Promotion policy review for the army

The four-day army commanders’ conference that began in New Delhi on Monday will review the new promotion policy, quantified system (QS), which came into effect last year. There could be some modifications based on the feedback sought from the different military wings.

Chief of army staff General VK Singh will review the policy. He has asked the military secretary for the policy letter based on which QS was evolved.

The new system, adopted after its success in the Medical Corps, grades officers on a computerised scale of 100, of which 90 marks are for annual confidential reports (ACRs), five for awards, honours and courses undergone, and the remaining are decided by the board members (or selectors). If the board members feel an officer has been wrongly judged, they can rectify his report by giving him the 5% marks at their disposal.

A year later, QS has been found unsuitable for senior ranks as pointed out by all formations of the army. An officer said, “The system is good for junior officers such as those being promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel and from Colonel to Brigadier, but not for higher ranks. In higher ranks, the number of reports written is less. If an officer misses out on even one report, he is out. In junior selection, an officer has more years to perform and subsequently, more ACRs, he has a lot of time to prove himself and earn better reports.”