Rattled by disappearing jobs in the private sector, several officers are withdrawing requests for premature retirement.
In the winter of economic gloom, things are looking up for the armed forces. Rattled by disappearing jobs in the private sector, several officers are withdrawing requests for premature retirement. Moreover, with the sixth pay commission holding out the promise of lucrative salaries, the numbers of those eager to join the services are beginning to rise as the security of a government job entices the middle class once again.
This is a happy situation for the armed forces, which have been facing a severe manpower crunch for the past few years.
Field operations in counter-insurgency theatres have been crippled by the shortage of officers, especially young officers. Currently, the army itself faces a shortage of 11,300 officers.
The years of economic boom were a tough time for the armed forces.
Crisis reverses trend in armed forces
Vacancies arose in the armed forces as more and more officers decided to leave for greener pastures in the private sector. From 350 officers applying for premature retirement in 2003, the number swelled to 1,100 in 2007 and 1,200 in 2008. The problem was compounded by waning interest in the military among the young.
Both trends are being reversed now. Sources in all three services confirmed that some officers who had put in applications for premature retirement had withdrawn them and more were doing so. General Deepak Kapoor, the army chief, said last week: “There is a declining trend in people wanting to leave.”
The air force has not got a single application for premature retirement since early November 2008. Between April and November, it had received over a dozen. In the navy, too, where 288 officers asked to be relieved in 2008, the exodus is expected to slow down.
At the same time, youngsters are making a beeline for the army’s technical graduate entry scheme, in which a recruit can earn a BTech degree in four years and join the army as an officer. “We have found a significant increase in takers, so this time we have taken more numbers to compensate for shortages elsewhere,” said an officer. More than the usual numbers have also been admitted in the latest batch at the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, which, too, had been grappling with a paucity of recruits until last year.
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