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Journalism of Courage
The NDA Alumni Association of Pune (NDAAAP), comprising senior retired NDA officers from the city, is planning a corpus to provide financial aid to economically weaker cadets. The association is raising funds from retired officers settled in the region to provide monthly allowance to cadets belonging to economically weaker sections.
The NDAAAP also plans a series of experience-sharing sessions and squadron-level interactions to inspire cadets. It is drawing up a list of war-decorated soldiers and senior officers. “There are many experienced and decorated officers in the city from all three armed forces, who can share their service experiences with cadets,” said NDAAAP chairman Lt Gen (retd) SK Dovedy.
Although the initiative is from Pune, the Association is open to organising interactions with retired officers from across the country. “The interactions are open to everyone. The officers can also revive old associations with their squadrons. We are currently finalising the names of officers for the interactions,” he said.
The aim behind the corpus is to provide cadets from economically weaker sections with financial assistance of Rs 400 a month. The NDAAAP managing committee said that such assistance will go a long way in assisting cadets “in their activities at the academy”.
In the first year of its formation, the corpus will strive to support 35 cadets identified by the academy. “The requirement shall be Rs 400 a month per cadet for four years (the money will be recovered from the cadet in the 4th year),” the roadmap says.
The Association plans to provide a one-time corpus of Rs 1.6 lakh to 10 cadets to start with, by taking Rs 1,000 contribution from each of the members. “Those members, who are financially well placed, may consider an enhanced contribution, so as to benefit more cadets. The proposal is open to all NDA alumni,” a posting by the NDAAAP says.
The academy has seen an increase in cadets from rural areas and small towns in the past few years. Statistics available with the NDA state there has been an increase of cadets from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. There is increased representation from children of Persons Below Officers Rank (PBOR).
