Indian Territorial Army is celebrating its 76th Foundation Day on October 9. The Territorial Army (TA) of India is an auxiliary military organization of part-time volunteers. which provides support services to the Indian Army. Includes Officers, Junior Commissioned Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and other personnel of similar rank in the Indian Army.
The role of the TA is to “relieve the regular army from static duties and assist the civil administration in dealing with natural calamities and maintaining essential services” and “provide units for the regular army as and when required”.
History of Territorial Army:
- TA was raised by the Britishers in 1920 through Indian Territorial Act of 1920 and it was org into two wings namely - 'The Auxiliary Force' for Europeans & Anglo-Indians and 'The Indian Territorial Force' for Indian Volunteers.
- After Independence Territorial Army Act was passed in 1948 and the Territorial Army was formally inaugurated by the first Indian Governor General Shri C Rajagopalachari on 09 Oct 1949. Strength of Territorial Army: The TA has a strength of approximately 40,000 soldiers who serve in ‘Departmental Units’, like the Railways, Indian Oil Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India, and General Hospitals; and ‘Non-Departmental Units’, like the Infantry Battalions and Ecological Battalions.
The Role Of The Territorial Army:
- To relieve the Regular Army of static duties and support the civil power if required.
- To provide units for coastal defence and anti-aircraft defence of the country.
- To provide units of the regular army when required.
- The TA is composed of all arms and services – Infantry, artillery, engineers, signals, service corps, medical and ordnance. It is organised into two different units – provincial and urban. Urban units are raised in big towns and personnel undergo weekly training. To encourage participation of the villagers also the other type of units enrol personnel from the rural areas. Two months annual training camps are held for such people so that they are free to attend to their vocation during the rest of the year.
- Both in the event of a war and an emergency, the TA is embodied according to requirements. On such occasions the units are on the same footing as the Regular Army for all purposes including pay and allowances for the personnel. The TA personnel are given additional facilities for joining the Regular Army commissions and a certain percentage of these vacancies are reserved at the Military Academy.
Operations: The TA units were also actively involved in operations during the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars. Since 2020, the Indian military has been recalibrating the TA for better operational and intelligence roles, especially in the Andaman Islands to keep an eye out for possible Chinese intrusions in the region.
Approval To Posting Of Women Officers At LOC: Territorial Army had commenced Commissioning of Women Officers in TA since 2019. Till April 2023 these Woman Officers were able to serve Ecological Task Force Units, TA Oil sector units and TA Railway Engineer Regiment. Based on the experience gained during this period, a considered proposal was prepared to extend the employment scope further for women officers in TA which was approved by the Hon’ble Raksha Mantri in April last year (In 2023).
Women Officers of the Territorial Army now being posted with Engineer Regiments of the Territorial Army serving along the Line of Control and as staff officers at TA Group Headquarters/ Directorate General of Territorial Army at New Delhi, as per organizational requirement. This progressive policy measure is aimed at enhancing the scope of employment of Women Officers as also meet their professional aspirations.
Recruitment of Mandarin Language Experts: Last years on the occasion of it’s 75th Raising Day
The Territorial Army has inducted a batch of Mandarin language experts and posted them in forward areas, a step that seeks to enhance linguistic capabilities of the Indian side during border talks with the Chinese army.
Besides, the Territorial Army (TA) is also engaged in "advanced stages" of discussion and has "identified criteria" for hiring some cyber security experts. Process of becoming a Territorial Army soldier: The Territorial Army was established in 1948. It can include both civilians and ex-servicemen. Salary in Territorial Army comes with many perks and benefits.
Candidates have to pass a written test and interview to get recruited in Territorial Army. After this they are given military training.
