news details |
|
|
| Private airlines pose threat to IAF | | Armed Forces' pilots have lucrative jobs elsewhere | | B L KAK
NEW DELHI, AUG. 24: A piquant situation has arisen for the government of India, with private companies, particularly various airlines, continuing to get hold of a select group from the Armed Forces. Mandarins in the Ministry of Defence do not deny reports that private airlines have posed a threat in the form of having made available highly attractive and lucrative jobs for pilots from the three Services, particularly from the Air Force.
This phenomenon has triggered a good deal of confusion in the country's defence forces. Quite a few instances can be cited to show how this phenomenon has begun to affect the Armed Forces. In other words, at a time when Indian skies have witnessed a major change as a result of the stepped-up participation of commercial airlines, chances of preventing pilots in the Armed Forces from joining private airlines have considerably receded.
According to available statistics, more than 260 pilots of defence services have created history of sorts by taking premature retirement from 2002 to 2005. And the Defence Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, too, created history of sorts by being the most communicative person on this issue. Even as he recently talked about the premature retirement sought by a number of Service pilots, he chose to insist that there was no need to hit the panic button.
As Pranab Mukherjee divulged details about the voluntary retirement of pilots from the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Army and the Navy, he also chose to assert that their departure "has not affected the operational status of the Armed Forces". Stating that the majority of pilots released from the service had already completed their "useful tenure", the Defence Minister clarified that the requests for acceptance of premature retirement from the pilots "are considered according to government instructions".
Animated discusions on the "exodus" of Service pilots in official and political circles have, significantly, taken place at a time when it has been acknowledged even by knowledgeable official circles that the "main factor" for pilots to leave IAF is the greener pastures available from private airlines. It is not unknown that in the Armed Forces, one gets posted from one place to another every two-three years. This practice is not in force in private airlines.
Pranab Mukherjee has already admitted that the terms and conditions of IAF pilots are not commensurate with what commercial pilots get. The IAF has tightened controls. However, it entertains pleas for premature retirement. Even as several applications are reported to have been rejected in recent times, the desire of scores of Service pilots to move out and avail of the most attractive pay packages from private airlines has not petered out.
With reports doing the rounds vis-a-vis the requirement of domestic carriers for around 300 pilots, the possibility of more Service pilots seeking premature retirement in the coming days and weeks is not ruled out by experts. Acording to these experts, the gap betwen the pay packages drawn by commercial pilots and IAF pilots is undoubtedly wide. The salary of experienced pilots in commercial airlines is about Rs 3.5 lakhs. In IAF, a pilot gets anything betwen Rs 25,000 and Rs 40,000, in addition to perks like housing. This, it is feared, can lead more IAF pilots to leave their jobs for greener pastures.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
