Disability pension for armed forces: Rules made to protect interests of 'genuine' personnel, says CDS

The new rules for granting disability pension to armed forces personnel were brought out following wide-ranging discussions among the three services and they are aimed protecting interests of the 'genuine' people and ensuring a fitter military, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan said on Friday.

The provisions of the revised entitlement rules will be applicable for the armed forces personnel who retired after September 21 and there will be no retrospective implementation of the norms, he said.

The new rules titled 'Entitlement Rules (ER) for Casualty Pension and Disability Compensation Awards to Armed Forces Personnel, 2023' were brought out based on the recommendations of a study involving the three services, Armed Forces Medical Services and the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare.

"The aim of the study was to protect the genuine interests of personnel who acquire disability during service while preventing the exploitation of its liberal provisions from misuse," the Chief of Defence Staff said at a media briefing in presence of Navy Chief R Hari Kumar, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Vice Chief of Army Lt Gen M V Suchindra Kumar.

The new rules were brought out over five months after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) asked the defence ministry to carry out an analysis of disability among soldiers after finding out that nearly 40 per cent of the officers, and 18 per cent of personnel below officer rank, who retire every year, were drawing disability pensions.

There have been apprehensions among certain quarters of the ex- servicemen after the new rules governing the grant of disability pension were unveiled.

The CDS said most of the concerns of the ex-servicemen community were addressed by a panel of officers at a meeting on October 3.

In the new rules, the defence ministry introduced a new concept of 'impairment relief' that is largely aimed largely at addressing lifestyle related diseases.

The armed forces personnel get higher payouts of up to 30 per cent of their pension emoluments based on the percentage of disability.

"The provisions of the revised ER for grant of disability pension will be applicable for those personnel who retire after September 21. It has no retrospective application," Gen Chauhan said.

"It does not, in any manner, alter the emoluments of war widows, family pensioners or veterans. There is no change in the entitlement for any category of personnel being granted compensation for death or disability," he said.

Gen Chauhan said the 'disability element' has been renamed as "impairment relief in respect of only those personnel who are not invalidated out due to their nature of disabilities and continue to serve till their term of engagement."

"The change in name to impairment relief does not affect the nature of entitlement or quantum of emoluments," he said.

He said the new rules were brought out also to enhance the efficiency of the overall functioning of the three services.