§ 13. Colonel YATEasked the Secretary of State for India whether the rules and regulations regarding the Indian Military Service Family Pensions Fund will now be changed so as to correspond with the new rates of promotion in order that the widows of captains, majors, and lieutenant-colonels, respectively, may obtain the pensions pertaining to the rank held by their husbands at the time of their deaths, and not be relegated to the pension of a lower rank as at present?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe classification of officers of the Indian Army under the Indian Military Service Family Pension Regulations is according to length of service and not according to rank. The scheme is on a self-supporting basis, and a reclassification according to rank which would involve a fresh scale of contributions, higher pensions, and an increased liability, at a time of exceptional strain, is inadvisable.