About the Fundraiser
I am a 24 year old software engineer, and a budding cyclist, who is raising funds for the Indian Army by cycling for 2000 Km from Mumbai to Wagah border. During this journey, I'll be riding through numerous cities and villages, over a period of 20 days, meeting thousands of people and encouraging them to do their bit in giving back towards the Indian Army.
"If there is one job for which no amount of appreciation can ever suffice, it is that of the armed forces."
Merely thinking about the commitment of these youngsters who join armed forces captures my mind with immense respect, pride, honour, and patriotism, while also reminding me of this very inability of me to sign up for the highest privilege that any citizen can ever attain: that of serving their motherland. On the other hand, imagining what these soldiers, and their families, go through when battling with fierce threats sends shivers down my spine. Realizing that I have already lost this opportunity of dedicating my life to selfless service of the nation, I started looking at ways to compensate, trying to understand what I can best do now, as a civilian, to make a difference in the lives of these incredibly brave women and men, who dedicate whole of their lives on the borders to let us breathe air of peace, harmony, and true freedom.
My quest for giving back to the armed forces introduced me to the Army Central Welfare Fund, the National Defence Fund, and the Army Welfare Fund Battle Casualties, each of which serve different purposes, and totally rely on voluntary donations made by the society. While it is true that there are retirement and disability pensions and special grants offered by the state and the central governments towards families of defence personnel, there is no denying that the citizens must be well aware about such funds and extend full support towards them. For those wondering why such funds should rely on voluntary donations, this report issued by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis holds the key - the defence budget is under fiscal pressure and the government is working towards resolving it.
Following the recent terror attacks at Pampore, Uri, Baramulla, and Handwara, it makes all the more sense to offer strong monetary support towards these funds, in addition to showering love and respect towards the armed forces on social media. Hence with my cycling effort of 2000 Km, I plan to interact with many more people than I could engage with, on social media alone; thereby, having a better chance of raising more funds! I also chose to cycle this far so that at least my physical efforts, if not my interactions with people, motivate them to make a contribution - and at the same time, I took this as an opportunity to promote cycling as an economical and environment-friendly mode of transportation.
I'd request you to help me with this cause in any of the following ways:
1. Make a contribution - it can be as small as INR 100, and as large as your heart (or pocket) allows!
2. Share the campaign - be it with your friends, colleagues, relatives, or strangers! It's for a good cause after all.
3. Make a sacrifice - walk instead of renting a cab, avoid a drink or a smoke, skip a hangout, and donate whatever small amount you save of that activity!
4. Use your skills - make a painting, write a letter, make delicious chocolates, click beautiful pictures, and send it across as gift to soldiers!
5. Make it large - help me connect with a celebrity or media house who can adopt this campaign, with their support, this campaign could raise INR 2 crores instead of INR 2 million, who knows?
6. Offer accommodations - when I hit the roads, it'd be a pleasure to come over for night halt at your place, and donate the money which I'd otherwise put for hotel stay!
Q: Sounds like a scam, how much money are you (or Ketto) making here?
A: Absolutely ZERO! Ketto recently announced about waiving off its fees towards all campaigns supporting the soldiers in the light of recent attacks, and all donations being made to this campaign will be credited to the official account listed on Indian Army's website. The banks / payment gateways would still deduct a nominal fee of 1 to 2% based on type of transaction, which also happens when donating to official accounts directly via NEFT or DD. Furthermore, after the end of campaign, all donors will receive official receipts from the Indian Army, and will also be eligible for 100% tax exemption under section 80g.
Q: Why should one still donate via this campaign instead of donating directly to official account?
A: The choice is totally yours. While official account requires to deposit via NEFT or DD, here one could pay via net banking, credit card, debit card, cash, and cheque. Further, the advantage is that the donors can always be connected with me, learn about my progress, see how much their contributions impact, can share this campaign with their friends and relatives, have full transparency of who donated how much, hold me responsible for stuff, and even use me as a channel to share their message with the soldiers!
Q: How is the money collected by Army Central Welfare Fund being utilized?
