Noida boy's viral video sparks debate around Indian Army recruitment

The video of a 19-year-old Noida boy Pradeep Mehra, shared by filmmaker Vinod Kapri, has been going viral on social media. The post includes a video of Pradeep, who runs 10 km every night after his duty at McDonald's in Noida so that he becomes fit enough to join the Indian army one day. 

The video going viral has also sparked a conversation about recruitment in the Indian Army - which remains suspended due to Covid-19. On Monday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in the Rajya Sabha that the process of recruitment in the Army has been suspended for the past two years due to the pandemic.

March 20, 2022

The Centre also informed the Parliament that while 100 women were recruited in the Corps of Military Police (CMP) in 2019-20, further recruitment of 199 women contenders planned during 2020-21 and 2021-22 was withheld.

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This could have a serious effect on the Army, senior Defence officials said. The complete process from selection to training in the Army takes around two years and shortages will be sensed a few years later.

Retirement imbalance 

One of the most important things that also affect is the retirement imbalance. Usually, around 50,000 to 60,000 personnel from Other Ranks retire from the Army every year and the gaps will be realised much later. 

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said, "All recruitment rallies planned by Army Recruiting Offices (AROs)/Zonal Recruiting Offices (ZROs) have been suspended till further orders due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation in the country."