Prime Minister Narendra Modi with soldiers of the Indian Army (Narendra Modi/Twitter)In a significant move, the Centre today (22 March) announced that it would remove the earlier Rs 10,000 limit imposed by the Seventh Pay Commission and instead fully fund the education of children of soldiers who were either killed or disabled while on duty, reports The Indian Express. Earlier, children were given full reimbursement for books, uniforms, tuition and hostel fees under an “educational concession” but it was capped at Rs 10,000 per month.
The concession applies to children of officers, those below the officer rank who were missing in action and those who were disabled or killed in action.
After the limit was imposed, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba had written to the Ministry of Defence asking for the cap to be lifted. The Chief of Staffs Committee (CoSC) which includes the Chief of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force had written to the Ministry as well.
The decision to bear the cost of education of uniformed martyrs was taken in 1971 and came into effect in 1972.
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