The so-called "government denial" is not a denial at all... - Broadsword by Ajai Shukla - Strategy. Economics. Defence.

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Tuesday 11 October 2016

The so-called "government denial" is not a denial at all...



For Broadsword readers, a clarification. 

The so-called government "denial", which PTI first carried, and was picked up by newspapers like the Times of India, is not an official denial at all. It is a plant that does not name any government office or official --- only "sources".

When the government denies a story, it puts out an official denial... and posts it on the Press Information Bureau (PIB) website. This so-called denial is from anonymous sources. Nobody in government wants to put their name to a patently false denial.

All of Monday, the government has been getting hammered on social media after Broadsword reported the reduction of disability pensions for soldiers invalided out of service as a result of battle injuries. The government simply had no defence.

So the government did what governments tend to do. Call up a few pliable reporters, plant an anonymous denial and then wait for the hordes of Modi supporters on social media --- who, mind you, are not interested in disabled soldiers' welfare, but in exonerating the government that has treated them so shabbily --- to pick up the "non-denial" and hold it aloft as a sign of victory.

It's sad that this is how we treat our soldiers --- all of whom know the truth. And its even sadder that a trusted agency like PTI, and a widely-read newspaper like The Times of India, cannot differentiate between a "source-based story" that is obviously a plant, and an official denial.

The non-denial is posted below.

=====================================


Government trashes media reports, says 'disability pension not reduced, but significantly increased'

TNN | 
NEW DELHI: The Union government on Monday rubbished media reports which claimed disability pension for the armed forces had been reduced and slammed negative reporting on the issue by the "usual suspects".



"Media reports have tried to create an impression, by selective misquoting, that the disability pensions have been slashed. The truth is that the disability pension for non-battle cases has increased for majority of the personnel," sources in the government said.



"There was a dramatized article in the media today describing how the pensions of Army personnel who participated in the surgical strike get cut drastically if they got severely injured during the surgical strike. But the fact is, that the disability pensions for war injury cases for personnel who have been invalidated have not been touched, according to the recommendations of the 7th pay commission," government sources clarified.



"The disability pension of almost 90% of the armed force personnel have been significantly increased," the sources said, adding, "the increase ranges from around 14% to 30% among the PBORs/JCOs."

Contrary to the media reports, the disability pension for sepoys has increased from Rs 9282 to Rs 12,000, for havildars from Rs 10,542 to Rs 12,000 and for naiks from Rs 9680 to Rs 12,000 after the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, they said.



The government has accepted the recommendations of the 7th pay commission to ensure increase in the disability pensions for majority of the personnel in the Indian armed forces. The resolution based on the 7th pay commission recommendations has been passed. The details and the actual order are yet to be issued.

In 2015, a total of 62,311 armed forces personnel retired. Of these, 60,662 were personnel below officer rank (PBOR) and junior commissioned officers (JCO) and 1649 were commissioned officers. Naiks and Havildars constitute the maximum proportion of armed forces. 24035 Naiks and 23124 Havildars retired in 2015.

16 comments:

  1. Your representation of facts is very much appreciated.Not just in this article,but also all the others that you have written so far.Your opinions are also well expressed along with the logic behind them.Please continue writing regularly.It is very necessary to have a rational,sensible voice in this sea of moronic noise.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I guess you are crying for NOT being one of those select journalist called by the so-called unknown govt sources.

    The current govt is the only one in almost 70 yrs who has implemented OROP to the satisfaction of vast majority of exservice personnel. I am fairly certain they are one of the few in the indian politics truly conscious of the well being of exservice men.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Rajendra read the article at the blog ' indianmilitaryinfo'

      Delete
    2. Don't ask the govt or paid press. To know the truth ask the affected party. IESM or service Has pay cell will give true picture

      Delete
    3. What OROP? One rank and five pensions? By the way, the author of the blog is a much respected and well informed veteran officer from the army.

      Delete
  3. finally who is correct, Shuklaji or Govt? I am confused by the post and counter post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Col Alok Asthana (retd)11 October 2016 at 17:35

    That's govt of India for you, and also the majority of Indian press media. If only the Indian army could be freed from the hobbling done by the Indian MOD, it would soar even higher. To help achieve that, join me in my petition to PM, placed at https://goo.gl/9whfE9

    ReplyDelete
  5. Please read the article published by renowned lawyer Navdeep on services matter. See his blog ' indianmilitaryinfo'

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Sir,

    First of all Let me introduce my self;
    I am a defense enthusiast and Broadsword is one of my highly regarded unbiased source of defense news and facts. I am following your blog for more than 5 years I guess , till now i never found your articles objectionable.

    Regarding the article you have put up to expose the reduced pay to our Jawans I too feel that government should undo what they have done , not just that they should improve upon old schemes for soldiers.

    By the way I am a hardcore fan of BJP Government and their policies and I believe they are the best government we have ever seen in past few decades. Having said so they too make mistakes and there is no shame in pointing out those.

    Regards
    Arun Rajkumar L

    ReplyDelete
  7. What motivates governments do to things like this?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Col ajais article was carried in Buisness standard and then comes TOI with this , to get facts who was correct let Arnan Gowsami/ thapar organise a debate get vetrans MOD and RM it is too deep a issue , if COl shula is correct most men in uniform belive he is . A source quote cannot be official until released as a Govt press release or spokesman which is missing . Another nail in forces coffin by vested intrests and a compronmis
    ed media .

    ReplyDelete
  9. GOI (MOD ) is repeatedly making False & Misleading statements.Dis Pen of a Nk and a Hav retiring with max service works out to be Rs 13440 (30 % of Pay of 44800 in 7CPC Matrix ) & Rs 15330 ( 30% of 51000 ) respectively in the %age based system,whereas in Fixed slab system it will be Rs 12000 in both cases.Amounts given in MOD statement are incorrect in both cases.
    With the time scale promotions there is NO one retiring as Sepoy,therefore the Dis Pen shown for this Rank is only to Mislead everyone.
    (ref www.armypayresearch.blogspot.com)
    Calls for a surgical strike inside the MOD to iden & maybe get rid of author(s) of this statement camping there.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It is really an eye-opener to realize that there are some (probably ex-fauzis) who feel this government just couldn't have done what they are supposed to have done. In that case, the government has really no reason to be doing anything more for the armed forces that what they are already doing, or not doing. Who addresses a non-issue?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Leave figures aside for a moment. Fact is that you are right in calling out perfidy of the government in the case of disability pensions. If bringing 'equity' was the professed aim, then why limit such a noble effort to only military; why not apply it to all government employees including our dear civilians.

    ReplyDelete
  12. ROFL, Shukla ji has not published all the comments which do not commends his article. It is crystal clear that he has not yet gone through Government Orders/notifications. First go to any accounts office, see the notification and publish opinion.

    ReplyDelete

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