NEW DELHI: The youth aspiring to join the Indian Army through recruitment rallies may have to wait out longer still. No recruitment rallies have taken place for more than two years. The shortage of personnel has already started hurting the Army.
The situation is such that even if these rallies are held anytime soon, the new recruits would take more than 1.5 years for their induction. The Army seems to be fighting a policy ambiguity. “We are not yet clear about the time-lines for fresh rallies,” said an Army officer.
Another officer said conducting such rallies would take time. “Before a rally is conducted, a location is finalised and then a notification issued for registration, which takes over a month. Post-registration paperwork takes more than three months before selected candidates are called for written and physical tests,” he said.
Candidates clearing the tests are called for medical examination and then a merit list of selected candidates is released in above five months. The candidates join their training centres where they spend around nine months as per the needs of the services they have opted for. They pass through various drills before becoming a soldier.
At least 50,000 Army personnel retire each year, according to the Defence Ministry. Meanwhile, heightened deployment in eastern Ladakh continues along the entire LAC as a precautionary measure.
The suspension of fresh recruitment has added to the workload of the existing soldiers. This has affected units deployed at high altitude and operational areas. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt had said the recruitment rallies were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.