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The Standing Committee on Defence said "the Defence Ministry should go into the entire gamut of the issue (shortage of officers) in all the three services and urgently formulate a plan of action for implementation in a time bound manner."
In a report highlighting the deficiencies and shortcomings in manpower planning and human resource management in the defence forces, the committee said it had found that the shortage of officers stood at 23.8, 16.7 and 12.1 per cent in army, navy and air force respectively.
After the authorised strength of officers in the three forces was increased by 26 per cent, the present level of unfilled vacancies had reached an "unprecedented" level, the report, which was tabled on Tuesday, said.
While making several recommendations, the committee said it was "perturbed" to know that all the efforts of the Defence Ministry to resolve the issue, especially those in the last two decades, have failed.
The committee also rejected the Defence Ministry's plea that youth accorded "low priority" to a military career and said the "issue of shortage of officers continues to be viewed in isolation without properly appreciating the complexities of the various aspects of manpower planning and human resource management."
The committee said that with growing security challenges, every Ministry should contribute its share in supporting the defence services.
Saying that some of the recruitment procedures for officers in the armed forces were based on antiquated practices, the committee said "format of SSB tests has not undergone any major change in the last three decades".
The Committee found out that the present selection system was examined by a Chiefs of Staff appointed committee which found the "procedures for selection extremely rigorous."
It recommended that an exhaustive review of the selection procedures through SSBs be undertaken and the latest selection techniques be put in place.
It also asked the Defence Ministry to ensure that candidates with rural backgrounds are not be subjected to language barriers while assessing them during selections.
The committee asked the Ministry to ensure that "fair and transparent" systems are put in place for promotion of officers in the forces.
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Respected Sir, I have submitted an action plan comprising of 188 typed pages highlighting the problem areas and suggested solution there of.It was sent by courier to then Honorable Ministers of DEFENCE(Shri AK ANTONY),FINANCE(Shri P chidambarum)and LAW(Shri HR BHARADWAJ).The date of despatch was 31 January2008, and I have POD of correct delivery.Till date no action has been taken on those points.Now what is to be done,please advise if I rewrite the same once again?
Our MOD and the three service chiefs have been repeating this lament for the past several years .The shortagehas remained above 10000 officers.The chances may improve a bit in the present conditions but it may last only during the prevailing market conditions.The malaise is not limited to poor administrative actions by the Government or the poor response or even capacity for training the cadets.the last named,i.e,capacity ,cannot be just dobled or tripled .Also ,the attrition rate due to superannuation,VRS and other resons more or less match the intake ability of the forces.The supply /retirement chain will hold the shortfall of the 10000 and about more or less a figure that cannot be drastically changed or made up without conscription and dilution of training quality.The solution will be to go in heavily for Technology adoption and force multiplication in the matter of armsand training philosophy.increase in benefits beyond a point will be invariably counterproductive.
Everytime there is a woman who does something odd there is so much hype including the F16 flight during the Air Show. Why cannot the armed forces have Woman Officers in the Submarines, Ships and on the Fronts?? If we talk of Equality recruit them and give them equal chance to be in some of the worst situations of mankind - and not just some plush jobs in safe, secure and comfort zones which other women use as an ego boost. Recruit the Women of India than complaint of shortage of officers!!
Its very rare to hear the concern shown for deficiency of officers in Army,Navy and Air Force while the Congress perpetually propagate to enroll more and more youth in politics.These young politicians infact must have some copulsory tenure of services in defence forces without which they shouldn't qualify to participate inpolitics.Immature Politicians are no better than parasites living at the cost of others that too doing nothing but taking major portion of bread and butter.Why couldn't Rajiv Gandhi join and serve in AirForce who was pilot and left the country at the time the Nation was in need?Why his son didn't get the idea to join Army(atleast in SSRC cadre)tojustify his patriotism?Moreover the Govt has to make Defence srevices more attractive not merely through raising salaries but to modern weapons and equipment.Give them guarantee for better rehablitation after retirement and special treatment all around.Selection and recruitment without bribes and nepotism.
Modern warfare is technology and brainpower based and not human muscle and number based so much. What India needs is a lean mean machine.
There is nothing wrong in the selection procdure. In fact it is one of the best and that is the reason we can still depend upon our defence services.These jack asses (the politicians) and the bureaucrats have marginalised our officers in the armed forces over the years and have been taking them for granted so most of the officers are disolutioned. Some political will is required to correct the situation. We have really let our soldiers down in all ways.
Is it time for compulsory military duty for 1-2 years after college? This would alleviate shortage and also instill discipline (a soft skill) that is not taught in "Industry". Lets debate this!
This is really necessary to make sure that the youth and all the nation understands the contribution of the armed forces to the nation. Moreover one youth who spends 2 years in army will tell 5 other people the values learnt- mainly discipline, and fighting spirit instead of running like crazy behind anything that the media dishes out.
First education then college and then military.. the basic education is missing in India look even the politicians are uneducated
There is a need for dynamism in the armed forces. However, the bureaucratic stranglehold of procedures followed in recruitment is the bane besides several factors. I wanted to be a career ASW Officer in the Navy and pursued a career in Engineering to become proficient. The option I had was that of a Electrical Officer. Besides, the services have their segment of corruption - specifically for postings - and the lack of job variety are clear limitations. All these need to be addressed in a comprehensive manner to attract teh youth.
The shortage of officers in defence servies is due to the fact that people have now realized that the cunning politicians have been appealing so far to patriotic sentiments of the common man to join the defence services and stand the grave risk of getting killed whereas these politcians are busy charting a safe and highly profitable carrear in the form of MLAs and MPs for their sons. If the Govt. is really serious about the shortage of offices, the politicians should first enroll their sons in the defence services. The hypocracy of the politicians need to be exposed. .
100% True... Politicians give us the crap about patriotism and maintain swiss bank accounts. Most of them have their children studying in foreign countries. In my opinion, patriotsm
The minimum salary of an officer should at least match with that of an IT professional. Then only the new generation will show interest in joining the forces. Pure patriotism alone won't do!
Joining the Army is something bigger than a 'salary'. You do it for the service of the nation, or for the love of the game. I would join the Indian Army, if I am able to, just because we need to give back something to our nation. For far too long Indians have been shameless. Time to teach the Pakistani inbreeders a lesson.