Kathmandu, May 19

Nepal’s Cabinet has endorsed a new political map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura under its territory, amidst a border dispute with India.

The move announced by Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali came weeks after he said that efforts were on to resolve the border issue with India through diplomatic initiatives.

Nepal’s ruling Nepal Communist Party lawmakers have also tabled a special resolution in Parliament demanding return of Nepal’s territory in Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh.

The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory – India as part of Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.

Gyawali said that the official map of Nepal will soon be made public by the Ministry of Land Management.

“Decision of the Council of Ministers to publish the map of Nepal in 7 provinces, 77 districts and 753 local level administrative divisions including Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani,” he wrote on Twitter on Monday.

Gyawali last week summoned the Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and handed over a diplomatic note to him to protest against the construction of a key road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

India has said that the recently-inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand lies completely within its territory.

Nepal’s Finance minister and government spokesperson Yuvaraj Khatiwada on Monday said that the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has approved the new political map of the country.

It was presented by Minister for Land Management Padma Aryal at a Cabinet meeting for endorsement at the official residence of Prime Minister Oli at Baluwatar here on Monday.

The government said it will soon publicise the new political map that incorporates the territories unilaterally kept by India on its side of the border.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said that the Cabinet’s decision will be written in golden letters.

However, senior Nepal Communist Party and member of Nepal Communist Party Standing Committee Ganesh Shah said the new move may escalate unnecessary tension between Nepal and India at a time when the country is fighting the coronavirus.

“The Nepal government should soon start a dialogue with India to resolve the matter through political and diplomatic moves,” he said.

The new map includes 335-km land area including Limpiyadhura in the Nepalese territory.

The new map was drawn on the basis of the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 signed between Nepal and then the British India government and other relevant documents, which suggests Limpiyadhura, from where the Kali river originated, is Nepal’s border with India, The Kathmandu Post quoted an official at the Ministry of Land Reform and Management as saying.

President Bidhya Bhandari, addressing Parliament last week, reiterated that Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh belong to Nepal and appropriate diplomatic measures will be adopted to resolve the existing issues with India.

India and Nepal are at a row after the Indian side issued a new political map incorporating Kalapani and Lipulekh on its side of the border in October last year.

The tension further escalated after India inaugurated a road link connecting Kailash Mansarovar, a holy pilgrimage site situated at Tibet, China, that passes through the territory belonging to Nepal.

The 80-Km new road inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh earlier this month is expected to help pilgrims visiting Kailash-Mansarovar in Tibet in China as it is around 90 kms from the Lipulekh pass.

“The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra,” spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava said in New Delhi recently. PTI

The Army is keen on Tour of Duty to boost recruitment but a 2015 report, by a defence ministry panel, had recommended making the Short Service Commission more attractive.

The proposal had been formulated by a group of experts constituted by the Ministry of Defence.

While questions have been raised on the financial viability of the Tour of Duty and of carrying out training of individuals and losing them in the two-three years, the 2015 report had asked the ministry to revert to the minimum five years of short service rather than the now 10 years.

In an interaction with the media on 14 May, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat had said the Tour of Duty concept is still at a nascent stage and under the Army chief’s consideration. If it works out, it’s good, he said, but added that its viability needs to be studied.

“It will require a year of training. The tour of duty will be in Kashmir and the Northeast,” he said. “One year of training costs… Equipping him and doing everything for him and then losing him after four years. Is it going to balance out? It will require a study.”

As reported by ThePrint earlier, the Tour of Duty is for three-four years, which also includes training period. While the Army is keenly studying this, the CDS is looking at making the SSC more attractive.

Also read: IAF chief contradicts CDS Rawat, says plan is to buy 114 foreign fighters besides LCA Tejas

Solution could be in 2015 report

The solution to the recruitment debate could lie in the 2015 report.

The expert committee, in its 509-page report, had listed 75 recommendations in areas concerning service and pension matters, discipline and vigilance issues, matters concerning promotions and confidential reports, military justice, issues related to civilian employees and other potential areas of disputes.

It noted that the SSC is a very important scheme for individuals who would not like to make the defence services their permanent vocation and a scheme that would also cater to the shortage of officers in the three services.

For a long time prior to 2006, the SSC was applicable for a period of five years, extendable for another five years and then for a further four years.

A person released after five years was granted gratuity and also ex-serviceman status, having been released on completion of terms of engagement.

In 2006, however, ostensibly to make SSC more attractive, the earlier 5+5+4 years system was changed to 10+4 years, thereby making the initial tenure of 10 years mandatory for earning benefits, including ex-serviceman status.

“Though from the organisational point of view, a period of 10 years may seem important so as to retain officers for a sufficient period, however from the point of view of an individual, the said period in a way becomes exploitative since neither is a person granted pension nor guaranteed employment after 10 years thereby leaving him or her “neither here nor there” at an important phase of life thereby setting him/her back by 10 years as compared to other peers from civil life,” the committee noted.

