The Defence Ministry has initiated the process to procure lakhs of service medals for armed forces personnel in the wake of a report by The Hindu pointing out that for almost a decade most military personnel were being forced to buy duplicate medals from local markets.
A senior official said the tender process would be processed on a fast-track basis to clear the backlog. According to official figures, as on March 31, 2016, there was a backlog of 15,64,130 service medals.
On January 3, The Hindureported that the Department of Medals in the Defence Ministry has not provided any medals since 2008, except for gallantry and Distinguished Service medals presented by the President of India during investiture ceremonies.
Due to this, personnel have been forced to purchase duplicate medals from the local markets. The original medals have the name of the soldier and badge number engraved on them.
Parrikar seeks report
Following the report, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had sought a report on the issue and directed measures to address the shortage.
“The Ministry is making consistent efforts to procure medals. A proposal for procurement of 7.6 lakh service medals is under the active consideration of the finance division of the Defence Ministry. Another proposal to procure 9.89 lakh service medals is in the pipeline,” a senior official said.
The official said the Ministry had to receive rates from the Government Mint in Kolkata following which the tender would be floated.
