rahul.singh@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI : The Indian Army is scrutinising a proposal that seeks to employ its specialised manpower for longer periods by granting soldiers from some of its select wings a service extension of 10 to 18 years — a move that could benefit more than 400,000 jawans, two senior army officers said on condition of anonymity on Saturday.

The army is in the process of identifying cadres — ranging from the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers and Army Air Defence to Army Aviation and Army Medical Corps — where soldiers can discharge their duties and responsibilities efficiently till the ages of 50, 54 and even 58 instead of retiring at 40, said the first officer cited above.

The proposed service extension, backed by army chief General Bipin Rawat, is different from another scheme being implemented by the army to increase the retirement age of jawans by two years, the second officer said.

The army headquarters asked all seven commands across the country to identify arms and services where soldiers could serve longer but the initial response was not encouraging. The feedback indicated that only about 10% jawans could be eligible for the proposed extended tenure.