HP hikes pension for ex-servicemen by 40%

The Himachal Pradesh government has made a one-time increase of 40% in the pension given to ex-servicemen and their widows, “Veer Naris”, through the sainik welfare department, officials said on Friday.

The ex-servicemen and their widows will now receive a monthly pension of ₹5,000 instead of ₹3,000, they said. The pension given to ex-servicemen and their widows who took voluntary retirement before 1987 has been increased by ₹2,000 per month, the officials said.

In the first quarter of the financial year, a lump sum of ₹15,000 will be released in June for three months — April, May and June — sainik welfare department director Brigadier Madansheel Sharma said.

A total of 507 ex-servicemen and their widows in the state will benefit from the pension increase. These ex-servicemen do not receive any pension from the Centre, he said. Currently, 246 ex-servicemen and 261 widows of ex-servicemen will get the benefit of pension increase.

Earlier, ₹15,21,000 was allotted monthly for the pensions of ex-servicemen and their widows, which has now been increased to ₹25,35,000.