Rajnath inaugurates portal, app to facilitate donations to soldiers' kin

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday inaugurated a new portal and mobile application through which people can contribute money to help the families of paramilitary troopers killed in the line of duty.

'Bharat ke Veer' portal is technically supported by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and powered by the State Bank of India.

The amount donated through the portal will be credited to the account of the next of kin of the deceased trooper against whose name the donation is made.

A person can donate a maximum of Rs 15 lakh towards a soldier's family. If the amount exceeds this limit, the donors would be alerted so that they can choose to divert part of the donation amount to another soldier's account or to the 'Bharat ke Veer' corpus.

The corpus would be managed by a committee comprising eminent persons and senior government officials who would decide on equitable disbursal of funds to families concerned on need basis, officials said.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajnath Singh said every moment is a test of the courage of troopers.

"A bullet can hit a soldier physically, but no bullet can defeat his courage and motivation. The bravery of CRPF Commandant Chetan Cheetah (who was critically injured in an anti-terror operation in Kashmir but recovered miraculously) is an example," the Minister said.

April 9 is observed as 'Valour Day' in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in remembrance of unparalleled bravery displayed by a small contingent of CRPF men who were pitted against a full-fledged infantry brigade of the Pakistan Army that was trying to overrun their Sardar Post at Rann of Kutch in Gujarat in 1965.

The CRPF men not only killed 34 Pakistani soldiers but also captured four of them alive and successfully defended the post till the arrival of Indian reinforcements.

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar was guest of honour at the launch of the new portal and mobile application.