India has been observing December 7 as the Armed Forces Flag Day since 1949 to honour the soldiers who valiantly fought on the borders to safeguard the country’s honour.

On this day, token flags are pinned and voluntary contributions collected from the public for welfare/rehabilitation of war widows, ex-servicemen and their dependents. 

Armed Forces Flag Day Fund

Apart from the Defence Services Estimates (DSE) Budget, Armed Forces Flag Day Fund (AFFDF) is the major source of funding for welfare and rehabilitation of war widows, ex-servicemen (ESM) and their dependents. They are given financial assistance through various schemes like penury grant, education grant, widow/daughter marriage grant, etc. Out of the interest earned on the AFFDF Corpus, 7.5 per cent is ploughed back into the corpus and balance is used to fund the welfare and rehabilitation schemes for ESM/dependents. 

At present, there are more than 32 lakh ESM and around six lakh widows. Around 60,000 ESM are added every year due to early superannuation. 

The Fund is administered by Kendriya Sainik Board Secretariat under the aegis of its management committee headed by Defence Minister and executive committee headed by secretary, department of ex-servicemen welfare.

Corporate contributions to AFFDF are eligible for fulfilling the CSR obligation under section 135 of Companies Act, 2013 as it adheres to “Measures for the benefit of Armed Forces Veterans, War Widows and their dependents” (Clause VI of Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013).

Contributions to the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund are exempted from Income Tax under Section 80G(5)(vi) of Income Tax Act 1961.

Indian Armed Forces

The Indian Armed Forces comprise mainly three divisions – Indian Army, Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force.

The Supreme Command of the Armed Forces vests in the President. The responsibility for national defence rests with the Cabinet. This is discharged through the ministry of defence, which provides the policy framework and wherewithal to the Armed Forces to discharge their responsibilities in the context of the defence of the country. 

In 1955, the Commanders-in-Chief of the three services were renamed as the Chief of the Army Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff.

The Department of Military Affairs with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as its ex-officio Secretary was created in December 2019 to facilitate optimal utilisation of resources and promote jointness among the three services.

1) Indian Army

The Indian Army is committed to the defence of the country from external and internal threats across the entire spectrum of warfare. Also, in times of disaster/natural calamities, the Indian Army is in the forefront, providing aid and succour to the affected people.

The Indian Army’s headquarters is located in New Delhi and functions under the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), who is responsible for the command, control, and administration as a whole. The Army is divided into six operational commands (field armies) and one training command, each under the command of a Lieutenant General, who has an equal status to the Vice-Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS).

Rashtriya Rifles

The Rashtriya Rifles, Army’s elite counter-insurgency unit, was raised on October 1, 1990.  Creation of Rashtriya Rifles, a structured Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorism Force, has been one of the finest examples of strategic decision with a long term perspective. Rashtriya Rifles has rendered invaluable assistance towards security as well as socio-economic development of Jammu & Kashmir. 

Territorial Army

The Territorial Army Act was enacted in 1948. The concept of the Territorial Army is to provide part time military training to gainfully employed citizens who become competent soldiers as a result of the military training imparted to them and work as a back-up force to the Regular Army.

The Territorial Army is a part of Regular Army and its present role is to relieve the Regular Army from static duties and assist civil administration in dealing with natural calamities and maintenance of essential services in situations where life of the communities is affected or the security of the country is threatened and to provide units for Regular Army as and when required.

2) Indian Navy

The foundation of the modern Indian Navy was laid in the 17th century when the East India Company had established a maritime force, thereby graduating in time to the establishment of the Royal Indian Navy in 1934. 

The Indian Navy is the key enabler and guarantor of the country’s maritime sovereignty and myriad use-of-the-sea activities. This is discharged by the Navy through its four roles – military, diplomatic, constabulary and benign. 

The objective of the Navy’s military role is deterrence/ dissuasion against any intervention or act which is against our national interests, and the ability to inflict a crushing defeat on the adversary in the event of hostilities. 

A major objective of the Navy’s constabulary role is to ensure coastal and offshore security and implement anti-piracy measures in conjunction with the Coast Guard and other Central and State agencies.

The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) exercises operational and administrative control of the Indian Navy from the Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Navy). He is assisted by the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) and three other Principal Staff Officers, namely the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS), the Chief of Personnel (COP) and the Chief of Material (COM).

The Navy has three Commands, each under the control of a Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief:-

1) The Western Naval Command (Headquarters at Mumbai).

2) The Eastern Naval Command (Headquarters at Visakhapatnam)

3) The Southern Naval Command (Headquarters at Kochi).

The Western and the Eastern Naval Commands are ‘Operational Commands’, and exercise control over operations in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal respectively. The Southern Command is the Training Command.

3) Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force was officially established on October 8, 1932. Indian Air Force is headquartered in New Delhi. For effective command and control, the IAF has seven commands, under which there are different stations and units located at various places throughout the country. 

1) Western Air Command

2) Eastern Air Command

3) Central Air Command

4) South Western Air Command

5) Southern Air Command

6) Training Command

7) Maintenance Command.

Other major security forces in India

Indian Coast Guard

Indian Navy has been designated as the authority responsible for overall maritime security including coastal and offshore security. Indian Navy is assisted by Indian Coast Guard (ICG), Coastal Police and other central and state agencies.

Indian Coast Guard was formally launched in 1978. A charter of duties is laid down in Coast Guard Act, 1978. 

ICG is also designated as an authority responsible for coastal security in Territorial Waters including areas to be patrolled by Coastal Police. The Director General of ICG has been designated as Commander Coastal Command and is responsible for overall coordination between central and state agencies in all matters relating to coastal security. 

ICG is a multi-mission organisation, conducting round-the-year operations at sea. Despite being relatively small, it has a wide range of task capabilities for both surface and air operations.

The Coast Guard Headquarters (CGHQ) is located in New Delhi. For effective command and control, the maritime zones of India are divided into five Coast Guard regions — North-West, West, East, North-East and Andaman & Nicobar, with the respective regional headquarters located at Gandhinagar, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Port Blair. 

What is CAPF?

Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) refers to the common nomenclature of seven security forces. It is under administrative control of the home ministry. The CAPF consists of:

1) Border Security Force (BSF)

2) Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)

3) Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)

4) Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)

5) Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)

6) Assam Rifles (AR) 

7) National Security Guard (NSG).

The CAPF plays a vital role in guarding borders and assisting central/state governments in maintenance of internal security and in curbing other illegal/unlawful activities.

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