The Indian Naval Benevolent Association was established in 1942 as a registered charitable organisation. Its object is to relieve financial hardship/distress amongst serving and ex-naval personnel and their dependents. Its sources of income are:-

(a) Subscriptions from serving naval personnel.

(b) Donations.

(c) Interest on Investments.

(d) Contribution from the Armed Forces Benevolent Fund.

(e) Flag Day Fund.

(f) Allocations from the IN Amenities Fund for the welfare of ex servicemen and their families from 1988-89 onwards.

In January 1963, membership of the Association was made compulsory for all serving naval personnel. In April 1967, the monthly subscription was raised. The scale ranged from Rs 3.50 for the seniormost officer to Rs 1.50 for the juniormost sailor.

Loans. The Association sanctions loans to officers and sailors for house repairs and marriages of daughter/sister and to sailors only for medical expenses and higher education. Between 1965 and 1975, the following changes took place:-

(a) Interest was waived on loans for marriage.

(b) Loans were increased for the marriage of a sailor's sister/daughter.

(c) Benefits were increased to the next of kin of personnel who died in service .

(d) In 1972, loans were increased for house repairs. Loans for sisters marriage were discontinued.

Grants. Grants are sanctioned only in exceptional cases to serving personnel based on the merits of each case. Sailors having handicapped children can apply for grant for education and special equipment. Sailors can apply for house repair grants after a natural calamity. Grants are normally paid only to retired naval personnel on death, and for economic activity venture. Between 1965 and 1975, the following changes took place:-

(a) Grants were increased to the next of kin on death whilst in service.

(b) After the 1971 war, an ad-hoc grant was given to the bereaved families.

Command Benevolent Funds.

The Association places funds at the disposal of the three Commands and INS India to meet extreme emergent requirements.

Family Assistance Scheme 1969.

The Family Assistance Scheme was introduced in January 1969 to provide regular income in the form of a monthly allowance to bereaved families.

The membership of the Scheme was compulsory for all serving naval personnel. Every quarter the Naval Pay Office recovered a contribution of Rs 30 from all serving officers and midshipmen and Rs 6 from sailors.

Officers Family Assistance Scheme

The Officers Family Assistance Scheme provided the following assistance:-

(a) On Retirement. A resettlement grant depending on the period the officer was a member of the scheme.

(b) In the Event of Death Whilst Serving. A lump sum grant of Rs 750/- on death and a grant of Rs 150/- per month upto a maximum of 10 years or till successful rehabilitation of the family/dependent whichever was earlier, as per a sliding scale.

(c) On Death Within Five Years After Retirement. A monthly allowance of Rs 100/- per month for the balance of the period of 5 years to those who had contributed to the fund for 10 years or more. For others the benefit period was reduced, as per a sliding scale.

Sailors Family Assistance Scheme.

The Sailors Family Assistance Scheme provided the following assistance:-

New Entrants.

On Retirement/Release/Discharge from Service. A resettlement grant not less than the total contribution.

On Death Whilst in Service. A grant of Rs 50/- per month for a number of years depending on date of admission into the scheme.

On Death Within 5 Years of Retirement/Release/ Discharge from Service. A monthly allowance of Rs 50/- per month for the balance of the period of 5 years to those who had contributed to the scheme for 15 years or more.

Existing Sailors.

On Retirement/Release/Discharge from Service. A resettlement grant not less than the total contribution.

On Death Whilst in Service. Grants as per a sliding scale.

On Death Within 5 Years of Release/Discharge from Service. Same as for new entrants.

Naval Group Insurance Scheme 1975.

In December 1975, the Officers and Sailors Family Assistance Schemes were changed into the Group Insurance Scheme. The scheme was initially run under aegis of the INBA and in association with the Life Insurance Corporation. From October 1976 onwards, Government accorded approval for Naval Headquarters to run the scheme departmentally as a self run scheme.

Instead of the quarterly subscription of the Family Assistance Scheme, the monthly contributions for Group Insurance were Rs 30 for officers and midshipmen and Rs 10 for sailors.

Benefits of the Group Insurance Scheme.

On Retirement. Personnel were paid a survival benefit depending on the quantum of interest/profit earned and the length of service.

Death Benefit. A lump sum grant to the next of kin/dependent of Rs 30,000 for officers and Rs 15,000 for sailors.

SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME 1972

The Scheme was introduced from the academic year 1971-72 to award scholarships for:

(a) Undertaking post 10+2 courses. Scholarships were made available for the children of serving sailors and the children of officers and sailors killed in action or who died whilst in Service. In 1971, the annual scholarships for a maximum period of five years were Rs 300 for day scholars and Rs 700 for boarders.

