Lok Sabha Question No. 970 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-07-22
Subject: Welfare Schemes for War Widows
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: PARAYAMPARANBIL KUTTAPPAN BIJU

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

## DEPARTMENT OF EX-SERVICEMEN WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.970

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 22 ND  JULY, 2016

## WELFARE  SCHEMES  FOR  WAR  WIDOWS

970. SHRI  P.K. BIJU:

Will the Minister of DEFENCE j{kk ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) the total number of war widows in the country,  State / UT-wise;
- (b) whether  the  Government  is  implementing  any  scheme  for  the  welfare  of  war widows and their dependents; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## A    N    S    W    E    R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

(DR. SUBHASH BHAMRE)

j{kk jkT; ea=h

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- (a) Total  number  of  war  widows  in  the  country,  State/UT-wise  are  at Annexure-I.

(b) & (c): The schemes being run by the Government for the welfare of war widows and their dependents are at  Annexure-II.

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## ANNEXURE-II REFERRED IN THE REPLY GIVEN  IN PARTS (b) & (c) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 970 FOR 22.07.2016

The schemes being run by Government for the welfare of war widows and their dependents are as follows:

(i) Out  of  the  total  reserved  vacancies  for  Armed  Force  Personnel  for Group 'C' & Group 'D' posts in Public Sector Undertakings & Bank Jobs, 4.5% is exclusively reserved for War  Widows/Disabled  Personnel. In addition, priority  is  given  to  widows and  Next  of Kin  (NOK)  of  disabled  personnel  in government jobs.

(ii) The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has reserved  quota for LPG Distributorship and Petrol/Diesel Retail Outlets for defence personnel which also includes widows/dependents of members of Armed Forces who died in war or died in harness due to causes attributable to or aggravated by Military Service.  The  eligibility  certificate  for  the  above  distributorship  is  issued  by Directorate General of Resettlement (DGR) to eligible persons.

(iii) Tipper  Attachment  Scheme:  The  scheme  is  linked  with  the    Exservicemen  (ESM)  Coal  Loading  and  Transportation  Scheme  run  under  the aegis of Directorate General of Resettlement. The widows deposit an amount of  Rupees  One  Lakh  with  the  affiliated  Coal  Loading  and  Transportation Company which pays back an amount of Rs. 3000/- per month for a period of 5  years.  On  completion  of  5  years,  the  principal  amount  is  returned  to  the individual.

(iv) Allotment of SAFAL Outlets: SAFAL outlets, a subsidiary of Mother Dairy Private  Limited  comprising  of  Fruits  &  Vegetable  Shops  are  provided  to dependents of service personnel who passed away in service. The same is only applicable in Delhi & National Capital  Region.

(v) 3% vacancies are offered to the widows of martyrs and Ex-Servicemen for Directorate General of Resettlement sponsored courses depending on their qualification  and  on  payment  of  fee  as  applicable  to  other  participating candidates.

(vi) Allotment of Class V Surplus B Vehicle:   War widows are eligible for one Class V surplus Vehicles of their own choice, which are available at subsidized rates.

(vii) Benefits given to War Widows from Armed Forces Flag Day Fund: (a) Education Grant upto two children for Pensioner/ Non-Pensioner upto Hav Rank: (i) Boys and Girls upto Graduation (ii) Widows for Post Graduation course   Rs. 1,000/- per month

(b) Officer Cadet Grant (for Cadets of NDA only) (Pensioner/Non-Pen upto Hav Rank) Rs. 1,000/- per month

(c) Disabled Children Grant (Pensioner/Non-Pen upto Hav Rank) Rs. 1,000/- per month

(d) House Repair Grant (Pensioner/Non-Pen upto Hav Rank) Rs. 20,000/-(One Time)

(e) Daughter's Marriage Grant (upto 02 Daughters) (Pensioner/Non-Pen upto Hav Rank) Rs. 50,000/-

(f) Widow's Re-Marriage Grant (Pensioner/Non-Pen upto Hav Rank) Rs. 50,000/-

(g) Orphan Grant Rs. 1,000/- per month (for wards of Pensioner/ Non-Pen) (i) Daughters of ex-servicemen till she is married (ii) One Son of ex-servicemen upto 21 years of age

(h) Vocational Training Grant for Widows Rs. 20,000/-(One Time) (Pensioner/Non-Pen upto Hav Rank)

(viii).     Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme:  For  financially supporting degree level professional education for the wards of War widows (all ranks) and Ex-Servicemen (Personnel Below Officers Rank). Total 5500 scholarships are  provided  to  eligible  boys  &  girls  on  equitable  basis.  Priority  is  given  to wards of War widows. The rates of Scholarship are as follows:(i) Rs. 2000/\_ per month for boys. (ii) Rs. 2250/- per month for girls.

(ix). Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme is available for the health care  of  war  widows  and  their dependents.  War  widows  are  exempted from paying contribution to become member of the scheme.

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## ANNEXURE-I  REFERRED  IN  THE  REPLY  GIVEN  IN  PART  (a)  OF  LOK

SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 970 FOR 22.07.2016 Details  of  State/UT-wise  war  widows  in  the  country,  registered  with

Rajya Sainik Boards, are as follows:

| Sl. No.   | States/UTs        |   War Widows |
|-----------|-------------------|--------------|
| 1.        | Andaman & Nicobar |            0 |
| 2.        | Andhra Pradesh    |          188 |
| 3.        | Arunachal Pradesh |            1 |
| 4.        | Assam             |          176 |
| 5.        | Bihar             |          353 |
| 6.        | Chandigarh        |           30 |
| 7.        | Chhattisgarh      |           13 |
| 8.        | Delhi             |           34 |
| 9.        | Goa               |            2 |
| 10.       | Gujarat           |           18 |
| 11.       | Haryana           |         1247 |
| 12.       | Himachal Pradesh  |         1053 |
| 13.       | Jammu & Kashmir   |           29 |
| 14.       | Jharkhand         |          109 |
| 15.       | Karnataka         |          227 |
| 16.       | Kerala            |          288 |
| 17.       | Madhya Pradesh    |          195 |
| 18.       | Maharashtra       |          730 |
| 19.       | Manipur           |          203 |
| 20.       | Meghalaya         |           18 |
| 21.       | Mizoram           |           11 |
| 22.       | Nagaland          |           10 |
| 23.       | Odisha            |           28 |
| 24.       | Puducherry        |            0 |
| 25.       | Punjab            |         1079 |
| 26.       | Rajasthan         |         1325 |
| 27.       | Sikkim            |            3 |
| 28.       | Tamil Nadu        |          262 |
| 29.       | Telangana         |           10 |
| 30.       | Tripura           |            6 |
| 31.       | Uttar Pradesh     |          996 |
| 32.       | Uttarakhand       |         1402 |
| 33.       | West Bengal       |          171 |
|           | TOTAL             |        10217 |

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