MS Dhoni, Anand Mahindra Members Of Committee Constituted For Comprehensive Review Of NCC: Defence Ministry

Former Indian cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra besides others are the members of this committee.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (L) and Anand Mahindra (R)

New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence has constituted a high-level expert committee, under the chairmanship of former Member of Parliament Baijayant Panda, for a comprehensive review of National Cadet Corps (NCC) in order to make it more relevant in changed times

Former Indian cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra besides others are the members of this committee.

The move assumes significance as Dhoni, who holds numerous captaincy records such as the most wins by an Indian captain in ODIs and T20Is, presently holds the rank of honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Territorial Army. He had earlier in 2019 trained with the Indian Army’s Parachute Regiment for over a month.

Anand Mahindra, who featured in Fortune Magazine’s list of The World's 50 Greatest Leaders in 2014, has been a contributor to India’s defence manufacturing programmes through the defence vertical of his business.

He had earlier backed a proposal by the Indian Army to allow civilians, including young working professionals, to join the force for a three-year tenure while stating that the Mahindra Group would be happy to consider for employment those who have served the term.

Earlier this week, the officials of Mahindra Defence were in a contingent of business heads who interacted with Army Chief General M.M. Naravane.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Colonel (Retd) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Finance Ministry's Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal, Jamia Millia Islamia Vice-Chancellor Professor Najma Akhtar, SNDT Women’s University former vice chancellor Vasudha Kamat, Bhartiya Shikshan Mandal’s National Organizing Secretary Mukul Kanitkar, Major General (Retd) Alok Raj and Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) chairman Milind Kamble are also the members of the committee.

“The Terms of Reference of the Committee, inter-alia, broadly provide for suggesting measures which can empower NCC cadets to contribute more effectively towards nation building and national developmental efforts in various sectors; propose measures for gainful engagement of its Alumni for betterment of the organisation as a whole and to study/recommend best practices of similar international youth organisations for inclusion in the NCC curriculum,” the Ministry of Defence said in a release.

The NCC is the largest uniformed organisation, which aims at developing character, discipline, a secular outlook and ideals of selfless service amongst young citizens.

The NCC also aims to create a pool of organised, trained and motivated youth with leadership qualities in all walks of life.