Indian Army may downsize by one lakh troops as General Bipin Rawat seeks a 'leaner and meaner' force

New Delhi: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and top commanders are likely to deliberate Tuesday on carrying out major reforms in the force including organisational restructuring and its possible downsizing by around 1,00,000 troops, official sources said.

The sources said the top brass of the Indian Army will discuss a host of issues including the long-pending cadre review and steps to make the world’s second largest standing Army “leaner and meaner”. There have been indications that the army may cut over 1,00,000 troops over the next five years as part of restructuring process. The current strength of the force is around 1.3 million personnel.

The defence ministry has already announced a series of reform measures for the army which included redeployment of nearly 57,000 officers and other ranks as well as ensuring better utilisation of resources. “The army chief and top commanders will discuss various reform initiatives which are aimed at making the Army leaner and meaner,” the sources said. Under the cadre review, the Army is also looking at abolishing the rank of brigadier, they said.

A high-level committee has come out with a number of recommendations to enhance combat capability of the force. The sources said the aim of the reform initiative is to ready a larger talent pool for crucial tasks and bringing down the age of those commanding key formations. The committee is also examining various options to bring down the age of commands at all levels and ensure deploying the right person for the right job. The sources said the committee is expected to make recommendations for longer tenures of brigade commanders, divisional commanders and core commanders.