A: ACWF accepts donations from individuals that are utilized to pay demise grants to the dependants of retired Junior Commissioned Officers (Honorary Captain, Honorary Lieutenant, Subedar Major, Subedar, and Naib Subedar) and Other Ranks (Havildar, Naik, Lance Naik, and Sepoy) as an immediate succour, and also as distress grant to ex-servicemen and dependants living in state of penury. One time financial assistance of INR 30,000 is granted from ACWF (Ex Gracia) to dependants of martyrs, and battle casualty cases.
Q: Can the ex gratia grants from ACWF be increased?
A: Annually, about 150 cases require grants from ACWF; since donations hardly amount to INR 30 lacs, individual grants can't exceed INR 30000 . Detailed reports can be found at ACWF 2008-11, ACWF 2011-15, and ACWF Fund List 2010-13.
Q: What is the role of National Defence Fund?
A: The National Defence Fund offers multiple education scholarship schemes for widows and wards of deceased personnel and ex-service personnel of Armed Forces and Para Military Forces. NDF is administered by an Executive Committee, with PM as chairperson, and Defence, Finance, and Home Ministers as members. The fund is entirely dependent on voluntary contributions from the public and does not get any budgetary support.
Q: In comparison to ACWF, how much donation does NDF receive?
A: Lots more, NDF receives annual donations of about INR 80 crores, spends about 50% of it, and has already saved over INR 1000 crores till date (as evident from NDF 2012-16) Here's a comparison of donation received by the two funds (all numbers are in INR in millions):
Year ACWF NDF
2011-12 2.31 730.5
2012-13 1.51 766.9
2013-14 3.21 806.8
2014-15 3.16 847.2
Q: What is Army Welfare Fund Battle Casualties about?
A: AWFBC is a fund that army very recently setup for allowing donations from benevolent organizations and individuals, that are utilized to pay financial assistance / grant to widows of our Battle Casualties, their next of kins and dependents. Although donations cannot be made to an individual, they could facilitate financial assistance to the beneficiary directly.
Q: Why are you donating to ACWF instead of AWFBC then?
A: When I started this campaign, AWFBC did not exist, and the role that it plays today, was actually played by ACWF. I also learnt that AWFBC, being a very new fund, doesn't yet issue any receipts made for donations - the bank transaction is the only proof of donation; this means that AWFBC won't know who the donors were, if funds came via Ketto. Moreover, there is no clarification about tax exemption in case of donations towards AWFBC. So for now, the donations would be made to ACWF, but if these issues of AWFBC are settled before this campaign ends, I'll update it to have donations made to AWFBC instead.
Q: How is your route planned, and how about overnight stays?
A: I will be cycling nearly for a 100 KM every day, thereby taking 20 days to finish this journey, while taking night halts at major cities enroute. Hence, sometimes I might need to do 120-130 KM, and sometimes 70-80 KM. While most of the route is marked, halt points are still tentative and have only been marked up to Ahmedabad. The route can be accessed at Google Maps, and will be shared across social media for allowing anyone to join on their cycles for as much distance as they might wish to cover. Cyclists using Strava will also be able to access day-to-day routes with much more detailed information like elevation and estimated time.
Q: Is it safe, how will you keep us updated about your ride?
A: I'm looking for backup vehicle support for carrying food, accessories, clothes, medical kit, and spare cycle throughout the ride; this will ensure my safety as in case of a medical emergency, I can be sure of being rushed to the nearest hospital. Daily updates will be posted on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter using hashtags #pedal4army and #mumbai2wagah - occasionally, some fun videos will also be posted on YouTube during the ride! I also plan to post occasional updates via SMS / Email to all backers via Ketto.
Q: When is the ride happening, we heard you were already supposed to be on the roads by now?
A: Oh yes! The ride was originally planned to start on my birthday, 3rd of September - because I couldn't have found a better day for starting with a noble cause. However, the dates were then pushed to 25th September considering flood-like conditions at northern areas of India; and who knew I would have to push them back yet again? That's because I am in talks with some media houses and NGOs who could potentially help me reach a wider audience, and also offer assistance in terms of a support vehicle, food, and accommodations for this ride. Since all the logistical planning could go on and on, I've decided to post an update only once dates are finalized - but hey, I see it happening somewhere between December and January!
Note: Tax exemption receipt will be provided by Army Central Welfare Fund as per their discretion