By IANS,
New Delhi : Defence Minister A.K. Antony Wednesday said that the Indian Army was short of over 12,500 officers but this is not a discernible decreasing trend.
“No discernible decreasing trend in the number of officers in the army has been observed. In the army, sanctioned strength of officers is 47,864 with a shortage of 12,510,” Antony told parliament.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, he said the shortage of officers in the armed forces was “partly” attributable to accretions from time to time, tough selection procedures, difficult service conditions coupled with perceived high degree of risk involved in a service career.
Antony said that measures had been taken to reduce shortages in the officers’ cadre.
“All officers including those in Short Service Commission (SSC) are now eligible to hold substantive rank of captain, major and lieutenant colonel after two, six and 13 years of reckonable service respectively,” he said.
The tenure of SSC officers has been increased from 10 years to 14 years.
The armed forces have also undertaken a sustained image projection and publicity campaign to create awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging and satisfying career.