REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT – ESM A CONCEPT PAPER

A CASE FOR COORDINATED MANAGEMENT AND EFFECTIVE USE OF EX-SERVICEMEN IN THE

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND GENERATION OF EMPLOYMENT POTENTIAL IN GENERAL WITH EX-
SERVICEMEN AS NUCLEUS

By Group Captain B U B Murthy (Retd)

Introduction

Ex-Serviceman form a large chunk of well trained, well dedicated and well
disciplined lot of Indian Society who retire at a comparatively young age after
their normal tenure vis-à-vis their counterparts in the civil. The rehabilitation
of Ex-servicemen has been attracting the attention of the Governments and other
Organisations at various levels. However the placement of the exservicemen and
rehabilitation has been a far cry in the present scenario where there is lack of
opportunities even for a fresher. Further, in spite of most of the ex servicemen
having been trained in skills and highly qualified / professional, the perception
of the civil organization has been that the ESM (Ex-servicemen) is fit generally
for security jobs, from guard to security officer, whatever may be his/their skill
/ competence. While some Officers and men get accommodated in the Govt / Quasi
Govt and other Organisations, a large chunk of ESM either get no job or a job well
below his/their qualification and experience. Thus the money spent by the
exchequer on training these officers and men, both in leadership, management and
technical skills are under utilized, unlike in other all India services (where
the opportunities exist till they reach 60-65 years), or rarely utilized after
their retirement / honorable discharge from the Services. Moreover, the
Governmental organizations have their limitations in accommodating this large
chunk of ESM.

With this background, we may recall that the Defence Services have a well
qualified, well trained and well disciplined lot of officers and men whose
services can be better utilized. Further the ESM retire (or discharged) at an
young age where their commitments to the family are high. Hence they are,
perforce, forced to seek reemployment to supplement their pension. This forces
them to accept employment outside whether it befits his qualification / skills or
not.

Aim

This paper propounds a constructive and pro-active role for the Air Force
Association and other similar Organizations from sister Services in the
establishment of ventures with the available know-how, knowledge and skills, of
the Ex Servicemen of the respective service. This will generate employment in the
civil sector besides reemployment/ rehabilitation of ESM under the aegis of the
Air Force Association and similar organisations from sister services without being
purely dependant on the Governmental Organization.

Proposal

The proposal envisages the rehabilitation avenues for the ex-servicemen and
generation of employment potential thereof in the civil sector utilizing the well
trained, well disciplined and well nurtured potential of the ex servicemen, whose
number may run into few lacs; keeping these people as nucleus, the ex-servicemen
welfare associations like the Air Force Association can generate lot of employment
potential, extending their wings even to the District Level. Besides looking
after the welfare of the ESM and families, they can provide employment to the
unemployed in the region. This will not only bring the ESM into the main stream,
but will form a potent apolitical and reckonable force in the Nation’s
Development.

Execution/Implementation

This proposal mainly aims at the ESM of the Air Force and wherever it is possible
the ESM other services can be associated and benefits can be extended. The
execution of a TRI - SERVICE scheme involving the ESM of the three Services needs
a close coordination and management of the resources of the three services and
this will take a longtime to materialize because of the bureaucratic delays and
red–tapism since every services is likely to show one -upmanship. To
make the scheme effective, it is imperative that the powers that be should show a
commitment to the cause of the brothers at arms vis-à-vis the societal needs, for
the optimum utilization of the well trained, well-disciplined and dedicated Human
Resource Capital available on hand to enhance the national wealth. Retirement from
service does not necessarily mean retirement from societal commitments. Suffice
to say that a well thought of infrastructure can be built to make the scheme a
success if and only if concerted efforts are made. A BRAIN STORMING session at
the various power centers on the subject will be more helpful in bringing about
more ideas/views to supplement the views expressed in the paper.

Implementation

To implement the scheme a careful study needs to be undertaken under the following
heads:
Availability of the human resource and Role of the Air Force Association
Schemes which can be undertaken with the available human resource
Maintenance of the schemes and generation of employment facilities for the civil
population
Generation of funds and Development of Infrastructure facilities
Organisational Structure for Administration

The above points are discussed hereunder in detail.

