People should feel responsible, not like free riders in India journey of progress: Rajnath

“We have to work for the welfare of our country, our society and our soldiers by rising above the spirit of personal or institutional fame, prestige and honour. This nation has given us a lot. Now it is our turn to offer something to the nation,” he said.

“In the development journey of our country, whether anyone feels or not, we should feel that we are not free riders in this journey… but we are responsible riders,” Singh said, adding: “It is our duty to ensure that we have an active participation in nation building.”

Singh appealed to the people to donate “generously” to honour the sacrifice of soldiers and their families.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: “The AFBCWF is a Tri-Service fund, which is utilised for grant of immediate financial assistance to the families of soldiers/sailors/airmen who lay down their lives or get grievously injured in active military operations.”

“While the Government has initiated a large number of welfare schemes for the soldiers killed or disabled during active combat operations, there has been a strong public sentiment and requests from citizens, corporate heads, banks and industry captains to contribute to the cause of welfare of the soldiers and their families. The website will enable people to contribute online directly into the fund. A certificate of online contribution can also be downloaded,” the statement said.
Actor Amitabh Bachchan is the “goodwill ambassador” of the new initiative.

On the occasion, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande, Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Welfare) Vijoy Kumar Singh, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, other senior civil and military officials and Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra were also present.