Housing built by and for the Army... no choice, no amenities.
What Medical allowance? They don't get any money, they just go to an Army hospital.
Travel allowance... reimbursed for $10 train ticket.
What Food allowance? They eat the rations they are served.
Special Duty allowance... Rs 100. WoW!
Rs 12-15k my arse... the amount of money that actually flows through their hands above their pay is nothing. Extra pay trudging through the jungles for a month is only Rs 1000! A conscript in the Russian Army does better than a professional Indian Jawan. What is being run here is like a conscript Army, except people volunteer for it because life in the rural is worse.
Your ignorance proves you don't squat about the Indian Army ! Houses alloted for the armed forces personnel are based on the ranks of the those who serve in them. An officer of Indian army, navy or airforce is provided a substantially good accommodation based on his rank This includes 24 hours free electricity, free water supply, almost free telephone connection, plus the children of armed personnel study in Army schools which boast of being among some the best schools in the country in terms of academic and co-curricular activities and discipline at an almost paltry sum as fees compared to the private schools in the cities which charge ten times the fees for the same level of education standards. They are provided free healthcare for all members of the family and if there is no army hospital nearby that can provide advanced level of treatment required for any illness or injury, they are referred to the best hospitals and are fully reimbursed for their expenses. And by the way, the armed forces also boast of having some the best hospitals in the country that can match any A-grade hospital like AIIMS, Escorts, Apollo or Fortis. Hence, the don't need to go to any private hospital in most cases as all their medicals needs are taken care of by the command hospitals.
The $10 train ticket that you quoted is for a jawan, not an officer. And, that $10 ticket can get you upto 1500 kms by train to anywhere in India.
About food allowance, what do you mean they eat the rations they are served ?? Food allowance in the Indian army means that you can buy any kind of food items that an entire family of an serving personnel needs for the entire month at one third the actual market price, and that includes food item like humble vegetable, fruits and cereals to package imported food and Scottish Whisky, French wine and Russian Vodka, purchased by everyone starting from the humble jawan to the general of the army !
Plus, an armed forces personnel beginning from a jawan gets a group insurance, home loan, car loan, two wheeler loan, home furnishing and improvement loan, personal loan at fixed rates from the nationalized banks spanning from $10000-100000 depending upon rank. Anybody from a jawan to a general can buy a two wheeler or a four wheeler at special DGS&D rates, which make them 5-15 cheaper than the market price applicable for a general civilian.
As for amenities for recreation, you surely don't know shit ! The army, navy and the air force have some of the best officers clubs, auditoriums and guest houses that can put even 4-5 star hotels to shame ! They have some of the best facilities for sporting available in entire Asia which include some of the best and prestigious golf courses, horse riding academies and polo grounds. And you don't pay a paisa to wine and dine there or enjoy the riches !
