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Government increases allowances for IAF personnel

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

Several anomalies in the Fifth Pay Commission's recommendations for personnel of the Indian Air Force have finally been settled, Air Chief Marshal Anil Yashwant Tipnis announced on Saturday.

Addressing reporters in New Delhi on the eve of the sixty-eighth Air Force Day, ACM Tipnis said the IAF is also taking several steps to prepare itself for the new millennium, with its Vision 2020 plan.

"I am feeling upbeat," he said about various plans being drawn up to equip the air force to meet emerging demands.

On the settling of the Pay Commission anomalies, he said the IAF would implement the improved allowances, especially for personnel below officer rank (PBOR), with retrospective effect.

On February 29, the government had notified the risk-related allowances, but the IAF had not implemented them following disagreement over the allowances for PBOR.

The Group of Ministers, which met on Friday, resolved the disputed matters and Defence Secretary T R Prasad called on the air chief on Saturday morning with the final proposals.

ACM Tipnis said all pilots, irrespective of whether they fly fighters, helicopters or transport aircraft, would get a starting flying allowance of Rs 4,500 for the rank of flying officer. For a flight lieutenant the allowance would be between Rs 5000 and Rs 5500, rising to Rs 10,000 for a squadron leader.

For flight engineers, who had protested against the huge difference between their allowances and those of pilots, the starting allowance remains Rs 750 per mensem. But with additional qualifications it will rise to Rs 1,500 per mensem.

According to defence ministry sources, other issues sorted out by the GoM included diploma pay scale for sergeants (subject to certain conditions), technical airworthiness certification allowance and flight charge certification allowance for technical airmen. "Air traffic controllers and flight controllers will get increased allowances and the travel entitlements of the PBOR have also been enhanced," they said.

The PBOR were unhappy with the recommendations of the Pay Commission, especially with regard to the inter-services fixation of pay scales, saying they had not gained as much as their counterparts in the other services.

Detailing various steps being taken to equip the air force to meet modern challenges, Air Chief Marshal Tipnis said the recent agreement signed with the Russians during President Vladimir Putin's visit was very important in the "long-term planning perspective".

"Indigenous manufacture of the SU-30MKI will begin soon, after the upgradations in Russia get over," he said.

The upgraded Sukhoi fighter-bombers to be manufactured in India under transfer of technology will give the IAF a leap of almost a decade in technological capabilities, he said.

By the end of next year, the first upgraded SU-30MKIs, specially designed for the IAF, will join the fleet, he said. These planes have "super manoeuvrability and very good thrust capability" among other advantages that make it one of the world's best fighters.

The air chief also said 10 new Mirage 2000 interceptors would join the IAF soon, following an agreement with the French.

On the long-pending Advanced Jet Trainer acquisition, he said a programme has been finalised with British Aerospace to acquire the Hawk trainer. The technical committee for configuration of the trainer has decided on the IAF's requirements and BAe is now working out the costing, he said. He expected the deal to be signed by the year-end.

He said a key thrust area in the IAF's Vision 2020 would be "to improve and polish all aspects of the human assets that we have".

On the large number of accidents involving IAF fighters, especially MIG-21s and helicopters, he insisted, "We are not complacent about flight safety." He argued that "military aviation by its very nature is more dangerous that civil aviation". And within that, fighter operations are more dangerous than transport and helicopter operations.

He said MiG-21 aircraft demand skills of a high order to fly them. Thus the possibility of a mistake taking a toll is high. Yet pilot error in India is still well below even that in the US Air Force, he said.

"Majority of our fleet comprises MiG-21s. The largest fleet will also have the highest accident rate," he explained.

He said the two upgraded MiG-21 BIS fighter squadrons have almost completed flight-testing and are undergoing armament testing in Russia. The upgraded MiGs will also have multi-targeting capability, he said.

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