Tamil Nadu enhanced incentive welcomed
Lower income bracket will find defence incentive helpful
By : s. sujatha
Update: 2014-08-16 06:42 GMT
Chennai: Defence personnel from Tamil Nadu rejoiced over the State government’s announcement, enhancing the annual grant of war service incentive to those who send their children to serve in the armed forces from Rs 750 to Rs 20,000 and Rs 1,000 to Rs 25,000 to those who sent their only child or more than one child.
“The government has finally started recognising the services of the armed forces. This will give impetus to parents, who let their wards join, knowing the sacrifice made in the line of duty,” said a Coimbatore-based IAF officer.
Col A. Krishnaswami (retd), who served in the army and sent one of his sons to the Navy, said that those in the lower income bracket would find this a great incentive, it would encourage more people to join the armed forces.
Noting that parents in north India traditionally sent their children to the armed forces, Col Krishnaswami said that the state should also achieve as much parity as possible in rewarding gallantry medal winners from TN. “We request them to achieve parity with other states quickly depending on the availability of funds,” he added.
Air Force squadron leader A. Muthukrishnan (retd), who has sent two of his sons to serve the nation, said that giving monetary assistance was a welcome step. “But more than money what we need is protection for our kin and kith as well as property back home when we are busy serving the nation on the borders,” he said.
Referring to his own case, wherein he has been struggling to get back his land which he bought through public auction, Mr Muthukrishnan said that a fast track redressal mechanism for service and ex-servicemen to address issues like land grabbing would go a long way in helping them to get justice in their motherland.