Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the Directorate General National Cadet Corps (DGNCC) mobile training app. (File/Photo: Twitter @rajnathsingh/File)THE MINISTRY of Defence (MoD) has launched a phone-based application for the National Cadet Corps (NCC), aimed at bringing all its syllabi and training activities on a single platform online to compensate for missed training sessions due to restrictions in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The initiative comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, said the NCC will be expanded into coastal and border districts of the country, where it has a sparse presence.
At present, the NCC has a sanctioned strength of 14 lakh cadets across the country. With the addition of NCC troops from schools and colleges in 173 border and coastal districts, the number is expected to go up to 15 lakh.
A press statement from the MoD said on Thursday, “Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the Directorate General National Cadet Corps (DGNCC) mobile training app on Thursday. The app will assist in conducting countrywide online training of cadets. In view of the restrictions imposed due to Covid-19, training of cadets has been adversely affected as it is mostly contact-based training. Since schools and colleges are not likely to open in the near future, a need to train cadets should be imparted utilising the digital medium.”
At the time of launching the app, the defence minister also interacted with NCC cadets via videoconferencing. The app will provide cadets with entire training material, such as syllabus, précis, training videos, and frequently asked questions, on one platform. The app has been made interactive by including a query option. By using this option, a cadet can post questions related to training syllabus, which will then be answered by qualified instructors.
“In his address to NCC Cadets, the defence minister said the app will be useful to them in digital learning and overcoming difficulties posed by Covid-19. He praised the contribution of the cadets who supported frontline workers by executing,” read the press statement.
Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, Director General NCC Lt General Rajeev Chopra, and other senior civil and military officials of the defence ministry were also present.