Dear Esteemed Members of TSEWA,

It gives me great pleasure to write to you as the  elected President of TSEWA during General Body Meeting held virtually today. You are aware, the outgoing Executive Committee has completed even the extended tenure of six years and much as we wish that Brig CS Vidyasagar and his team continued, the Bye Laws of the society do not permit any further extension. This has necessitated a mandatory break of two years till other elected Members of the Management Committee and I complete our tenures in June 2023. This is a sterling example of transparency, openness and democratic norms followed by TSEWA unlike some large ESM Organisations which perpetuate autocratic rule.

At the outset, on behalf of all the Members of the TSEWA Family, I express my sincere gratitude for the excellent Team-work put in by Brig CS Vidyasagar and his team and establishing TSEWA as a credible Tri Services Organization which works diligently and sincerely for the welfare of JCOs/ORs and the Family Pensioners.  We should be proud that TSEWA is the only ISO Certified (By GIC, London) ESM Organization in the Country and established itself  as one of the best ESM Organisations – thanks to all of you who are the backbone of the organization. It also gives me great pleasure to remind the Members that TSEWA has been granted IT Exemption under Section 12 AA and 80 G after through verification by the authorities, under Income Tax Act of 1961.

It will be my endeavour to keep up the excellent traditions laid by my predecessor and his team and no effort would be lacking to meet the aspirations of the Members. In the same breath, I would like to submit that no home can grow to the stature of an iconic family without all the family Members raising to the maxim of “oneness and togetherness.”

I deem it necessary to share some of the areas of concern outlined below that my team and I would like to address during our tenure. This needs active support of all the Members and understanding.

Cases filed in AFTs

One of the biggest trump cards of TSEWA is our resolve to fight out cases of injustice meted out by some Bureaucratic Organisations and the Government which necessitated us to file various cases in AFTs seeking justice. Unfortunately, due to dysfunctional status of AFTs all over the country, all our cases are pending in AFT Delhi and other states. The oldest case of OA 34/2015 is still waiting for judgement although all the arguments were completed and judgment reserved since the last two years plus. I am quite aware how frustrating it is for the Members who have subscribed to various cases but I sincerely trust that you understand that there was no effort lacking on our part. Brig SKS Rana, VSM who is the President of our Legal Division has been continuously monitoring the progress in spite of his Corporate responsibilities of his job. There are 27 cases which were filed and OA Numbers allotted, 11 cases pending filing due to Dysfunctional status of AFTs and two cases pending at TSEWA HQ for want of clarifications. The silver lining is that we won 5 cases benefitting the Members in lakhs of arrears. I would like to assure the Members that it shall be our endeavour to pursue the Legal Cases to the logical end as soon as the AFTs become functional.

Charity Work

TSEWA always believed that it is our responsibility to come to the rescue of our Veterans and families who are unable to meet the expenditure due to calamities, disasters, diseases and Higher Education. Over the past six years TSEWA went out of the way to help about 119 beneficiaries to the tune of Rs.32,40,960/-. This is made possible by your generous contributions. Some of the cases are heart wrenching which you may like to peruse on our website. I would in particular like to gratefully acknowledge the singular contribution of Col Nagesh Chandra Gupta for his contribution of Rs.9,36,840/- from Madhuri Seva Fund instituted in Memory of his Late wife during the last six years. He has not only helped children of ESM but also a large number of destitute poor children studying in Government Colleges. I appeal to all the Members to open up their purses and contribute to the charity and in turn avail 50% Tax Exemption on their contributions.

I would also like to reiterate that the Annual Expenditure on maintaining TSEWA including staff salaries, Rentals and various other budget heads as approved by the General Body requires your large hearted donations to sustain ourselves.

