Views by Air Marshal RS Bedi

It was about central pay scales, not about military and its personnel.

The debate on the Civil vs Military aspects of the VI CPC report, it seems, will continue to simmer, but, to me, the most interesting development on the debate this time around has been the Cabinet Secretary’s public admission that the Military will not be paid at the same levels as the Civil Services (parity was the term used). Some years ago, when it was suggested that India was probably the only democracy in the world that paid less to its military than the civil services, there were many denials, even in the military. The tragedy of the Indian Armed Forces has been that they seem to pick up these very nay-sayers to project their pay proposals to the government/ CPCs. Little wonder then, that military has a relative reduction in pay/ status with every CPC.

The bureaucracy of course had found a simple, ingenuous way of showing that the armed forces were paid more. Unilaterally declare equivalence between the military and the civil services personnel by issuing a memo elevating the junior civil service guy two steps above his logical military counterpart and ergo, the claim that level for level, the military is paid higher seems right. This was the argument followed so far, but when the debate turned nasty this time, the Cabinet Secretary has let the cat out of the bag.

While completely disagreeing with the logic of the Cabinet Secretary, I must appreciate this rare honesty (I think for the first time on the subject) on the part of the bureaucracy. Shorn of the niceties, he has merely reiterated the factual position that the armed forces in India will continue to be discriminated against, in matters of pay and allowances. I hope the armed forces take this candidness forward and highlight it in their advertisements asking youngsters to don uniform. As important, allow those who are not happy with their situation, to leave when they choose. Thereafter, it becomes an informed choice by those joining and they would have little reason to complain.
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Pay Commissions and Omissions: click me
For those who do not know, BeeCee the author of the article is a senior retired Naval Officer who was intimately involved in status and pay issues during the time he was serving.

Defence budget: The hike is not as big as it appears by Air Marshal RS Bedi