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Government of India
Ministry of Defence
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Orders on Cabinet Decision on Pensionary Benefits to Ex-Servicemen to be Issued
Next Month
Describing the twin tasks of improving the pensionary and medical
benefits for ex-servicemen as ‘subjects of prime concern’ and ‘as an ongoing
process’, the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony today announced that the orders
authorizing payment to ex-servicemen and their families accruing from the
recent cabinet decisions, hiking pension and other benefits amounting to nearly
Rs 2300 crores per annum, would be issued next month.
Addressing a meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to his
Ministry, here, Shri Antony said this is the third time in the last four years
that the Government have systematically improved the post-retirement benefits
for ex-servicemen.
He said under the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), which has
been in operation since April 2003, 227 polyclinics were initially approved by
the Government. In 2010, another 199 polyclinics were sanctioned by the
Government out of which 99 polyclinics have become functional and 100
polyclinics are under various stages of operationalisation. The scheme is
presently been implemented to 326 functional polyclinics. At present, the
scheme has over 41 lakh beneficiaries including 13 lakh ex-servicemen and over
28 lakh dependents. The reach and coverage of the scheme is evident from the
fact that in 2011-12, 90 lakh patients were attended to at the polyclinics.
Shri Antony expressed confidence that with the commissioning of the remaining
polyclinics the bulk of the ex-servicemen population throughout the country
would be covered by the scheme.
Shri Antony said there is still a long way to go as presently, ECHS facilities
are available only in 339 districts out of a total of 659 in the country. The
delivery of medicare at polyclinics is also hampered by the shortage of staff
and non-availability of the prescribed medicines.
Taking part in the discussion, the Members of Parliament urged the Government
to prepare a roadmap to ensure that medical facilities are available to
ex-servicemen in every district of the country. They also called for greater
transparency in the process. Some Members pointed out that there is inordinate
delay in settling the bills of private hospitals which should be ameliorated
through technological means. Taking note of the rapid growth of healthcare
facilities in the private sector in recent years and the innovative steps taken
by some organizations and hospitals, the Members suggested that the Government
should adopt the best practices readily available outside the government sector
rather than handling the situation in a conservative fashion which is neither
efficient nor cost-effective.
Replying to some of the queries of the Members, the Minister of State for
Defence Shri Jitendra Singh said the government is veering towards a ‘dashboard
approach’ so that the healthcare mechanisms can be monitored online on a
day-to-day basis by the administrators. He said the government’s efforts will
always be to put a smile on the face of the ex-servicemen because they deserve
it.
Members of Parliament who attended the meeting included Shri Navin Jindal, Shri
Gajanan Dharmshi Babar, Shri SS Ramasubbu, Shri Gopal Singh Shekhawat, Shri
Suresh Kalmadi, Shri Harsh Vardhan, Shri Kailkesh N. Singh Deo, Shri Sultan
Ahmed, Shri Ram Chandra Khuntia, Dr Mahendra Prasad, Shri Ishwarlal Jain, Smt Ambika Soni and Shri Piyush Goyal.
The Defence Secretary Shri Shashikant Sharma, Secretary Department of Defence
Production Shri RK Mathur, Secretary Ex-Servicemen’s Welfare Shri Vijay
Chibber, Secretary Defence Finance Smt. PritiMohantyand other officials of the
Ministry of Defence also attended the meeting.
SitanshuKar
Health/medical check up once a year to the ECHS beneficiary in the Polyclinics subject to the available facilities, resources is still a dream.
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