Availability of human resource and Role of Air Force Association: Presently there
are a few lakhs of retired Air Force Personnel (ESM) spread over the country.
Every year a few thousand get added up to this number. Generally these personnel
fall under the following categories Flying- We have mainly Officers (Pilots and
Navigators) falling in this category Technical-We have both officers and men
falling in this category. This includes Officers with Engineering, (Mechanical,
Electronics and Electrical, Computers Aeronautical etc) and technical manpower
working on aircraft, signal, radio, radar, automobiles etc

Non– Technical- We have Officers and men of various Ground Duty Branches, like
Admin, Education, Accts., Logistics etc

Medical- Medical Officers and men of specialization in the field of medicine and
allied fields.

The Air Force Association will play an effective role in obtaining the statistics
pertaining to these categories of personnel with their qualifications and
specializations, the location where stationed and whether employed etc.
Maintenance of a Data Base of all ESM will be very vital. An interaction with
some of the ESM reveals that some of them are not members of AFA even today, i.e.
after nearly 8-10 years of retirement/ discharge. The reasons advanced by them, in
general, are that AFA is oriented only towards the welfare of retired personnel in
Delhi and surroundings, that they are ignorant of the AFA and procedure involved
in enrolling as a member that they do not derive any benefits from the AFA and
hence feels it unnecessary to join as a member and so on. Hence there is a need to
remove this misnomer about AFA from the minds of personnel in general and ensure
100% enrolment of personnel. This is only possible if the AFA projects itself in
the minds of such people that it is there to take up the cause of ESM of the Air
Force, in general, throughout the country and works as a complement to DGR and its
agencies in generating and providing employment. Further the AFA can play a major
and active role compared to DGR in respect of Air Force Personnel.

Schemes That Can Be Undertaken

Data Bank & Placement Cell: As a first step the Data Bank should be updated to
know the human capital available. Having the data, the placement cell should
endeavor to establish a liaison with the various organizations, firms etc in the
region and update itself with the availability of suitable vacancies for the ESM
and sponsor suitable candidates. As a first step the placement Cells can be
started to function at all regional centers. This along with other commitments
can absorb some officers and men.

Education Ventures: As has been mentioned earlier we have qualified Officers and
men whose services can be utilized to start the following ventures with a
complement of expertise from the civil.

Schools and Colleges: Schooling of children has been one of the commitments of the
nation and Universalisation of education has been a national commitment under the
National Policy of Education, which has been an unfulfilled dream. Since the ESM
both Officers and men of the education cadre have spread themselves to the remote
corners of the country, a concerted effort could be made to pool up the resource
to open schools. Better Schools and School Education with / without capitation
fees is the need of the hour and we can meet the challenge. Since this falls in
the development schemes of the Govt. this is expected to get the support from
Govt. in the form of land, finance and infrastructure.

Collegiate Education has been a stereotyped one with the same syllabus with MPC,
BiPC, BZC, etc. etc. and similar groups in the arts and commerce. With the
available specialization of ESM, the Colleges, which get started under the aegis
of the Air Force Association, can have specialization and job oriented like
Meteorology, Computers etc. A study was undertaken at Air HQ to open an Air Force
College at Delhi, which did not take off. That study will be helpful in opening
of colleges with job/ professional oriented colleges. Unlike business ventures,
an endeavor by AFA will extend quality education.

Technical Oriented Ventures

The Technically Oriented Ventures can be considered under three categories. They
are
(i) Technical / Engineering Colleges
(ii) Polytechnics / ITIs either attached to the Engineering Colleges or
Independently
(iii)Workshops either along with the Engineering / Technical Colleges /
Polytechnics/ ITI s or independently could be with the help of the various reputed
organizations like Maruti Automobiles, Phillips etc. either as franchisees or
otherwise
Management Colleges / Institutions: College of Defense Management is a Premier
Management Institute imparting Management Education to the Officers of the
Services. The Officers doing LDMC are awarded MMS by the Osmania University. The
College also conducts various management Capsules and also SDMC for Senior
Commanders. Apart from that the officers get the training from the Air Force
Administrative College and the Defense Services Staff College, College of Air
Warfare etc. These Training courses coupled with field experience give an edge to
these officers compared to their civilian counterparts. Their experience
supported by the know-how and the expertise from their civilian counterparts will
create a comparable Organisation.