(b) Undertaking Graduation/Post Graduation degree Courses without imposing any criteria of merit. Scholarships were made available for the daughters of serving and deceased sailors. The number of scholarships is limited to only two daughters of a sailor throughout his entire service career.

(c) Availing of coaching through correspondence courses for joint Entrance Examinations through authorised institutions. Reimbursement was made available for the children of serving sailors of Rs 2000 for a maximum of two children.

INDIAN NAVAL AMENITIES FUND

The IN Amenities Fund was established in 1946 to provide welfare and amenities for serving and retired personnel and their families.

The INAF's sources of income are:

(a) Armed Forces Reconstruction Fund.

(b) Flag Day Fund.

(c) Profits from Canteen Stores Department (India).

(d) Profits from Indian Naval Canteen Service.

(e) Monthly subscription from officers & sailors.

(f) Any income derived or donations received from other sources for purposes of amenities.

In 1968, the quarterly rate of contribution was fixed at a maximum of Rs 36 for the seniormost officer and 75 paise for the juniormost sailor.

Developments After 1975

INBA's Naval Group Insurance Scheme

The Group Insurance Scheme has been improved from 1978 onwards to provide higher insurance cover:-

(a) The disability cover was introduced for the first time in 1980.

(b) Additional group insurance schemes for Aviation, Submarine and IMSF personnel were introduced at the behest of the Government from 1 September 1981 to provide additional cover for these high risk groups.

(c) The Post Retirement Death Insurance Scheme was introduced in 1982.

Being risk cum saving schemes, Group Insurance Schemes are intended to provide a meaningful amount to bereaved families and to those invalided out of Service. To facilitate smooth rehabilitation in civil life, the avowed objective is also to give a reasonable amount to Naval personnel on their retirement/discharge from Service. Major improvements in the scheme were effected after the first comprehensive actuarial review in 1988. The salient features of the revised scheme, introduced from January 1989, were:

(a) Higher insurance cover with a relatively lesser increase in monthly premium.

(b) Parity in insurance cover for death in peace and in war time.

(c) Payment of saving element in addition to the insurance cover for death and invalidment.

After the award of the Fifth Pay Commission and taking into consideration the erosion in the purchasing power of the rupee:-

(a) The insurance cover has been increased to Rs 7 lacs for officers and Rs 3.5 lacs for sailors with a monthly contribution of Rs 500 and Rs 250 respectively.

(b) The Post Retirement Death Insurance Scheme, which provides insurance cover for death upto 15 years after retirement or 70 years of age whichever is earlier, has been enhanced to Rs 2.5 lacs for officers and Rs 1.5 lacs for sailors with a one-time term premium of Rs 8000 and Rs 2700 respectively.

INBA Housing-loan-Scheme.

To meet the essential requirement of a dwelling unit, a Housing loan Scheme, directly financed from NGIF, was introduced in 1988 after the Government had expressed its inability to extend the benefit of a housing loan of Rs 2.5 lacs to Service personnel as was being given to Civilian Central Government employees. In November 1997, the quantum of housing loan was increased to Rs 7 lacs for officers and Rs 3.5 lacs for sailors, subject to repayment capacity.

INBA's Subsidiary Fund

In 1988, a separate INBA Subsidiary Fund was instituted for the welfare of ex-Naval personnel and their families. It started with an initial corpus of Rs 1 crore from the IN Amenities Fund and marked a watershed in the history of the INBA to alleviate financial distress and provided succour to Naval pensioners in distress.

The fund is given an annual allocation from the INAF to augment its resources. Existing schemes have been improved and new schemes introduced:

(a) Introduction of the Octogenarian Grant and its subsequent enhancement from Rs 18000 to Rs 25000.

(b) The enhancement of financial assistance for specialised medical treatment from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lac each for member and spouse towards surgery and treatment for Cardio-Vascular diseases, Cancer, Renal transplant and complete Hip/Knee joint replacement.

(c) Enhancement of the ex-gratia grant on death to the next of kin to Rs 10,000 for officers and Rs 5000 for sailors.

(d) Introduction of ex-gratia grant for the marriage of children of widows of naval personnel who die in service or as pensioners.

(e) Enhancement in the annual scholarship for higher education to the children of Naval pensioners to Rs 3000 for day scholars and Rs 6000 for boarders.

The contribution rates have been progressively revised. The present rates of contribution effective September 97 are Rs 60 per quarter by officers and Rs 18 per quarter by sailors.

The major welfare projects presently financed from INAF are:

(a) Augmentation of Kindergarten and Naval Public Schools.

(b) Modernisation of service hospitals.

(c) Augmentation of MI Room and Dental Centres for ex-servicemen and their families.

(d) Promotion of sports and adventure activities.

STATISTICS OF DISBURSEMENTS

The major projects financed were:

- KG Schools at HAMLA, SHIVAJI, Cochin and New Delhi

- Loans for Purchase of buses

- INCS Complex at Cochin and Improvements in Canteen Facilities in ships and establishments.

