Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 13

After witnessing a consecutive decline in the number of premature retirements since 2013, the number of officers who opted to hang up their boots before reaching the age of superannuation has gone up in all three services this year.The reversal of trend, which some officers opine could be temporary, comes in the backdrop of the Armed Forces facing a continuing shortage of officers, which is about 17 per cent for the Army, 13 per cent for the Navy and minuscule for the Air Force.According to the Ministry of Defence, the number of premature retirements in the Army was 221 in 2013, 120 in 2014 and 62 in 2015. This figure till the end of May this year is 64.In the Navy, the retirements from 2013-15 were 96, 91 and 68, which went up to 89 in July this year. The corresponding figures for the Air Force are 131, 108 and 59, with the number of officers opting out early this year shooting up to 109 till the beginning of this month.Service conditions and monetary benefits remain the prime reason for officers leaving early.Sources said one reason for the downward trend in premature retirements in the recent past was the Seventh Pay Commission, for which officers were waiting in the hope to get a better pension package. “While there is an all-round hike in the salaries, and consequently the pension, the general perception in the services is that the pay commission has given them a raw deal and further eroded their status and equation vis-à-vis other Central Government services. Several anomalies and demands pertaining to the earlier pay commissions have also not been addressed,” an officer said.The Army has an authorised strength of 49,833 officers but currently has 41,162 officers, having to make do with a shortfall of 8,671 officers mostly at the junior level, which is operationally critical.With a shortage of 1,518 officers, the Navy has 9,866 officers against the authorised strength of 11,384. The Air Force, which reported no deficiency of officers last year, is now short of 29.