The order has brought an army Major General (rear admiral in the navy and vice-marshal in the air force) on par with a principal director at the Armed Force Headquarters (AFHQ) Civil Service. A Brigadier/Commodore/Air Commodore would be equal in status to a director, and a Colonel/Captain/Group Captain equivalent to a joint director in the civil service.
As per the new circular, a civilian principal director, who was earlier equivalent to a Brigadier, would now have the status of a two star general, a director rank officer to a Brigadier and a joint director to a Colonel, a development which has not gone down well with the armed forces. A Major General earlier had the rank of a joint secretary.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, when asked to comment on the development, said some people were trying to "misguide" as the issue related to only functional responsibility (of armed forces) and not status vis-a-vis their civilian counterparts.
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"These are functional responsibilities. They (military officers) will be on the same platform as was done earlier. I will check up myself," Parrikar told reporters on the sidelines of the naval commanders conference here.
"First of all, these are only for functional responsibilities...This is not status....There are some people who are trying to misguide," he said.
Parrikar said he and the government were sensitive to the issues related to the armed forces.
"I can assure you that I am very sensitive to such issues. The moment they are brought out, I act on them. The only difficulty is when it becomes public discussion, I cannot be party to discussion. I will resolve the issue," he said.