- Furniture and furnishings in messes.

EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES FOR CHILDREN OF NAVAL PERSONNEL

Kendriya Vidyalayas in the Navy

One of the colateral responsibilities of the Education Branch was to plan and organise the availability of educational facilities for the children of naval personnel. Naval "Children's Schools" were started at Bombay, Cochin, Goa, Karanja, Lonavala and Visakhapatnam on naval land.

Concurrently, the Central Government's Ministry of Education established a chain of higher secondary schools all over the country under the Kendra Vidyalaya Scheme to prepare students for the All India Higher Secondary Examination of the CBSE. The objective of the KVs was to provide subsidised educational facilities and hostel accommodation for children of Armed Forces personnel, civilians paid from the Defence Services Estimates and other categories of Central Government employees who were liable to frequent transfers. In due course, the naval Children's Schools were taken over by the Ministry of Education and administered as Kendriya Vidyalayas.

By following common text books and a common syllabus, KVs ensure continuity when children move from one KV to another. The medium of instruction is Hindi/English. The KVs charge no tuition fee upto class VIII and the rates of tuition fees for classes IX, X and XI are nominal. The priorities for admission to KV's, as laid down by the Central Schools Organisation, are:

(a) Children of transferable defence personnel.

(b) Children of transferable Central Government employees.

(c) Children of officers of All India Services, autonomous bodies/projects (fully financed by the Government) and public undertakings/corporations whose services may be transferable.

(d) Children of non-transferable defence personnel and Central Government employees.

(e) Other floating population which includes the civilian population desirous of joining the pattern of studies adopted in the KVs.

(f) Children of the staff of KVs and the KV Organisation, and children of the employees of IITs for KVs located in their campuses, are bracketed with category (a) above.

Naval Public Schools

When the children of Central Government employees became eligible for admission to Kendriya Vidyalayas, problems arose for the admission of naval children in stations where the KVs were not sited within the campus of naval establishments. To overcome this problem, the Navy opened Naval Public Schools, funded from the Navy's Non-Public Funds and affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education. Initially, these schools were started in stations which did not have a major naval establishment. Later, Naval Public Schools were also set up at those stations which had KVs located within the campus of naval establishments. At present, there are Naval Public Schools at Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Goa, Port Blair, Arrakonam and Lonavala.

Navy Education Society

The Navy Education Society was formed in October 1986. Its objective is to promote education, science, culture and fine arts amongst the children and families of naval personnel. The Society governs the Naval Public Schools and the KG Schools at various naval stations, including reportedly the biggest KG School in Asia at Bombay. It is also responsible for the formulation of broad policies, standardisation of curricula and administration/setting up of educational institutions at naval stations.

Military Schools

Military Schools are located at Ajmer, Bangalore, Belgaum, Chail and Dholpur. These are residential institutions run on public school lines and prepare students for the All India Higher Secondary Examinations conducted by the CBSE and the entrance examination to the NDA. These schools conduct classes from standards V to XI with English as the medium of instruction. The maximum strength of each school is 300 boarders and 30 day scholars except at Ajmer and Dholpur whose boarder strengths are 230 and 200 respectively. 60% of the vacancies of boarders in these schools are reserved for serving JCOs and ORs, NCs(E), civilian clerks etc. 50 seats are reserved for sons of JCOs and ORs and their equivalents in the Navy and Air Force, killed in action. The remaining 40% vacancies are earmarked for the sons of officers and civilians. For the reserved vacancies, boys are admitted in the V class on the basis of an all India admission test conducted by Army Headquarters. They must have reached the age of 9 years and should not be more than 10 1/2 years on 01 Jul of the year of admission. Some boys can be admitted to higher classes, subject to availability of vacancies.

Sainik Schools

These are residential schools for boys, providing a public school education with a military bias. A chain of Sainik Schools has been established in the various states in the country, primarily to serve as feeder institutions to train boys to enter the NDA. The schools are administered by an autonomous board of governors under the chairmanship of the Minister of Defence. These schools prepare students for the All India Higher Secondary Examination of the Central Board of Secondary Education, and the Entrance Examination of the NDA conducted by the UPSC.

Admission to Sainik Schools is made in Standard V and is restricted to boys between the ages of 9 and 10 years. Boys between the ages of 10 and 11 are also considered for admission to class VI in the few schools which have vacancies in that class, which however is restricted to boys from the state in which the school is located.

67% of the seats in each school are reserved for boys belonging to the state in which the school is situated. A number of vacancies are reserved for the sons of defence service personnel and ex-servicemen. Boys are admitted to the schools on the basis of an all India entrance examination held at various centres in the country in February each year.