It felt that to balance out the rights between the organization and individuals, “the scheme needs to be reverted back to 5+5+4 years so that a person has the option for release after 5 years of service to enable him/her to start afresh on the civil side with the additional skills gained in the defence services”.

Sources told ThePrint that the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar was actively discussing the idea of reverting SSC to the 5+5+4 system when he was moved out as Goa CM in 2017.

They said Parrikar wanted to bring SS officers on the contributory New Pension System (NPS) on par with civilians and further expand the scheme to bring down pension bill by keeping SS officers on NPS on par with a similar short service entry scheme of the Indian Coast Guard.

Also read: Not bullets but explosives cause maximum injuries to Army personnel: Study

10-year service makes it difficult to start afresh: Report

The report had also highlighted that it is difficult to start afresh in the civilian world once a SSC tenure ends. It must be appreciated that when a person is released from the military after 10 years of service, he or she is in his early 30s which is an age when it becomes difficult to start new innings, the report said.

“However, in case the organization feels that it is more beneficial to retain officers for at least 10 years, then additionally, to attract and retain talent, the Ministry could provide higher pay-outs and benefits to all those who serve for 10 years and still higher to those who serve till 14 years,” it added. “Hence, a graded structure of benefits can be incorporated for officers who serve for 5, 10 and 14 years.”

It also recommended a Contributory Pension Scheme on the lines of the NPS be considered for all future SSC officers who serve for a minimum 10 years.

Gen Rawat has said the military is looking at offering incentives to make the prospect more appealing for applicants.

“For an officer who will just serve for 14 years, you don’t want to give him a pension, what then can you do for them? Can you give him training that will make him stand on his feet?” Rawat said.

As an incentive, a lump sum amount should also be paid to the SSC officers on retirement, he added. “We are yet to decide on the amount,” he said.

Incidentally, the MoD has implemented two recommendations.

Earlier, only outpatient medical facilities were granted to short service officers in military hospitals but on recommendations of the committee of experts they were granted ECHS facilities with full outpatient facilities and truncated inpatient reimbursement for serious diseases.

Earlier, ex-servicemen status was granted only to those who completed the terms of SSC, for example five or 10 years, and not to those who sought release during extended terms. This was also deprecated by the committee and the Delhi High Court.

A clarification has been issued that SS officers who are released during extended terms will also now be granted “ex-serviceman” status.

Also read: CDS Bipin Rawat to work on items for import ban, artillery guns could be included

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 19

Over three weeks after fresh escalation of tension between Indian and Chinese troops in Eastern Ladakh, both sides have added additional troops at two locations — Galwan and north bank of Pangong Tso, some 110 km away from each other.

Flare-up trigger

• Fresh tension erupted in eastern Ladakh three weeks ago
• China has objected to two roads India has built in Galwan and at Pangong Tso

Eastern Ladakh shares a 826-km frontier with China. Galwan and north bank areas are usually patrolled and are at an altitude in excess of 14,000 feet.

The cause of the recent flare-up is said to be the two roads that India has built in recent past and China is said to be at a disadvantage at both the spots.

At Galwan, China does not have a road on its side and has amassed an estimated 800 troops on its side. At the north bank of Pangong, China is objecting to a road made by India between one of the eight mountain spurs that end at the lake. In Galwan, the 255-km Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DS-DBO) section of the road between Leh and Karakoram Pass was completed last year and China has an issue with its alignment despite the road passing totally in Indian territory. At the north bank of Pangong Tso, the two sides clashed with each other on the intervening night of May 5/6. Pangong Tso, a 135-km glacial melt lake, straddles India and China at an altitude of 13,000 feet. Indian troops are at a location that India perceives as its territory along the disputed Line of Actual Control. The People’s Liberation Army of China disputes Indian claims at this particular location and their troops are stationed just across this claim line on what is their side.

Nepal revises map, says will reclaim Lipulekh

Kathmandu: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Tuesday asserted that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to “reclaim” them from India through political and diplomatic efforts, as his Cabinet endorsed a new political map showing the three areas as Nepalese territory. Addressing Parliament, Oli said the territories belong to Nepal “but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there”. “Nepalis were blocked from going there after India stationed its Army,” he said. PTI

Both India and China continue to patrol the LAC and try to restrict the other. However, no physical clash has taken place since the evening of 5 May.

New Delhi: India and China have held military talks through established channels, amid continued friction at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, where troops from both sides have been challenging each other’s patrol on a daily basis. But sources told ThePrint that a solution is yet to be agreed upon.

Sources said the talks were held Tuesday, and that more will take place.

Clashes on the evening of 5 May, which left several soldiers injured on both sides, have led to tensions on the LAC. A large group of Chinese soldiers armed with sticks and stones attacked Indian troops on the northern bank of the Pangong lake, and destroyed some small temporary structures, setting off fresh tension along the LAC.

