Air Vice Marshal offers to help ex-servicemen

Enrolment for ECHS stressed

Air Vice Marshal O P Tiwari, the Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Air Force Selection Board, in the city, who was promoted recently, appealed to ex-servicemen in the region to approach him in case they have difficulties in getting any benefits from either the defence forces or the governments.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, here, on Wednesday, he said, he would liaison with the officials concerned in the District Sainik Welfare Boards as well as in other agencies and see to it that the problems are solved on priority.

He also appealed to those who have retired before 2003, some of whom have not enrolled for the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), to register under the scheme to avail healthcare benefits. 

Healthcare

“The members of ECHS and their family members are entitled for cashless treatment in sophisticated hospitals, empanelled by the ECHS, in the region. The recent addition is the JSS Multispeciality Hospital and soon Narayana Hrudayalaya may be empanelled,” he said. 

Exclusive centre

Tiwari said, the Air Force Selection Board in Mysuru is the only centre in the entire Indian Peninsula that selects officers for the Indian Air Force (IAF), following written exams conducted by the UPSC — Combined Defence Services Exam (CDSE) for graduates and National Defence Academy entrance exam for those appearing for 12th standard exams — and the IAF — Air Force CAT for graduates, engineers and postgraduates.

Pointing out that the pay scale for an IAF officer is at least 20 per cent higher than that of an IAS officer of corresponding rank, he lamented that awareness among youth and their guardians in this region is lacking.

“Opportunities in the IAF are abundant in all fields — including administration, technical, metallurgy, etc and flying is the most important one. Besides, higher pay packages, Airmen enjoy an annual leave of 80 days and get opportunities to pursue higher education. Apart from posting in various parts of the nation, the officers get to visit foreign nations,” Tiwari said.

A Category ‘A’ Navigation Instructor and Air Force Examiner with over 7,000 hours of flying, Tiwari was conferred with the Vishist Seva Medal on January 26, 2015, and was promoted as the Air Vice Marshal on June 1. With this he is the first Vice Air Marshal to head the selection board here as AOC. Earlier, he acted as the AOC of the same selection board as Air Commodore.