Southern Army Commander Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth said on Wednesday that he has written to Chief Ministers of 11 states on how veterans can contribute to the vision of Viksit Bharat. The Army Commander said that with enthusiastic responses from all the states, the work has begun in the right direction.
The Army Commander was speaking to an audience of over 4000 armed forces veterans who had gathered at the Air Force Station Pune for celebrations of the 10th Defence Forces Veterans Day on Wednesday. The day is celebrated to honour the legacy and service of Late Field Marshal KM Cariapaa, the First Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, who retired on this day, January 14 in 1953.
The event was attended by Minister of Higher and technical education Maharashtra Chandrakant Patil, the Southern Army Commander Lt Gen Seth, Vice Admiral Anil Jaggi, Commandant, National Defence Academy, Air Vice Marshal Gurjot Singh Bhullar, Senior Officer-in-Charge Administration (SOA), South Western Air Command and Air Commodore Satbir Singh Rai, Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Air Force Station Pune along with senior officers of defence forces.
Lt Gen Seth said in his address, “When I assumed command as the Southern Army Commander, I wrote a detailed letter to the Chief Ministers of the 11 states which are in the area of responsibility of the Southern Command. I shared with them the number and other details of the ex-servicemen residing in their respective states. I also wrote to them about the various skill sets which these veterans have and how these veterans can contribute to the vision of Viksit Bharat by contributing to these states. These letters have received very enthusiastic responses from all the states and the work has begun in the right direction.”
The Southern Army Commander added, “During Operation Sindoor our veterans extended great help to our forces. Adversaries of the country have come to realise that, when there is a threat to our nation, veterans play a frontline role in the service. And the country salutes this spirit of the veterans. As part of veterans’ welfare, Project Naman was conceptualised. This ensured one platform solution to various issues related to SPARSH (System for Pension Administration Raksha) and document related assistance could be provided. Till January 2026, as many as 100 Naman Centres have been operationalised and our aim to start 200 by January 2027 across the country. 40 such centres have been already established in the area of responsibility of Southern Command.”
A project designed to provide dedicated support and services to Defence Pensioners, Veterans and their families, Project Naman is centred around the implementation of the SPARSH digital pension system, which streamlines pension related processes for Defence Pensioners, addressing the critical need for accessible facilitation points for Veterans and Next of Kin (NOK) across the country.
The key focus of Veterans Day celebrations on Wednesday was enhancing awareness among veterans and their dependents on issues pertaining to pensions, grievances, financial assistance, Ex Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) scheme and various welfare schemes. Veterans and their dependents were encouraged to project their problems, concerns and suggestions during the programme. Lectures were conducted by Directorate of Air Veterans (DAV), Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA) and Zila Sainik Kalyan Board.
Curated by Aisha Patel