On 10 May, it was reported that even though the official disengagement happened on 6 May, additional troops have been moved up by both sides.

India and China have also built up additional infrastructure to cater to the increased number of troops, including setting up tents, sources said, adding that China has also moved in several vehicles and more monitoring equipment, and set up about 80 tents.

ThePrint had reported on 14 May that Indian and Chinese armies were working out the dates for the next formal discussions between “higher military authorities” in the Ladakh sector to sort out the tensions arising out of the recent violent face-off in the area.

Chinese state media reported that their troops have made the “necessary moves” and “enhanced control measures” at the Galwan Valley.

Also read: IAF’s Sukhois on sorties in Ladakh amid tensions with China but no jets ‘scrambled’

No face-off

While there is no “face-off” in a literal sense, additional troops have been stationed on either side of the LAC.

“There is no face-off. But whenever a situation arises, soldiers are moved from one location to another, depending on the need. No additional troops have been brought in from any other sector, but juggling of strength has taken place,” a source explained.

While Army chief Gen. M.M. Naravane has said there is no link between the clash in eastern Ladakh on 5 May and a fist-fight between troops in north Sikkim, multiple points of friction have come up in the eastern sector.

“Both sides continue to patrol through their perceived area of LAC and both continue to stop the other. However, no physical clash has taken place since the evening of 5 May,” a source said.

Sources explained that this is a regular feature during summer time, and proper channels have been established to ensure that the situation does not get out of hand.

Construction riled up China

Sources said India and China have increased the frequency of patrols along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, and also along the Pangong lake.

The 5 May clash between the troops happened on the northern bank of the lake, which resulted in several casualties on both sides. A clash had taken place in the same area last year too.

However, the main bone of contention in the sector this time is a series of border infrastructure construction activities that India is carrying out near the Galwan river in eastern Ladakh. Even though the construction is taking place nearly 10 km inside the perceived LAC, the Chinese have been objecting to it.

The road construction activities are important to India from a military point of view, vis-a-vis the key base Daulat Beg Oldi in sub-sector north in eastern Ladakh.

India’s Border Roads Organisation had built the Shyok-DBO road last year, much to China’s discomfort.

But sources say what really riled up the Chinese was the construction of a bridge over the ‘nallah’ (rivulet), which would also be useful to the locals.

Chinese state media had reported that the Indian side “built defence fortifications and obstacles to disrupt Chinese border defence troops’ normal patrol activities, purposefully instigated conflicts and attempted to unilaterally change the current border control situation”.

Also read: Pakistan’s 40-yr-old Gilgit-Baltistan dam project could finally be a reality, with China help

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 19

In less than a fortnight, security forces dealt another blow to Hizbul Mujahideen by killing its top commander, the son of senior Hurriyat leader Ashraf Sehari.

Junaid Sehrai, an MBA passout from Kashmir University, was killed along with an associate in a gunfight in a congested old city area. Four security men were injured in the gunfight.

Junaid, 30, was the youngest son of the separatist leader and had joined militant ranks in March 2018. Ashraf is the chief of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat and one of the frontrunners to succeed Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

J&K DGP Dilbag Singh said the operation started last night in the Nawa Kadal locality and culminated with the killing of two militants this afternoon. “The two terrorists have been identified as Junaid Ashraf Khan (Junaid Sehrai) from Srinagar and Tariq Ahamd Sheikh from Pulwama,” he said.

“Junaid was Hizb divisional commander and active in four districts of Kashmir. He was wanted in at least six criminal cases,” he added.

The gunfight broke out when joint teams of the police and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in the locality after input about the presence of two militants.

“Around 2 am, contact with militants was established. After initial exchange of fire, there was a lull. A fresh contact was established around 8 pm and in the exchange of fire, two militants were killed,” a police officer said. Four security men were also injured, he added.

At the encounter site there was total devastation as over a dozen houses were damaged during the gunfight.

“Forces carried out several blasts. Four houses were completely destroyed and others have suffered substantial or partial damages,” a local resident said. “People whose houses have been damaged have lost everything and couldn’t save anything. Our houses were vandalised by the forces and valuables, jewelry and cash are missing from there as well.”

However, DGP Singh said the operation was a clean one as only one residential house caught fire which was controlled immediately.

Big blow to Hizb

• The killing comes a fortnight after Hizb operational chief Riyaz Naikoo was shot in south Kashmir
• Hizb divisional commander Junaid Sehrai was an MBA passout from Kashmir University
• His father Ashraf Sehrai, chief of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, is likely to succeed Syed Ali Shah Geelani

CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat had said IAF was planning to buy the indigenous LCA Tejas instead of 114 ‘Make in India’ foreign jets.

