Indian Army considers doing away with Brigadier rank as part of its restructuring exercise

The Indian Army, as part of its ongoing restructuring exercise, is contemplating abolishing the rank of Brigadier to ensure better career prospects for its officers and parity with the civil services. According to a Times of India report, an internal paper drafted for the cadre review in the army, which has a little over 42,000 officers at present, said that the force would likely cut down the number of its ranks from nine at present down to six or seven. [caption id=“attachment_3907241” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] In effect, this would mean that Colonels who are approved for promotions would directly become major-generals instead of Brigadiers, the report said. As per a MoneyControl report, the draft came after Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat had last month called a high-level committee meeting to study various aspects of officer cadre restructuring. The draft also suggests that the rank of Lieutenant should be assigned to its Gentlemen Cadets in their last year of training at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, Uttar Pradesh. As a consequence of this, those who are being inducted into the army would directly get the rank of Captain instead of first becoming Lieutenants, the report said. Speaking on the proposed restructuring the ranks, an officer told The Times of India: “This will also help in restoring the status of a brigade commander, who is higher in the warrant of precedence than an Inspector General of police. But police IGs have been made equivalent to joint secretaries and enjoy a higher pay grade than Brigadiers.” Times Now reported that the new system would benefit the cadres as it will naturally ensure that officers will pick up their ranks quickly.