The government has approved extending the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme to officer cadets medically boarded out due to training-related disabilities, waiving the ₹1.2 lakh subscription and enabling free OPD at ECHS polyclinics with cashless, capless OPD/IPD care at empanelled hospitals; the order, issued by the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare on August 28–29, 2025, applies to past and future cases from academies including NDA, IMA and OTA, is limited to the affected cadet, and is framed as a humanitarian dispensation without precedent for other categories, augmenting existing monthly ex gratia and disability-linked awards for 20%–100% disability brackets. Officials underscored that only a small cohort is affected each year—estimated cumulatively since the mid-1980s—though families face significant financial and emotional burdens; ECHS, launched in 2003, now spans 30 regional centres, 448 polyclinics and over 3,000 empanelled facilities serving roughly 6.3 million beneficiaries, and the order indicates operationalisation following the public announcement. The step follows sustained campaigns by former cadets and heightened scrutiny after national media reports, with the Supreme Court in mid-August 2025 seeking a comprehensive response on enhanced medical support and insurance, as ex-cadet advocates including Ankur Chaturvedi highlighted prolonged exclusion from entitlement-based care and the lack of ex-servicemen status; notably, a revitalised DESW has accelerated resolution in recent months amid the court’s urgings.