The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved leave encashment for soldiers who were killed in action or were invalidated out of service between 1991 and 1999, an official said in Delhi

The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved leave encashment up to 180 days for those defence personnel "who died or were invalidated out of service between 30.12.1991 to 29.11.1999 with less than 15 years of service".

According to an official statement, families of around 9,777 Officers and other ranks were expected to benefit from this decision.

During that decade, the armed forces saw a large number of casualties in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast and during the Kargil war (Operation Vijay) in 1999. 

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