Army plans 3 year short job stints for 'eligible, willing' Indian men and women

In this article, senior journalist Sanjib Kr Baruah outlines the Indian Army's proposal to allow common citizens to join its ranks for a very short three-year stint after one year of intensive training. It is understood to be actively being considered by the Ministry of Defence.

New Delhi: In a radical proposal, the Indian Army is planning to open its doors to ‘eligible and willing’ Indian men and women at the level of young officers and other ranks for a very short three-year stint after one year of intensive training with the world’s biggest army.

Indicative of a shift in preference from a permanent service or job towards an internship, the plan, called ‘Tour of Duty (ToD)’, has been proposed by the Indian Army and is understood to be actively being considered by the Ministry of Defence.

While initially it would be implemented on a trial basis against limited openings, it would be fully expanded if found successful.

The ToD would entail one year of intensive training before joining the Indian Army as a young officer or a sepoy for three years.

According to a source familiar with the proposal, it would mean four years of tax-free salaries and leaving the army with severance pay of Rs 6 lakh for an officer and Rs 3 lakh as a sepoy.

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There were several elements to the plan which is akin to a very ‘short service commission’ which at present is limited to 10 years and extendable by four more years or a total of 14 years.

There would be no relaxation in eligibility standards or qualifications. Therefore, in keeping with the strict army standards, only the physically fit can apply for the positions which will comprise both combat and non-combat positions. It will be entirely voluntary and based on a willingness to serve the nation as opposed to conscription orders.

Among other things, the plan aims to cut down drastically on the growing pension burden which currently is huge in the army.

About 60 per cent of India’s defence budget goes into salaries and pensions.

In the last five years, while the defence budget has grown about 69 per cent, the pension bill has grown by an astounding 145 per cent.

The government spends up to Rs 6.8 crore on an army officer from the time of training, employment, to post-retirement if he /she is to be released after 14 years of service, similar costs for a ToD officer would be about Rs 85 lakh.

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In case of a sepoy, the total saving incurred on a ToD sepoy as against a sepoy who served 17 years would be about Rs 11.5 crore.

While at this point of time only the army is being considered for these short stints, if the plan is approved and implemented, it would be logical to expect the plan to be implemented across the other armed forces including the Navy and the Indian Air Force.

Another issue the plan may address to an extent is the paucity of officers. As of January 1, 2019, against the authorised strength of 50,312 officers and 12,23,381 Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) /OR (Other Rank) of Indian Army, the held strength stood at 42,913 officers and 11,85,146 JCOs/Ors.

Two years ago, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence had recommended a five-year mandatory military stint for those aspiring for gazetted jobs in the state and central governments to deal with the manpower shortage in the army.