Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has appealed to the people to wholeheartedly donate to the Armed Forces Flag Day (AFFD) Fund and become a part of the Government’s endeavour to ensure the welfare of the Veer Naris, Ex-servicemen and their families. In a message on AFFD, which is celebrated on 7th December, Shri Rajnath Singh termed it as the moral responsibility of every citizen to contribute to the efforts being made by Ministry of Defence (MoD) towards the care, assistance, rehabilitation and treatment of veterans, war widows and their dependents through a number of welfare schemes. “It is our collective duty to ensure that they get due recognition from all of us,” he said.

The Raksha Mantri emphasised that the soldiers safeguard the borders with discipline, dedication and patriotism, besides making a valuable contribution in relief & rescue operations during natural and man-made disasters as well as peacekeeping missions across the globe. He paid tributes to the brave soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the motherland, with many becoming physically disabled to protect the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the nation. He exhorted the people to ensure their contribution in the AFFD Fund and inspire others to join this noble cause.

On the occasion, Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt also extended his best wishes to the Armed Forces personnel, ex-servicemen and their families. He stated that the AFFD provides an opportunity for the people to express gratitude to the gallant soldiers who are always ready to protect the country. He urged people to contribute to the AFFD Fund & support the welfare schemes.

In his message, Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane paid homage to the fallen heroes & those in uniform who strive bravely to uphold the  sovereignty and integrity of the country and called for generous contributions from the people in AFFD Fund. Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Welfare) Shri Vijoy Kumar Singh hoped that the AFFD will create awareness among people about the welfare activities being carried out by MoD for the ex-servicemen, Veer Naris and their dependents.

The AFFD is celebrated to honour the fallen heroes and the personnel uniform who fight valiantly on the borders to protect the motherland. The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, MoD has been working for the welfare and rehabilitation of war widows, wards of fallen soldiers and ex-Servicemen, including disabled ones by providing financial assistance for their identified personal needs such as penury grant, children’s education grant, funeral grant, medical grant and orphan/disabled children grant.

Recently, Medical Treatment Grant for the veterans/dependents was increased to Rs 50,000 from Rs 30,000, Vocational Training Grant for Widows was enhanced to Rs 50,000 from Rs 20,000 and Serious Diseases Grant was raised to Rs 1.50 lakh from 1.25 lakh, which is a continuous process. The assistance is provided out of the AFFD Fund. Contributions to the fund are exempt from Income Tax under Section 80G(5)(vi) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

During the Financial Year 2022-23, a grant of approximately Rs 250 crore was distributed to more than 99,000 beneficiaries. Apart from this, institutional grants have also been given to Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Kirkee and Mohali, Cheshire Home, Dehradun, Lucknow and Delhi and 36 War Memorial Hostels across the country.

Contributions can be made to the Fund by cheque/DD/ NEFT/RTGS drawn in the following bank accounts:

People can also scan the following QR code to make their donation to AFFD Fund:

*******

ABB/Savvy