By IANS,
New Delhi : The slump in the global economy had a silver lining for the Indian Army – it stemmed the exodus of middle-rung officers to greener pastures by 50 percent.
The Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor made the revelation Thursday.
“As opposed to 600 plus people who had applied for pre-mature retirement in 2008, in 2009 the number came down to 280 people,” Kapoor told reporters here at the annual press conference ahead of the Army Day Friday.
“Hopefully the trend will continue,” the army chief added.
The army’s sanctioned strength is 46,615 officers, but it has been facing a shortage of 11,238. The problem was aggravated when about 3,000 officers sought premature retirement in the last three years. Most of them moved to the lucrative corporate sector.
“We are starting Officers Training Academy in 2011. We have more and more people joining army with through SSC (Short Service Commission). I hope the deficiency is made up in the coming years,” said Kapoor.
The army chief said that more and more women officers were welcome in the force as it would meet the “deficiency of officers”.
“About 900 women officers are working in the army. We will welcome them in large numbers because the army’s deficiency would be met,” said Kapoor.