The Indian Army’s decision to approach the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad to suggest a better system of recruitment of officers is a belated recognition of an old problem. As the Army has been unable to attract competent candidates, there are at present over 12,000 vacant positions at the officer level. There has been growing realisation that the present system of recruitment is time-consuming, cumbersome and off-putting. What the Army wants is a shorter, transparent and robust system so that capable persons are attracted and recruited. While change is always welcome, change for the sake of change will not serve any purpose.
Whatever may be the drawbacks in the existing system of recruitment, allowance has to be made for the fact that it has served the needs of the Army for over six decades, i.e. since Independence. In other words, it has been able to maintain the standards expected of officers in the Army. Any new system has also to take into account the fact that there should be no compromise in the quality and standards of officers recruited. After all, the recruitment will have a direct bearing on the professionalism of the Army, which is one of the few institutions which maintains discipline, decorum and a sense of integrity.
Even so, it is a fact that the Indian Army has changed a lot. Earlier, the officer cadre in the Army used to attract people from aristocratic sections of society. In fact, it was not uncommon for young officers to take pride in the fact that their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers, too, had served as officers in the Army. That is no longer the case as the catchment area for recruitment has widened. People from all over the country and representing all sections seek job opportunities in the Army. Yet, if the Army is not able to attract good candidates, the recruitment system alone is not to blame. That the salary and other service conditions in the Army are unable to match the aspirations of the talented should not be forgotten.
