Govt to grant ESM status to retired Military Nursing Service officers

The defence ministry and the armed forces have given in-principle approval to accord ex-servicemen status to the Military Nursing Service (MNS) officers post-retirement, military sources said Friday.

They said officers serving as Brigadiers and above rank in the MNS will also be allowed to display staff plates on their official vehicles on par with other officers of the three services.

The staff plates carry rank of the officers.

The ex-servicemen (ESM) status will allow retired MNS officers to get a number of benefits including applying for re-employment in public sector undertakings (PSUs) and other government bodies, the sources said.

They said granting retired MNS officials the status of ESM will require some tweaking in existing norms and the Department of Personnel and Training is examining the issue.

Around 10 years back, a group MNS officials had approached the armed forces tribunal, and in 2010 it has favoured granting them ESM status.

At present, the MNS has over 5,000 officers.