Sir F. HALLasked the Secretary of State for India whether the Report of the Esher Committee on the pay of British officers serving in India was to the effect that payment was being made on the basis of the rupee being worth 2s.; whether, at the present rate of exchange, the pay of officers serving in India amounts to actually less in sterling value than if they were serving in this country; whether a large proportion of the pay of married officers is, in a great many cases, sent here to provide for the education of their children; and whether, owing to the great distress caused by the reduced value of the rupee, he will undertake that officers serving in India shall receive their pay in rupees calculated upon the value of the rupee being 2s., instead of 1s. 3d., as it is at the present time?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. The Esher Committee recognised that the pay of officers of the Army in India must be fixed in rupees without reference to any particular rate of exchange. As regards the second part, it is the fact that in some instances the rupee rates of pay of British service officers in India are at present less than the home rates of pay and allowances converted at the current rate of exchange. This point is under consideration. As regards the third and fourth parts of the question, I regret that I cannot arrange for officers to remit a portion of their pay home at a privileged rate of 2s. the rupee, if that is what my hon. and gallant Friend suggests.