Zero balance accounts for NCC cadets, to get uniform allowance directly

NEW DELHI: In a major step, the Centre on Friday announced a uniform allowance for NCC which will go directly to their bank accounts and for this zero balance accounts will be created.

Under this initiative, the State Bank of India will open zero balance accounts of all NCC Cadets with debit card, cheque books and passbooks facility under SBI's 'Pahli Udaan' scheme.

According to the Ministry of Defence, about 5 lakh cadets will be benefitted by this initiative every year. The NCC and State Bank of India (SBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for this new beginning.

The Ministry of Defence said that the accounts will remain functional till completion of training or attaining 18 years of age whichever is later. This will not only introduce the cadets to the national banking system but also provide them with a ready platform to avail benefits of other govt schemes through DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) of funds into their accounts.

Under the DBT initiative of the government, the Ministry of Defence has reformed the physical uniform distribution process to make it more transparent and seamless, allowing direct bank transfer of uniform allowance in the bank accounts of the NCC (National Cadet Corps) cadets. It will replace the existing central procurement and distribution process. Uniform allowance towards provisioning of NCC uniforms will now be transferred into these bank accounts of cadets covering the remotest parts of the country.

Speaking on this occasion, Rajnath Singh complimented the officials of NCC, BISAG and SBI for their efforts in digitisation of NCC by introducing NIC and DBT. He further asserted that these steps will certainly provide quick access to information related to NCC across the country and benefit both present and future determined cadets.

In a step towards promoting digitisation and in sync with Digital India mission, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also launched an NCC Integrated Software. The NCC Integrated Software, developed in partnership with Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo Informatics (BISAG), is a single window interactive software for Cadets, designed on the 'Entry to Exit Model'.

The NCC Integrated Software is based on Prime Narendra Modi's vision of 'Once a Cadet always a cadet', and will digitalise the entire process from the stage of enrollment as a cadet in NCC till exit registration as alumni. This will enable seamless issue of certificates, creation of an all India database of NCC cadets at the time of their employment, the MoD official added.

Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, Director General NCC Lt. Gen. Gurbirpal Singh AVSM VSM along with senior officials of the ministry, NCC, BISAG and SBI were present during the event.