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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
DEPARTMENT OF EX-SERVICEMEN WELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4632
TO BE ANSWERED ON 20TH MARCH, 2026
UNEMPLOYED EX-SERVICEMEN IN WEST BENGAL
4632. SHRI SAUMITRA KHAN:
Will the Minister of DEFENCE be pleased to state:
(a) the number of ex-servicemen residing in West Bengal along with the number of those who are
currently unemployed/underemployed, district-wise;
(b) whether any region-specific skilling or entrepreneurship support has been provided under the
Directorate General Resettlement (DGR) and if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government has partnered with Defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) or
private firms to offer remote work/contract opportunities for veterans in non-metro areas and if so,
the details thereof;
(d) whether the Government proposes to formulate any roadmap to bridge the urban-rural disparity
in post-retirement welfare schemes for soldiers; and
(e) if so, the details thereof?
A N S W E R
MINISTER OF STATE (SHRI SANJAY SETH)
IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
(a) and (b) District-wise details of the number of ex-servicemen residing in West Bengal is
enclosed as Annexure ‘A’. The Directorate General Resettlement (DGR) runs resettlement
schemes and skill development training for ex-servicemen, disabled soldiers, widows and their
dependents to provide job opportunities based on the region specific skilling/entrepreneurships
facilities as well as the demand. Data on Ex-Servicemen currently unemployed or underemployed
in the State of West Bengal is not maintained. DGR conducts skilling and entrepreneurship
schemes pan India to cater for Ex-Servicemen (ESM) from all three services across all states. In
West Bengal, a total number of 34 courses (Kolkata-27, Midnapore-7) have been conducted
wherein 1,096 ESMs have been trained in the year 2025-26.
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(c) to (e) Department of Public Enterprises, Ministry of Finance has advised all Public Sector
Undertakings to undertake provisioning of security services through the Directorate General
Resettlement empanelled Security Agencies under the DGR Security Agencies Scheme. These
security agencies also work in remote areas. Further, DGR’s Tech Service Scheme also provides
all PSUs, the private sector, Industry and Departments of Central and State Governments technical
manpower through the State Ex-Servicemen Corporations. To provide post-retirement
employment welfare to ex-servicemen, various schemes/ programmes run by the Government such
as Coal Loading and Transportation Scheme, Coal Tipper Attachment Scheme, Security Agency
Scheme, Common Service Centres (CSC) Scheme, Village Level Entrepreneurship training,
Agriculture, Management of Company Owned Company Operated (COCO) Outlets, Mother Dairy
Milk Booths, Safal Shop, Company Owned Retail Outlet Dealerships and reservation in Central
Government Posts provide ex-servicemen an opportunity for post retirement employment pan-
India including in rural areas.
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ANNEXURE-A REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) and (b) OF LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4632 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026 REGARDING
UNEMPLOYED EX-SERVICEMEN IN WEST BENGAL
Census Data of ESMs as on 30.06.2024 - West Bengal
S. No. Districts Army Navy Air Force Total
1 Kolkata 4,465 833 1,885 7,183
2 Howrah 1,448 294 588 2,330
3 Hooghly 2,878 461 1,002 4,341
4 24 Pgs (N) 11,896 1,817 4,946 18,659
5 24 Pgs (S) 3,429 546 1,548 5,523
6 Midnapur (E) 4,620 171 392 5,183
7 Midnapur (W) 3,473 147 458 4,078
8 Bankura 2,690 64 319 3,073
9 Purulia 745 34 174 953
10 Jhargram 37 0 5 42
11 Burdwan (E) 4,044 317 978 5,339
12 Burdwan (W) 1,423 143 477 2,043
13 Bribhum 2,262 57 236 2,555
14 Murshidabad 6,825 230 190 7,245
15 Malda 2,165 41 83 2,289
16 D/Dinajpur 1,117 40 63 1,220
17 U/Dinajpur 1,088 23 95 1,206
18 Jalpaiguri 2,525 66 60 2,651
19 Coochbehar 1,710 48 67 1,825
20 Alipur Duar 1,009 50 106 1,165
21 Darjeeling 15,984 206 285 16,475
22 Kalipong 1,766 13 6 1,785
23 Nadia 8,879 394 1,014 10,287
Total 86,478 5,995 14,977 1,07,450
Source: Rajya Sainik Board, West Bengal
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