resettlement of ESM by organising pre- and post-retirement training, re-employment and self-employment. Nearly 60,000 Armed Forces personnel retire or are released from active service every year, most of them are in the age bracket of 35 to 45 years and need a second career to support their families.
A dedicated Raksha Pension Shikayat Nivaran Portal was launched by the DESW to speedily redress pension, including family pension-related grievances of ESM and their dependents. The DESW will be able to process grievances on the portal.