Army, Navy, Air Force lost 184 personnel to Covid-19; no special compensation

Altogether 42,527 personnel of the Indian Army got infected with the coronavirus

The Indian Army, Navy and Air Force lost 184 of its personnel to the Covid-19 but the bereaved family of none of them were given any special compensation, the Government informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The Government also informed the upper house of Parliament that 98% of the defence personnel had already been fully vaccinated.

“No special compensation for deaths occurring due to infectious disease is provided to the personnel of the armed forces, while they are in service. However, all such cases of death while in service are provided terminal benefits,” Ajay Bhatt, the Union Minister of State for Defence, informed in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

Altogether 42,527 personnel of the Indian Army got infected with Covid-19 so far and 133 of them succumbed to it. The Indian Air Force (IAF) lost 47 of its personnel out of the 13,249, who got infected with the virus so far. The Indian Navy recorded 6,688 cases of Covid-19 among its personnel so far and four of them died.

CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH

Bhatt also informed the Rajya Sabha in response to a separate question the government had started administering anti-Covid-19 vaccines to all the serving defence personnel, including the ones deployed on the borders. The personnel of the Border Roads Organization were also being vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 infection, he added.

While all the defence personnel have already been administered the first dose of the anti-Covid-19 vaccines, just about 98% of them also received the second dose, the minister informed.