More Than 1.55 Lakh Vacant Positions In Forces, Maximum In Army: Centre In Parliament

According to Bhatt, the Indian Army, which includes the Army Medical Corps and Army Dental Corps, is short 8,129 officers.

Representational Image. (File Photo)

The three armed forces are short of approximately 1.55 lakh personnel, with the Army accounting for the majority of the 1.36 lakh vacancies, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday, news agency PTI reported.

Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State for Defence, stated in a written response that the shortage of armed forces personnel and mitigating measures are reviewed on a regular basis, and that numerous measures have been initiated to fill vacancies and encourage youth to join the Services.

According to Bhatt, the Indian Army, which includes the Army Medical Corps and Army Dental Corps, is short 8,129 officers.

There are 509 open positions in the Military Nursing Service (MNS), as well as 1,27,673 open positions for JCOs and other ranks. There are also 252 vacant positions in Group A among civilians employed by the forces, 2,549 vacancies in Group B, and 35,368 vacancies in Group C, according to the minister.

There are 12,428 personnel shortages in the Navy. The minister responded that there is a shortage of 1,653 officers, 29 medical and dental officers, and 10,746 sailors.

There is a shortage of 165 civilian employees in Group A, 4207 in Group B, and 6,156 in Group C.

In the Indian Air Force, there is a shortfall of 7,031 personnel. There is also a shortfall of 721 officers, 16 medical officers, 4,734 Airmen, and 113 Airmen of Medical Assistant trade among others, he added.

Among the civilians being hired, there is a shortage of 22 in Group A, 1303 in Group B, and 5531 in Group C.

"Shortage of armed forces personnel and mitigating measures are reviewed regularly by the Armed Forces and based on detailed analysis. Numerous measures have been initiated to fill the vacancies and encourage youth to join the Services," Bhatt was quoted by PTI in its report. 

Among them, according to the minister, are increased emphasis on better image projection and publicity in audio, visual, print, online, and social media, holding career fairs and exhibitions, motivational speeches in schools and colleges, computer-based online application filling examinations, and redesigning service websites to make it easier to implement a reliable recruitment management system.

Bhatt said candidate-friendly recruiting process, granting of Permanent Commission to the Short Service Commission officers, for both men and women, entry of women through NDA, and creating requisite infrastructure are some other steps taken to encourage youth to join the services.

(With PTI Inputs)