Career Counseling/ Guidance cells And Coaching Institutions. While the urban
population gets to know the avenues available for career development and
facilities are available for guidance, there is in general a deficiency in this
area. There are certain District Headquarters and Divisional Headquarters
townships where the student populations do not know how to join services either as
officers or airmen. Thus there is a shortage in recruitment in the areas. They do
not know the availability of avenues outside their Districts. They do not know
about the competitive exams etc. Thus they choose to pay hefty donations in
getting the seats either engineering or medical or others and be content with.
Even some bright and intelligent loose out due to lack of information. An effort
can be made to consider the ventures leading to counseling and coaching in some of
these will be a yeomen service to those young minds.

Administrative/ Welfare/ Legal Cell

An Administrative Cell at each of the Regional/ Zonal Centers will be imperative
to enable coordinated effort in ensuring that all cases concerning the individual
or the welfare in general of ESM. It has been observed that the ESM are at a
disadvantage for the reason that the domicile status of ESM is in question,
whether it be for children or employment or any facilities to be extended by the
state on the basis of domicile status since the ESM generally move from one state
to the other their service tenure and their domicile status is in question.

Moreover, the introduction of the ECHS by the services and the extension of the
facilities like exemption of property tax to Service/ ESM, there is a need to
disseminate the information of the welfare measures and to assist the ESM to
pursue their cases as an organisation. This cell can also provide assistance from
the ESM legal Cell (Some free legal Cells do exist for ESM), which can be opened
as an advisory element. This is necessary since the organization can influence
better than individuals.

Medical Centers in the interiors

This can be considered after a careful study, in consultation with the members of
the profession
Maintenance of the Schemes/ Generation of Employment
The schemes proposed envisage a constructive role of the Air Force Association and
its members. The schemes cannot be exclusive schemes for the ESM, as the
servicemen, in general, are cut off from the civil life. Further the know-how
available and expertise are service oriented. The manpower needs cannot be fully
met out of the ESM. Moreover, should you need any help or assistance from the
Government, you must show how the scheme supports the Governmental Schemes
substantially. Thus it is imperative that a major/ substantive employment
generation and openings are shown for the civilian counterparts( may be about 50%
in some cases.
Second option is to fall back on some of the business houses like Tatas, Birlas,
Mahindras, and Ambanis to support the cause by which the business houses gain by
way of mutual support.

Generation of Funds and other Infra Structural Facilities

Generation of funds for maintenance of ventures and infrastructure facilities will
be one of our major concerns on finalisation of the projects to be undertaken. The
requirement of funds is to be considered under the following heads
Basic Infrastructure which includes lands and buildings
Infrastructure development for the projects which includes modification of the
existing buildings if any and for new constructions

Cost of equipment and other ancillaries

Maintenance basic infrastructure and other maintenance including salaries for
staff
Creation of a Corpus for each of the ventures in the long run
Any other commitment, foreseen/ unforeseen

The following sources can be considered for fund generation

Grants from National Defense Fund, IAF CWF, IAFBA, Jawan’s Welfare Trusts etc
Grants from State / Central Govts.
Grants / Support from Industrial Houses
Support by way of Installation / equipment for Workshops etc
Subscription/ Donations from retired and retiring personnel on the pattern of
ECHS. This needs a detailed discussion.
Collections in terms of fees when the projects take off.
Any other recognized and reputed sources
The state Governments can be approached for allotment of surplus lands for the
venture either free of cost or on lease or on nominal costs/rents

ORGANISATION:
The proposal envisages creation of either a pyramidal/conical infrastructure under
the aegis of the Air Force Association, with AFA at the helm as the Apex Body.
Zonal Offices at the Regional Centers will form the next rung in the ladder,
percolating further to the District level in course of time. This will also
ensure active involvement of the Regional Centers.
The organizational structure can be worked out after the formal approval in
principle of the scheme. However as a first step updation of the data bank be
undertaken both at the Central and the Regional centers and efforts be made to
achieve 100% membership. The existing infrastructure be supplemented to ensure
updation of the data.

Conclusion
The proposals advanced are intended to make the role of the Air Force Association
more constructive and to make it more participative in the National
Building/Development by using the Human Capital of well trained, well disciplined
and experienced ESM. This effort will help in providing Resettlement to the needy
ESM and provide ample employment opportunities to the educated unemployed in the
ventures created with ESM as nucleus. This will not only bring the ESM into the
mainstream of the society but will be a potent force to reckon with in the long
run in the national development, in a society where political affiliations and
pressure politics play a greater role.