Military needs short service

Military circles were abuzz with news that the government was finally in the last stages of fine-tuning a ‘golden handshake’ for Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) of the Defence Services. The move was being considered in order to make the scheme more attractive and reduce Permanent Commissioned Officers, thereby making the military a lean fighting machine and bringing down the pension bill.

Nice aim, wrong route.

Always expected to be notified ‘very soon’, the proposal for a better payout for SSCOs has been doing the rounds for the last few years, as files have gone back and forth between the ministries of finance and defence. Notwithstanding the same, the proposal, as projected in the media, is not quite balanced and will be of no help in attracting talent or reducing shortages. The interesting aspect of the issue is that this topic has been discussed and deliberated by a Committee of Experts constituted in 2015 (Chapter 7.5) by the then Raksha Mantri, Mahohar Parrikar in great detail, of which this author too was a member. However, it’s unknown whether the current hierarchy has been informed about the same.

Firstly, Short Service Scheme, for the longest period in the past, had operated on a 5 + 5 + 4 year basis, that is, initial terms of engagement of five years and thereafter extendable till 14 years. In 2006, it was changed to 10 + 4 years, meaning SSCOs were mandatorily stuck in the military for 10 years without any assurance of post-release civil employment, without pension, and without protection of seniority in case of joining civil service. The current scheme therefore is imbalanced, if not exploitative, since it leaves young men and women in the middle of nowhere at a fairly senior rank of Major or Lieutenant Colonel, and many a times unemployed at an age when familial commitments are at its peak. The immediate action that is required hence is to revert to the time-tested 5 + 5 + 4 system or the seven year terms of engagement recommended by the Seventh Central Pay Commission.

Secondly, instead of providing a higher amount of lumpsum payout as a ‘golden handshake’, the government should explore the possibility of introducing a handsome gratuity for SSCOs serving for over five years and Contributory Pension Scheme for those serving above 10 years or making them amenable to the New Pension Scheme (NPS) at par with civilian employees. This singular step would make the scheme most attractive among all other options, perhaps even more than Permanent Commission, and being contributory in nature, will keep the government’s pension bill in check.

In fact, a contractual scheme with contributory pension could even be introduced for jawans willing to serve for fixed terms of engagement of 10 years if they do not want to enrol for longer prevalent terms under the existing defined pension and ‘One Rank One Pension’ scheme, which can continue for the ones opting for a permanent career in the military. While keeping the future pension bill controllable, such personnel would be free to pursue other vocations on their release from the military with a back-up for survival. This could be complimented with pre-retirement management, technical or skilling courses, on which the military is already working quite progressively, and which would equip personnel on contractual terms, for life beyond the uniform.

Thirdly, the government must immediately take steps to restore the limited medical facilities wrongly snatched from SSCOs in the mid-2000s on the call of the military medical establishment. Accepting the recommendation of the Committee of Experts for rightfully restoring medical facilities, the then Raksha Mantri had directed action on the  same in August 2016, but till date the establishment has been resisting the issuance of implementation instructions despite the directions of the Minister. In fact, taking the clock back further, AK Antony, in November 2009, had announced in the Parliament the extension of the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) to SSCOs, but nine years later, nothing has materialised.

Encouraging the Short Service Scheme or contractual terms in the military with a balanced contributory pension scheme is the need of the hour. Besides making the military an attractive option for those who would only like to spend a few years in uniform and then carry on with civilian life, it would also make defence services leaner and meaner while reducing the overall pension bill of the future. It would also result in optimum cadre management and better promotional avenues and prospects for those who opt for a permanent career in the forces.

But the pertinent question, like always, is whether reformatory and innovative schemes will ever see the light of the day and whether the political executive and decision-makers will consult the right people — stakeholders, experts, former and current SSCOs facing the practical predicament of the existing scheme, or will the decision-making mechanism only rely upon the notings of some junior bureaucrats of the finance and defence ministries, sitting in a prosaic section of those grand old buildings designed with the assistance of Herbert Baker in the 1910s. Only time will tell.

The writer is an Advocate in the Punjab & Haryana High Court and writes on law, public policy and military related issues. Views are personal.