New Delhi: On the first day of his three-day visit to Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh interacted with Army veterans in Leh and met elected representatives of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils.
He will be attending the inaugural function of several infrastructure projects constructed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and also likely to interact with troops deployed in the region during this visit.
Interacting with 300 veterans, including Ashok Chakra winner Naib Subedar (Honorary) Chhering Mutup (Retd) and Maha Vir Chakra winner Colonel Sonam Wangchuk (Retd), the Defence Minister reiterated the Government’s commitment towards the welfare of the ex-servicemen.
He lauded the unparalleled dedication of the veterans in ensuring the safety and security of the nation.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to roll out ‘One Rank One Pension scheme, ending a decades-long wait, was a testimony to the Government’s unwavering commitment towards the welfare and satisfaction of the veterans,” he said.
“Our aim is to take care of you in the same way as you all have taken care of the security of the country,” he said.
Listing out other measures taken by the Government to ensure the welfare of the veterans, Singh said, “Number of steps have been taken to address the issue of resettlement, including organising job fairs through Directorate General Resettlement, in which a large number of veterans were given employment.”
He added that a number of online services under ‘Digital India’ have been introduced for the veterans.
These include launch of the ‘e-Sehat’ portal to provide telemedicine services, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) to address the problems faced by the ex-servicemen.
Later, he met the elected representatives of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils, Leh, Kargil and officials in Leh.
