Why India’s armed forces are seeing a shortfall of over 11,000 officers

The Indian Armed Forces is struggling. Not with the lack of weaponry, but owing to a shortage of manpower. The Ministry of Defence has revealed that the military is facing a significant dearth of young officers in its ranks – 11,266 to be precise. This is much more than the shortfall of 9,797 that was reported in 2022. The shortfall, according to Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt is affecting all three services – the Army, Navy, and the Air Force – and is mainly at the Major and Captain-level ranks and their equivalents in the other branches. Here’s a closer look at just how severe is the shortage of manpower in the military. We also examine what could be the causes for this scarcity and what could be the consequences of this situation. Where are the men? As the Monsoon Session of Parliament began, a written query was raised over the strength of the Indian Armed Forces. Responding to this, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt revealed that there was a shortage of officers at the major and captain levels in the Army with over 6,800 vacancies. He provided a break-up of the shortages – 2,094 (for major rank) and 4,734 (for captain rank) in the Indian Army. In the Navy, the figures are – 2,617 (for Lt Commander), while in the Air Force, the figures are – 881 (for squadron leader rank) and 940 for (flight lieutenant rank). But it’s not just about officers at the major and captain level. The minister has also revealed that there’s a shortage of medical staff for the military. Elaborating further, he said that the Army, Navy and the Air Force were short of 630 doctors, 73 dentists and 701 nurses. [caption id=“attachment_12912542” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj[/caption] The Army had the most vacancies – 598 doctors, 56 dentists and 528 nurses. In comparison, the Navy was short of 20 doctors, 11 dentists and 86 nurses, while the Air Force was short of 12 doctors, six dentists and 87 nurses. The doctor-patient ratio in the three services is 0.64 per 1,000 – one doctor per 1,563 patients, while the nurse-patient ratio is 0.42 per 1,000, which translates to one nurse per 2,381 patients, the minister mentioned in his reply, according to an Indian Express report. This isn’t the first time a shortage of men in the Armed Forces. In March, the government had stated there was a deficiency of around 1.55 lakh personnel within the three branches of the military, with the Army accounting for the maximum – 1.36 lakh vacancies. **Also read: No Nepali Gorkhas recruited to Indian Army for a year: How forces are being affected** Why the shortage? The ministry has attributed the shortfall of officers to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recruitment rallies were suspended owing to the pandemic. In fact, the minister had revealed earlier that of the 97 planned recruitment rallies during 2020-21, only 47 were held. Similarly, in 2021-22, 87 recruitment rallies were scheduled across the country, of which only four took place. Moreover, training camps were also affected owing to the pandemic. But, other defence experts argue that the shortage of men in the forces is because they are paid lesser than corporate jobs. Despite the significant hikes in salaries, the remuneration is still lower than that of a corporate job. As Lt General Rameshwar Yadav explained to Financial Express, “Harsh service conditions and everyday risk to life in the line of duty, pay and perks in the military and avenues for promotion are not as attractive as is the case with civil services and the third thing is the very attractive pay and package available in the corporate sector; these are the main reasons behind the shortage of officers.” Besides this, the Ministry of Defence has also attributed the shortfall to low intake in all support cadre entries mainly consisting of Short Service Commission and other service entries. For the unaware, the Short Service Commission is a type of service in the Indian Army where an officer is commissioned for a limited period, usually between 10-14 years. It offers an opportunity to serve the nation for a short period of time and then return to civilian life. [caption id=“attachment_12912892” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The Air Force too is facing a shortage. The figures are figures are – 881 (for squadron leader rank) and 940 for (flight lieutenant rank). File image/PTI[/caption] What is being done to plug the gap? Recognising the shortages in officers, the defence ministry has said that they are considering to make the “Short Service Entry More Attractive”. However, no additional clarification was given on how this would be done. Earlier, there were reports that the Army was planning to reduce the posting of staff officers at various headquarters to overcome their shortage in units. Staff appointments are a precursor to subsequent command appointments as officers climb the ranks. The minister, however, clarified that they had not received any proposal on the same and furthermore, there wasn’t any mention of re-employment of officers to the vacant posts. The mention of re-employment was made as the Indian Express had reported that the Army was mulling posting re-employed officers. Re-employed officers are those who serve in the Army for two to four years after their retirement from the service and are in the ranks of Brigadier and Colonels. **Also read: Jetpacks, robot mules, drones: How Indian Army is set to go hi-tech** Is this of any concern? The answer depends on who you ask. The minister has stated clearly that the available strength is adequate to meet current operational requirements and that “the operational readiness and effectiveness of Army units is being maintained with organisational resources”. However, the shortage in the officer cadre is worrying. This is because these officers, such as Majors and Captains, actually lead troops into battle. This is particularly worrying when India shares shares long boundaries with hostile neighbours. Since May 2020, the Army has been locked in a faceoff with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) along the line of actual control in Eastern Ladakh that shows no sign of easing. Tensions also persist with Pakistan, along the Line of Control in Kashmir and in nearby Siachen. Military experts describe it as a ‘no-peace-no-war’ situation. Apart from this, there are also the internal threats to security that the military has to contend with. Hence, it is of utmost importance that the vacancies are filled and that muscle power is added to the forces. With inputs from agencies