The event was attended by Minister of Higher and Technical Education Maharashtra Chandrakant Patil, Commander Southern Army Lieutenant General Seth, Vice Admiral Anil Jaggi, Commandant National Defense Academy, Air Vice Marshal Gurjot Singh Bhullar, Senior Officer in Charge of Administration (SOA), South Western Air Command and Air Commodore Satbir Singh Rai, Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Air Force Station of Pune, along with senior officers of the defense forces.

Lt Gen Seth said in his address, “When I took charge as Commander of the Southern Army, I wrote a detailed letter to the Chief Ministers of the 11 states that are in the area of responsibility of the Southern Command. I shared with them the number and other details of the ex-servicemen residing in their respective states. I also wrote to them about the various skills that these veterans have and how these veterans can contribute to the vision of Viksit Bharat by contributing to these states. These letters have received a lot of enthusiastic responses from everyone. “The states and the work have started in the right direction.”

The Southern Army Commander added, “During Operation Sindoor, our veterans provided great help to our forces. The country’s adversaries have realized that when there is a threat to our nation, veterans play a frontline role in the service. And the country salutes this spirit of veterans. As part of veterans’ welfare, Project Naman was conceptualized. This ensured a platform solution to various issues related to SPARSH (Raksha Pension Administration System). and document related assistance could be provided. As of January By 2026, up to 100 Naman centers have been operational and we aim to start 200 by January 2027 across the country. 40 such centers have already been established in the Southern Command area of responsibility.”

The Naman Project, a project designed to provide dedicated support and services to defense pensioners, veterans and their families, focuses on the implementation of the SPARSH digital pension system, which streamlines pension-related processes for defense pensioners, addressing the critical need for accessible facilitation points for veterans and next of kin (NOK) across the country.

The key focus of the Veterans Day celebrations on Wednesday was to raise awareness among veterans and their dependents on issues relating to pensions, grievances, financial assistance, the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and various welfare schemes. Veterans and their dependents were encouraged to voice their problems, concerns and suggestions during the program. The lectures were conducted by Directorate of Air Veterans (DAV), Chief Controller of Defense Accounts (PCDA) and Zila Sainik Kalyan Board.