Chandigarh, August 25
To check the growing number of officers seeking premature release from service, the armed forces are seeking a “service incentive allowance” (SIA). The allowance is proposed to be paid after completion of the stipulated period of service.

According to recommendations sent to the Sixth Pay Commission, excerpts of which are available with The Tribune, the service headquarters have recommended that one year’s gross salary be paid as SIA on completion of 15, 25 and 30 years of service.

Justifying the proposal, the service headquarters have stated that a financial package at the 15th year could motivate officers to serve beyond this period. They have stated that they need officers with 10--15 years of service to provide effective combat leadership.

Further, on completion of 20 years, an individual is eligible for pension and wants to quit. Military organisations need their experience at this stage for quicker decision-making at the higher level.

Service headquarters have also noted that on completion of about 10 years of service, the reality is that an officer is sensitive to what his counterparts are getting in civilian arena.

There are growing family commitments like education of children and ageing parents and he needs adequate take-home salary. Also at this stage, he feels that he has already repaid the service and he is vulnerable to forces in the civilian market.

A paper prepared by the service in this regard for perusal of the pay commission has listed retention of personnel as a problem in the armed forces and denial of exit as areas of concern.

According to information placed in Parliament this week, the number of officers who sought premature discharge from the Army and the Navy has approximately doubled over the last three years.

In 2004, 435 Army officers sought discharge, which rose to 536 in 2005 and 811 in 2006. The corresponding figures from the Navy were 119, 176 and 259, while that for the Air Force were 249, 308 and 230.

Significantly, there has been a huge increase in the number of personnel below officer rank from the Air Force seeking voluntary retirement. From 371 in 2004, the figure shot up to 1,222 in 2006. On the other hand, the corresponding figure came down in the Army from 15,727 to 8,994.