Dear all, from the time India got Independence, Armed Forces Officers had always been given a little edge in comparative status equivalence over All India Services and other Gp A services. However, ..... after blatantly refusing NFU to Armed Forces, having giving it to all including CAPF, here is the final nail in the status coffin of uniformed persons hammered by bureaucracy led by present political dispensation, issued vide MoD letter No A/24577/CAO/CP Cell dated 18 Oct 2016. While the political party in power has left no stone unturned to exploit the Armed Forces for electoral gains, but in reality this is what they have actually given back to them in return for their heroic deeds.
The Govt has issued instructions this month downgrading the status of Defence officers to levels even lower than Gp B services officers. Kindly read the last line carefully which states that the order is being issued with the explicit approval of RM. There cannot be any bigger dagger stabbed in our back than this. While with the NFU issue & VII CPC Recommendations, the Govt had created some doubt in our minds about Forces Officers status, but with this order the Govt has finally made it unambiguously clear that Defence Forces Officers are even below Gp B services officers.
The AFHQ civilian cadre was raised as Gp B service in 1968 to provide secretarial assistance to Armed Forces HQ. As per AFHQ Civil Services Rules, 1st and 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission Reports, and Reports of various Pay Commissions, they are supposed to man only lower and middle level bureaucratic posts and are not mandated to discharge executive functions. But now they will not only be occupying much higher executive posts but also lording over Armed Forces Officers. Lt Colonels had been historically equated with AFHQ promotee Directors and Colonels with Principal Directors. This equation was downgraded by previous Govt to equate Lt Cols with Jt Directors and Colonels with Directors, as Army HQ had been posting its officers on these lower designations for compulsions of internal cadre management.
This Govt has now further downgraded the Defence Officers status to unacceptable levels by equating Lt Cols with Dy Directors, Colonels with Jt Directors, Brigs with Directors and Maj Generals with Principal Directors. Dy Director is the first designation when a Gp B promotee civilian babu gets promoted to Gp A service, which has now been made equivalent to Lt Colonel who has minimum 13 years of Gp A service under his belt. For more than half of the uniformed Officers Lt Colonel is the last rank in their career, but it has now been made equivalent to first or lowest Gp A designation applicable to civilian babus. This way a Captain of Indian Army has been sought to be equated with civilian Gp B Section Officer (SO)/ PS and Lt with civilian Assistant SO/ PA.
Further, selection grade Colonels have now been equated with promotee Jt Directors who have just 5 years of Gp A service, and Brigs with promotee Directors. With this the Govt has made it amply clear as to why Armed Forces are being degraded even below CAPF Cadre in VII CPC recommendations, as CAPF Subordinate Officers too have similar entry level in Gp B. All this equivalence has been established by accounting years of Gp B service in respect of civilian babus against the Armed Forces Gp A service.
And all this has been done by throwing aside various parameters for establishing equivalence like Warrant of Precedence, Pay Scales, Years of service in particular class/ grade and various Judgements by Courts of Law, Reports of various Pay Commissions and Report of Gp of Ministers headed by Shri Pranab Mukherjee which was constituted vide PMO Note dated 27 Sep 2008. So,..... if you want your collective voice on this issue to be heard for forcing the Govt to reverse this illegal decision, please spare some time to be part of social awareness campaign to give it back to the party in power in whatever way possible, since political parties/ personalities understand only that language which hurts them electorally.
Kindly tag all your anger/ awareness messages through family members/ friends/ veterans to all important political persons in Govt as well as opposition parties and media houses, by using all kinds of social platforms. Success in this internal battle is as important as the surgical strikes conducted across the border for the moral of Armed forces, as it may have very serious implications in future in the way the officers deal with the national security issues.
The Govt has issued instructions this month downgrading the status of Defence officers to levels even lower than Gp B services officers. Kindly read the last line carefully which states that the order is being issued with the explicit approval of RM. There cannot be any bigger dagger stabbed in our back than this. While with the NFU issue & VII CPC Recommendations, the Govt had created some doubt in our minds about Forces Officers status, but with this order the Govt has finally made it unambiguously clear that Defence Forces Officers are even below Gp B services officers.
The AFHQ civilian cadre was raised as Gp B service in 1968 to provide secretarial assistance to Armed Forces HQ. As per AFHQ Civil Services Rules, 1st and 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission Reports, and Reports of various Pay Commissions, they are supposed to man only lower and middle level bureaucratic posts and are not mandated to discharge executive functions. But now they will not only be occupying much higher executive posts but also lording over Armed Forces Officers. Lt Colonels had been historically equated with AFHQ promotee Directors and Colonels with Principal Directors. This equation was downgraded by previous Govt to equate Lt Cols with Jt Directors and Colonels with Directors, as Army HQ had been posting its officers on these lower designations for compulsions of internal cadre management.
This Govt has now further downgraded the Defence Officers status to unacceptable levels by equating Lt Cols with Dy Directors, Colonels with Jt Directors, Brigs with Directors and Maj Generals with Principal Directors. Dy Director is the first designation when a Gp B promotee civilian babu gets promoted to Gp A service, which has now been made equivalent to Lt Colonel who has minimum 13 years of Gp A service under his belt. For more than half of the uniformed Officers Lt Colonel is the last rank in their career, but it has now been made equivalent to first or lowest Gp A designation applicable to civilian babus. This way a Captain of Indian Army has been sought to be equated with civilian Gp B Section Officer (SO)/ PS and Lt with civilian Assistant SO/ PA.
Further, selection grade Colonels have now been equated with promotee Jt Directors who have just 5 years of Gp A service, and Brigs with promotee Directors. With this the Govt has made it amply clear as to why Armed Forces are being degraded even below CAPF Cadre in VII CPC recommendations, as CAPF Subordinate Officers too have similar entry level in Gp B. All this equivalence has been established by accounting years of Gp B service in respect of civilian babus against the Armed Forces Gp A service.
And all this has been done by throwing aside various parameters for establishing equivalence like Warrant of Precedence, Pay Scales, Years of service in particular class/ grade and various Judgements by Courts of Law, Reports of various Pay Commissions and Report of Gp of Ministers headed by Shri Pranab Mukherjee which was constituted vide PMO Note dated 27 Sep 2008. So,..... if you want your collective voice on this issue to be heard for forcing the Govt to reverse this illegal decision, please spare some time to be part of social awareness campaign to give it back to the party in power in whatever way possible, since political parties/ personalities understand only that language which hurts them electorally.
Kindly tag all your anger/ awareness messages through family members/ friends/ veterans to all important political persons in Govt as well as opposition parties and media houses, by using all kinds of social platforms. Success in this internal battle is as important as the surgical strikes conducted across the border for the moral of Armed forces, as it may have very serious implications in future in the way the officers deal with the national security issues.
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