Cost of British Army and Royal Air Force personnel: the effective and non-effective...

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These were the accounts between the Company, the Government of India and the Home Government, in connection with the cost of the services in India of the British Army, and later also Royal Air Force personnel. On rare occasions, payments were made for the use of Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel. India paid the whole costs involved in the maintenance of troops while actually within her boundaries, but a proportion of certain expenses for those troops incurred in the United Kingdom (e.g. expenses of training recruits, costs of training establishments, passages to India and non-effective benefits) were regarded as an Indian liability. In the reverse direction, the Home Government made payments for Indian defence (e.g. Indian army, Indian Marine) personnel employed outside India in the interests of the Home Government. Non-effective benefits included pensions of widows and orphans of service personnel (See L/AG/26/11-15, 17, 20). Similar adjustments were made in respect of members of the civil services, and details of those will be found in LAG/24 in the portion relating to claims by or against the Home Government. Examples of the employment of Indian services personnel outside India, either wholly or partially in the interest of the United Kingdom, were various wars, expeditions and affrays, and diplomatic and consular representation in Persia, Arabia, China, Siam, Afghanistan, Nepal and Zanzibar. Employment outside India on a large scale such as occurred during the two world wars raised problems which were not covered by prior agreements, and special negotiations had to be conducted. As payments from the Exchequer to the Government of India in any one year were usually large in amount, the matter was sometimes the subject of an enquiry by the United Kingdom Committee on Public Accounts.