(a) whether the Government are aware of problems pertaining to working and service conditions of jawans in Territorial Army;
(b) if so, the details of long pending demands;
(c) the action taken/proposed to be taken thereon; and
(d) the details of fresh policy decisions taken/under consideration to improve service conditions and provide better social securing coverage to jawans in near future?
MINISTER OF DEFENCE (SHRI GEORGE FERNANDES)
(a) to (d): The improvement of the working and service conditions of jawans in Territorial Army (TA) is a continuing process. The proposals received from various sources in this regard, inter-alia, include grant of
(i) pro-rata casual leave during embodiment, voluntary training attachment and annual training camps,
(ii) Branch Commission to TA personnel,
(iii) ad-hoc bonus to TA personnel having six months` broken spells of embodied service during a financial year,
(iv) enhancement of annual bounty,
(v) weightage in the qualifying service for the grant of pension at par with regular Army, and enhancement of Terminal gratuity on retirement discharge. These proposals merit detailed examination in consultation with various agencies including Army Headquarters and in terms of their financial viability. In the present security environment, the objective is to modernise, train and equip infantry battalions of Territorial Army to effectively discharge its assigned responsibilities.