The Union home ministry has sanctioned a proposal to grant leave to each and every Sashastra Seema Bal jawan on their birthdays and offer them sweets as part of new measures to boost the morale of the personnel.

The decision has been taken against the backdrop of several jawans across paramilitary forces last year uploading videos on social media complaining of bad-quality food and poor service conditions.

The brass of the SSB, which guards India’s border with Nepal and Bhutan and is also deployed in Jammu and Kashmir and Maoist-infested areas, had recently approached the home ministry seeking its nod for the proposal.

“All the unit heads of the SSB have been directed to celebrate the birthdays of the jawans by gifting them sweets and granting them leave on the special day. Jawans live far away from their families and that’s why we decided to incorporate this human touch,” a senior SSB official said.

The jawans will not have to ask for leave.

The move, the official said, will foster team bonding and boost the morale of the jawans, who work in extremely hostile conditions.

Last year a BSF jawan had uploaded videos on social media alleging that troopers were served poor-quality food and that they often went to bed on an empty stomach, leaving the home ministry red-faced.

The Prime Minister’s Office had asked the home ministry to order a probe into the allegations. Later, a CRPF constable in another video complained of bad food and disparity in pay and pension between the army and the paramilitary.

“The personalised aspect of birthday celebration will help in team bonding and result in better camaraderie. This will also make jawans feel special on their birthdays and offer them an opportunity to get to know each other at a more personal level,” a home ministry official said, adding that similar leave would be granted to jawans of other paramilitary forces as well.

After facing flak, the home ministry had last year launched a mobile application for nearly nine lakh central paramilitary forces personnel to air their grievances instead of going public.

Nearly 75 per cent of paramilitary personnel have access to smart phones.

An IPS officer posted at North Block said celebrating birthdays of jawans could also help in retaining them.

According to data available with the home ministry, as many as 27,862 personnel and officers of the central armed police forces have either resigned or taken voluntary retirement over the past three years.

The maximum attrition was reported from two of the largest paramilitary forces

of the country — 10,620 personnel quit the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and 11,198 left the Border Security Force (BSF) between 2015 and January 2018.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) reported the attrition of 3,410 personnel, followed by 1,122 from the SSB, 994 from Assam Rifles and 518 from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

Stress, denial of leave, long separation from families and sometimes humiliation by senior officers and colleagues, slow promotions and poor working conditions were among the key reasons for the rising attrition rates, besides better avenues.

“Although the recent decision (to grant leave on birthdays) has corporate undertones, it warms hearts and people feel appreciated. This is very important considering the disillusionment among personnel of the central armed forces,” the IPS officer said.