Amid challenges from China and Pakistan, Indian armed forces face a shortfall of over 11,000 officers

The shortfall is mainly at the Major and Captain-level ranks and their equivalents in the other branches.

Published on:

25 Jul 2023, 12:18 pm

New Delhi: Indian armed forces are facing a great challenge of manpower shortage. The defence ministry has revealed that the military is facing a significant dearth of 11,266 young officers in its ranks. The shortfall was reported 9,797 in 2022.

According to the Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, the shortfall is affecting all three services – the Army, Navy, and the Air Force. However, it is mainly at the Major and Captain-level ranks and their equivalents in the other branches.

There is a shortage of officers at the major and captain levels in the Army with over 6,800 vacancies - 2,094 (for major rank) and 4,734 (for captain rank). In the Navy, the figures are – 2,617 (for Lt Commander), while in the Air Force, the figures are – 881 (for squadron leader rank) and 940 for (flight lieutenant rank).

The minister has also revealed that there’s a shortage of medical staff for the military. The Army, Navy and the Air Force were short of 630 doctors, 73 dentists and 701 nurses.

The doctor-patient ratio in the three services is 0.64 per 1,000 – one doctor per 1,563 patients, while the nurse-patient ratio is 0.42 per 1,000, which translates to one nurse per 2,381 patients.

The ministry has attributed the shortfall of officers to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recruitment rallies were suspended owing to the pandemic. In fact, the minister had revealed earlier that of the 97 planned recruitment rallies during 2020-21, only 47 were held. Similarly, in 2021-22, 87 recruitment rallies were scheduled across the country, of which only four took place. Moreover, training camps were also affected owing to the pandemic.

The ministry has also attributed the shortfall to low intake in all support cadre entries mainly consisting of Short Service Commission and other service entries.

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