New Delhi. In a boost to cadets of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and encourage youth to join the armed forces, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the increase in the number of awards given to the cadets from the existing 143 to 243 as also the cash incentives in various categories.

NCC cadets will now receive two Raksha Mantri Padaks carrying cash incentive of Rs 30,000 as against one Padak of value Rs 20,000 earlier, four Raksha Mantri Commendations of Rs 20,000 each in place three Commendations of value Rs 15,000 each earlier.

He also approved a substantial increase in Director General’s commendations from the existing 102 to 200.

The Minister approved nine new Best Cadet Awards for NCC cadets in various categories taking the total number of such awards to 27 and the cash incentive for each award has also been hiked substantially.

With this, the cash amount for these awards is Rs 7,60,000 from the existing Rs 3,69,000.

The cash award for the best cadet in the three categories – Army, Navy and Air Force – has been enhanced to Rs 3,24, 000 from the present Rs 1,44,000.

These awards are granted during Republic Day Camp in New Delhi.

The proposal to increase the number and incentives of awards has been cleared to enhance the value associated with these awards in the light of changed economic scenario and increase in the strength of cadets from 11,31,083 in the year 2014 to 13,29,202 in 2018.