New Delhi, Dec 2 (UNI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday urged the people to voluntarily contribute to Armed Forces Flag Day (AFFD) Fund.
The AFFD fund is used for the rehabilitation and welfare of next of kin of those soldiers who laid their lives in the line of duty, or were rendered disabled, old, non-pensioners, widows and orphaned children.
Armed Forces Flag Day will be observed all over the country on December 7 like previous years. Speaking at a function organized in New Delhi, for the customary launch of the Armed Forces Flag pinning, Mr Singh said, “Our forces have always been fighting valiantly to safeguard the sovereignty of the country. In the process sometimes, they have even laid down their lives, leaving behind their families or were rendered disabled.”
“Hence the rehabilitation and welfare of our Ex-Servicemen, the next of kin of our martyrs and our disabled soldiers is the responsibility of all citizens,” he said. The minister also said, “The Flag Day provides us with an opportunity to fulfil this responsibility by contributing to the AFFD fund.”
Noting that over 47 crore rupees were raised during 2019-20 through voluntary contributions of people, Mr Singh expressed hope that “people of India will manifest the same spirit of voluntary contributions this year too.”
The ‘Armed forces Flag Day Fund’ (AFFDF) has been constituted by the Government of India for the welfare and rehabilitation of the Ex-Servicemen (ESM) community.
There are more than 32 lakh ESM and around 60,000 ESM are added every year due to early superannuation.
