Defence Secretary reviews welfare initiatives for retired War Heroes
December 31, 2019Another round of discussion was held at the Defence Ministry presided by the Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne on Monday (30) evening to review the progress of the ongoing welfare programmes initiated to uplift the living standards of the retired Tri-Forces personnel.
A special programme is being implemented under the project to utilize the expertise of retired Tri- Forces personnel towards attaining national development objectives.
The Defence Secretary has taken special interest in promoting the welfare initiatives of the retired Tri-Forces personnel.
The progress of the various programmes initiated under the project was reviewed and also the introduction to the V4U- Online Talent Platform Digital App and a Data Base was made during the discussions.
Senior Ministry officers, military officers and representatives of supporting state institutes were also present at the discussions.
Armed Forces personnel can retire after completing 22 years of service and about 70 percent of them, who are between 42-45 years of age at the time they retire, are from rural agricultural areas.
These men and women return to the society after years of serving the nation with a wealth of knowledge and experience which can be further utilized towards fulfilling national development goals.
As they retire at a comparatively young age where their productivity is still high, the project aims at obtaining their services and expertise and employing them in relevant fields which will not only contribute towards achieving national development goals but also augment their income.
This multifaceted project will benefit and uplift the living standards of the retired war heroes and also actively involve them in the national development drive.
Agriculture is one of the main focus points in where their services can be actively employed. The project aims to provide proper training and awareness in agricultural methods and techniques for the beneficiaries. High variety plants of economic value such as mango, cashew, coconut, etc are distributed among the target groups.
Workshops and training programmes are conducted at agricultural research centres by the Agriculture Department. Beehives are also provided to popularize beekeeping.
National Programmes for Food Production of the Presidential Secretariat, Ministry of Plantations, Ministry of Mahaweli and Environment Agricultural Department, Mahaweli Authority and Regional Development Bank are some of the state institutes that provide assistance to the project.
