337 Army officers await Rs 1 lakh incentive
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 13
A large number of youngsters from Punjab, who were selected for commission in the armed forces, are still awaiting the incentive of Rs 1 lakh that was promised by the state government to all who become military officers.
A total of 337 cases are still pending with the state government for the release of the incentive. So far, only 284 persons have received the incentive since the scheme was introduced in 2010.
Faced with waning number of persons from Punjab joining the armed forces, the then Finance Minister, Manpreet Singh Badal, had announced that every person who joins the officer training academy would be given Rs 1 lakh each.
In the current fiscal, Rs 1.18 crore was sanctioned by the state government for the purpose, though the amount required is much higher, sources said. Funds for various schemes for armed forces personnel and ex-servicemen are released in piece meals by the government, depending upon the availability of funds.
Once described as the “sword arm” of the nation, with Punjab contributing the highest number of officers to the three services, the scenario is now dismissal. Not only has the number of officers belonging to the state gone down, the forces are also finding it difficult to fill the rank and file due to a host of socio-economic factors.
Of the total 636 gentlemen cadets who passed out of the IMA in December 2014, only 33 were from Punjab, with state such as Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan being the frontrunners.
Defence experts say while the number of applicants joining the services, both as officers as well as in the ranks, has not declined, the problem is getting the right material. Attractive job opportunities in the civilian sector for the well qualified and the craze for going abroad, rampant drug abuse and the dismissal state of school education are some of the reasons for this.
Besides the incentive of Rs 1 lakh, the Punjab Government has taken a few other steps to stem the decline. The Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute in Mohali that prepares students to join the National Defence Academy (NDA) has shown good results.
It sent as many as 23 cadets to the NDA last year, the highest from Punjab to join the academy in recent years. One of its cadets secured the second position in all-India merit in the NDA entrance exam for the course that commences next month.
