Armed forces continue to grapple with shortages in officer and other ranks

NEW DELHI : The over 14 lakh strong armed forces have a shortage of as many as 9,797 officers and 1.26 lakh soldiers, airmen and sailors from their sanctioned strengths, as per the latest figures tabled in Parliament on Friday.
The Army has a shortage of 7,779 officers (including doctors and nursing officers) and 1.08 lakh soldiers, while the figures for the Navy are 1,446 officers and 12,151 sailors. The IAF, in turn, has a shortage of 572 officers and 5,217 airmen, junior defence minister Ajay Bhatt said in a written answer in Lok Sabha.
“The government has taken a number of measures to reduce the shortages. These include sustained image projection, participation in career fairs and exhibitions, and publicity campaigns to create awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging and satisfying career,” he said.
“Further, the government has taken various steps to make jobs in the armed forces attractive, including improvement in promotion prospects, and to fill up vacancies,” he added.
There is no shortage of youth applying for ranks below officer-level, as reiterated by the large number of applications for the new Agnipath recruitment scheme despite it being for only a four-year tenure with no pension or ex-servicemen benefits, due to the huge unemployment and poverty in the country.
But the shortages in the officer cadre is a worry. Moreover, almost the entire shortage of officers is alarmingly in the “fighting ranks” of the three Services. In the Army, for instance, these ranks are Lt-Colonel, Major, Captain and Lieutenant, who actually lead troops into battle, as reported by TOI earlier.
Though the salaries of military officers have substantially gone up after the 6th and 7th Central Pay Commissions, youngsters still find them poor compared to the corporate sector, especially for a life which is considered tough and risky.
Poor promotional avenues in the steeply-pyramidal structures of the armed forces as well as frequent transfers that disrupt family life and children's education are the other reasons that dissuade youngsters with “officer-like qualities (OLQs)” from queuing up. Lack of adequate officer training capacity in military academies is, of course, another factor.
The government is also yet to approve the long-pending package to make short-service commission (SSC) more attractive for bright youngsters, with measures ranging from grant of paid study leave to a golden handshake at the end of their tenures of 10 to 14 years, despite the continuing shortage of officers and the urgent need for cadre restructuring.