NEW DELHI: The Indian Army has completed its biggest restructuring study since Independence and the profile of the Army Headquarters is about to change. The emphasis, as per the Army committee that has recommended the changes, is on trimming flab by sending a large number of young majors and lieutenant colonels posted at the HQ into field positions and swapping their current positions with officers who have opted for re-employment.
There will be minor adjustments in the middle and higher ranks too.
If the proposals go through the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the Army HQ will have 1,203 officers in place of the current 1,333 officers. And 100 re-employed officers will be inducted in place of the outgoing majors and lieutenant colonels.
The Indian Army—the world’s second largest army—is aiming to transform itself into a more lethal force to meet the desired offensive and defensive capabilities of modern warfare by undergoing a complete transformation.
To do so, it had commissioned a four-part study on restructuring the Army HQ, reorganising the Army, performing a cadre review of officers and enhancing the colour service of soldiers.
Focus to make Army cost efficient
Presently, the Army Headquarters based out of MoD is headed by the Chief of the Army Staff who also holds operational charge of the Indian Army.
He has the Vice Chief and two deputy chiefs who assist him in higher decision making and oversee the seven Army commands headed by senior lieutenant generals.
The focus is not only to make the Army operationally efficient but also financially efficient. For this, one of the deputy chiefs will handle the funds which were earlier handled by two different principal staff officers, the deputy chief and the master general (ordinance).
PSO is a lieutenant general rank officer posted at headquarters as the advisor to the Army Chief.
Report calls for a new post
Sources said the study has called for a new post—Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy)—under the Vice Chief of the Army to “formalise operational planning and execution under one Principal Staff Officer, who will provide coalesced inputs ... to the Chief of Army Staff”.