What is ‘Next of Kin’ policy, which Siachen martyr Captain Anshuman Singh's parents want revised?

Days after their son was awarded the Kirti Chakra, the parents of Captain Anshuman Singh are calling for changes to the Indian Army's 'next of kin' (NOK) policy. The parents of Captain Anshuman Singh, Ravi Pratap Singh and Manju Singh, shared their concerns in an interview with TV9 Bharatvarsh and stated that they believe the NOK rules need to be "revisited." They pointed out that their daughter-in-law, Smriti Singh, receives most of the entitlements after Anshuman's death but no longer lives with them.

Captain Anshuman Singh died in a fire incident in Siachen while on duty in July last year.

Ravi Pratap Singh told TV9 Bharatvarsh, “The criteria set for NOK is not correct. I have also spoken to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh about this. Anshuman's wife does not live with us now…their marriage was only five months old, and they have no child. Though we are the co-recipients of his Kirti Chakra, we only have our son's photo hanging on the wall with a garland on it.”

He also said, “We want NOK's definition to be fixed. It should be decided that the martyr's wife must stay with his family, who now has many dependencies.”

What is 'Next of Kin' policy?

According to the current NOK policy, when a person joins the army, the names of their parents or guardians are recorded as their 'next of kin.'  But, when that person gets married, their spouse replaces the parents in the NOK record.