§ 20. Colonel YATEasked the Secretary of State for India what improvements have been effected in the conditions of service of British officers of the Indian Army since the commencement of the War; and whether the question of increasing the pay of the British officers of the Indian Army will be considered by the Government of India at the same time as they are considering the question of increasing the pay of the Indian officers and soldiers?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe following improvements have been effected since the outbreak of war:
Promotion has been accelerated in accordance with a scheme which has been publicly announced. The system of acting promotion in force for the British Army has been extended to the Indian Army. When invalided from the field Indian Army officers now receive pay of rank plus half staff pay of their substantive Indian Army appointment up to a maximum of six months after the expiry of three months on full pay and it is only after the end of 689 the ninth month that they are placed on sterling rates of leave pay. The Pensions Warrant of 1st August, 1917, has been extended to officers of the Indian Army. The rates of temporary non-effective pay have also been improved, and hospital stoppages waived where illness is due to military service. No further increase of pay in the case of Indian Army officers is under consideration.