Taking an overview of the working of Defence Services Welfare Department, OP Soni, Deputy Chief Minister who also holds the charge of Defence Services Welfare Department asked the officers to put in concerted efforts towards ensuring welfare of the ex-servicemen.The ex-servicemen have given the best part of their lives safeguarding our frontiers and protecting the sovereignty of our nation, the least we can do for them is to look after their families and help them secure jobs befitting their age and profile, said Soni. He directed the Department to “come up with newer welfare schemes having immediate impact on the lives of ex-servicemen.”He also asked the CMD PESCO to enroll greater number of ex-servicemen in its fold and impart quality training to them in order to help them in the re-employment ventures’There are about 14 lac ex-servicemen and their dependants in the State including approximately 3.40 lac ex-servicemen and nearly 10.50 lac kin/dependants.
He asked PESCO to pep up the functioning Sainik Security Training Institute, Mohali and impart Security Training par excellence to the ex-servicemen.Presently, there are around 10,000 ex-servicemen on PESCO rolls, employed on various duties, bulk of them being security duties. PESCO has also provided trained drivers to various board and corporations.The PESCO Vocational Training Institute (PVTI) in Bathinda and Mohali campus conducts Security and Vocational Training Courses including Basic Computer Skill, Fire and Industrial Safety, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning, Electrical and Electronic Technician and JCB besides Directorate General of Resettlement (MOD) courses for serving Army, Navy and Air-Force personnel.The meeting was attended by Mohnish Kumar Special Secretary Defence Welfare Services, Director DWS Brigadier Satinder Singh , Major General A P Singh, Brigadier I S Gakhal and others.