Acquisition of Permanent Office Space

You are all aware that the Core Committee has noted heavy expenditure on hire of office space every year which can otherwise be utilized for charity or other good purposes and approved that we should acquire a suitable permanent office space. The Real Estate rates in the twin cities of Secunderabad / Hyderabad have sky rocketed and do not permit purchase of land and construction thereof. A flat of 1,000 sft will also cost 45-50 lakhs. The clarion call for donations has been positively received by the Members but we are still far off from the mark. We received donations totaling Rs.10,41,115 as on date. I appeal to all the Members who have missed the appeal mail sent earlier, to come forward and donate generously for the cause so that we have a permanent address. TSEWA will definitely consider naming the Office Building / each room on the name of the donor who can contribute to the total cost. Needless to say, 50% Tax Exemption can be claimed on such contributions.  I once again appeal to all the Members with folded hands to come forward and make the dream come to reality. The bank particulars of TSEWA are on the TSEWA Website.

TSEWA Website

A lot of effort was put in by Mrs. Rekha Sekhri and Maj (Dr) Bhikshapathy to launch our new website www.tsewa.org to day during the AGM. Veterans desirous of becoming Members of TSEWA can download necessary Forms and enroll themselves as Members. The details of Bank Account of TSEWA for donations and Membership are given in the website. I request all the Members to bring the contents of TSEWA to the notice of all the Veterans and Veernaaris and share the valuable information contained therein.

National Confederation of ESM Organisations

Due to fragmented approach, political affiliations and disunity amongst various ESM Organisations we are unable to achieve the desired welfare schemes for the veterans and Veernaaris. TSEWA had been instrumental in bringing 11 major all India based ESM Organisations under one umbrella without losing their individual identity and formed National Confederation of ESM Organisations (NCESMO) in May 2018. The Organization has grown 27 strong since Formation and we plan to form the State Confederations in a democratic fashion. We had two major meetings with the RM since formation of NCESMO on 27 Nov 2018 and 18 Feb 2019 where important points of welfare of JCO/OR and Veernaris were discussed with a proper written Agenda. The details are contained in our website. I request all Members to appraise veterans and ESM Organisations in your area to come together and join NCESMO for the benefit of our Veteran Community. Due to the COVID pandemic, NCESMO quarterly meetings chaired by the  RM could not be continued under the present RM and we hope to have the meetings soon.

Membership of TSEWA

In the last six years of our existence, we achieved a Membership of 14,445 and desire to grow exponentially to one lakh Members within the next two years. We are glad to inform that we have Members from countries like the US, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and Australia.  This requires help from each one of you. Let us adopt the maxim of “Each One, at least Five ” . It is not a big task and I request you to pay particular attention to this aspect and help us in the growth of TSEWA to facilitate the good work done by TSEWA to be spread across entire nook and corner of India and other countries having concentration of Indian ESM.

Awareness Camps

TSEWA President and Members travelled length and breadth of the country in the past to conduct awareness camps and help the Veterans and families to get their rightful dues. These were a big attraction and thousands of Veterans and Veernaaris benefitted from detailed presentations made. Unfortunately due to COVID environment, TSEWA could not conduct the awareness camps in the last 18 months and would look forward to early renewal. I request all the Members to discuss the proposal in their respective areas and intimate the likely dates for conducting  so that TSEWA team can plan such awareness camps in your area.

For the sake of brevity, I would like to restrict my initial message to the above pressing issues. However, I shall deem it a pleasure to hear from you all, giving suggestions on how to improve our services for the benefit of all the Veterans and the Veernaris. I assure you that all your suggestions shall be given the utmost attention by the newly elected Managing Committee.  There are only 4,000 odd email IDs of the Members out of a total of 14,445 and therefore request all of you to share this message with your friends and colleagues and motivate them to share their email IDs with TSEWA for better communications. Whatever problem or suggestion you have, please write to us  at triservices.hyd@gmail.com. It shall be acted upon by me and the Managing Committee within the shortest time.

I wish all of you and your families, a very good health and prosperity in these COVID times. Stay safe, stay vaccinated. Jai Hind.

Commodore Sudheer Parakala, Indian Navy (Retd)
President TSEWA
E-Mail ID: commodore_parakala@yahoo.co.uk