Hyderabad: Till now, the country had only one sainik welfare fund, the “Flag Day Fund”, which was started in 1949.
A defence ministry official said, “This is the first time that the government is seeking additional funds to support the families of martyrs. We initiated this scheme two months ago in the name of Army Welfare Fund for Battle Casualty.”
Account details of Army Welfare Fund
The official said that the account with Syndicate Bank would be linked with the Income Tax (I-T) department for rebate provision to the donors under Section 80G of I-T Act.
“The Flag Day Fund is meant for welfare of ex-servicemen, their families and also that of martyrs. The money is used to pay the school fees of children of soldiers and for the accommodation of ex-servicemen. The fund has seen the country through the Indo-Pak wars of 1965, 1971 and the 1991 Kargil War and other losses of life,” the official told this newspaper.
