Army's plans to tackle officer shortage

A higher intake of Short Service Commissioned officers, picking up potential recruits who have just passed out from schools and payment of monthly stipends to cadets in military academies are some of the suggestions made to government to make up the shortage of officers in the army.

These proposals were forwarded by the army to the Ministry of Defence after deliberating upon them at length on the second day of the five-day Army Commanders bi-annual meeting in New Delhi, army sources said.

The deliberations on how to overcome shortages of officers, more felt in units conducting anti-insurgency operations, came in the backdrop of army facing a recurring shortage of over 11,000 officers against sanctioned strength for the past several years.

Now the army has proposed a higher ratio of Short Service Commissioned Officers as compared to Permanent Commissioned Officers and looking into prospects of picking up recruits who have cleared Class XII and then letting them choose a college of their choice for graduation on monthly stipends, before being enrolled as officers in the army.

The Commanders also gave the nod for the novel idea of paying monthly stipends to cadets undergoing military training in military academies.

Though, army sources did not mention the figure, it has been proposed that a monthly stipend of Rs 10,000 be paid to all cadets in all military academies.