New Delhi: Four days after Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat said the Indian Air Force was planning to switch over to the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) ‘Tejas’ rather than pursue a global tender for 114 new fighter jets, Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria has contradicted him.

Bhadauria said Monday that the list of aircraft planned to be inducted by the IAF includes 36 Rafales, 114 multirole fighter aircraft, 100 advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) and over 200 LCAs in different variants.

Rawat had told news agency Bloomberg last week that the IAF “is switching to the LCA” when asked about the global tender for jets.

“The IAF is saying, I would rather take the indigenous fighter, it is good,” he was quoted as saying.

The CDS’ words came as a setback for the likes of Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Saab, who were in the race for the contract for 114 aircraft, which would be worth at least 15 billion dollars and would also entail technology transfer under ‘Make in India’.

However, IAF chief Bhadauria told news agency ANI Monday: “This project (114 jets) is in the middle-weight and is in the Rafale class, in this issue, we will deal with it in the Make in India region, with an increase in FDI, with support to the private sector. I think in future this will bring in technology which is required to support the aviation sector. I think it is important to have another generation of aircraft in terms of capability, technology as we go along (sic).”

Also read: Dassault, Boeing and Saab — the front-runners for IAF’s 114 fighter jet contract

Separate programmes

When the CDS had made his comments last week, they had come as a surprise to the Air Force and industry. Sources had explained to ThePrint that the 114 jets cannot be replaced by the 83 LCA as the two fighters are of different classes.

“The IAF projections take into account the 83 LCA Mk 1A, Rafale, the 114 foreign fighters under Make in India, and even the AMCA,” a source had said.

Another source, who was involved in the negotiations for 83 LCAs, said it was wrong to mix up two separate programmes.

Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria also said his force is planning to acquire 450 fighter aircraft for deployment on the northern and western frontiers of the country over the next 35 years.

Regardless, the IAF will not reach its sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons by 2042, its projections have revealed.

The best-case scenario is if the force inducts the Tejas Mark 2, the AMCA and 114 fighter aircraft, for which a request for proposal is still awaited.

An aide-de-camp in the armed forces primarily functions as a protocol officer, who looks after implementation of the protocols, and as an executive assistant.

New Delhi: The Army is reviewing its policy on providing aides-de-camp (ADC) to the governors of states as it faces an acute shortage of young officers, ThePrint has learnt.

In a letter earlier this month, the Army headquarters has asked military secretaries of all the commands across the country to review if ADC should continue to be posted on deputation with the governors of states, keeping in view their functional utility and the current shortage of young officers in the Army.

The Army has also told the commands an ADC may be required in states having substantial army presence.

While states such as Punjab, Rajasthan, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have a large Army presence, states like Odisha and Jharkhand, have comparatively fewer Army establishments.

What is ADC in armed forces?

An aide-de-camp (official position) in the armed forces primarily functions as a protocol officer, who looks after implementation of the protocols, and as an executive assistant.

An ADC is also responsible for carrying out liaison with the local military authorities and looks after the professional requirements of the officer/governor he is attached to.

An ADC should have five to seven years of experience in the armed forces. He is selected on the basis of his professional performance and an interview.

Besides the governors of states, aides-de-camp are authorised to senior officers in the armed forces and the President of India.

Also read: Bipin Rawat’s plan to train jawans for officer role is Army admitting staff shortage, quality

President has five aides-de-camp

The President of India has five aides-de-camp — three from the Army, and one each from the Navy and the Air Force.

Each state governor has two aides-de-camp — one comes from either the Army/Navy/Air Force, and the other one from the state’s police force.

As many as 16 aides-de-camp are provided by the Army to the governors, while the rest come from the Navy and the Indian Air Force.

Earlier, Vice-Presidents were not assigned an ADC, but ever since Venkaiah Naidu took over as the Vice-President, he has been assigned two aides-de-camp from the military.

Over the last few years, several senior Army officers have been replacing their ADC with a staff officer, who has about 16-18 years of experience and is usually a “non-empanelled lieutenant colonel” because of a shortage of young officers in the Army, a senior Army officer told ThePrint.

Doing away with ADC system will be ‘worst decision’

The Army’s move to review the policy has evoked a mixed reaction. While some felt it would help address the redundancy of the job associated with the position, others said it is a legacy that should not be done away with.

A second senior Army officer told ThePrint the system of ADC to governors has “its roots in our legacy”.

“The service to the governor is the first point of military contact available to the state and one of the best selected officers is sent for the job. Continuing this is not only the interest of civil-military relationship, but also critical as the Army’s participation in democracy,” the officer said.

“Doing away with this out of narrow, perceptional gains will be the worst decision we can take, as it gives an exposure to the officers in military administration,” the officer added.

A third Army officer, however, said it is not yet a policy and at a preliminary stage. “Only views have been sought as of now on the idea,” the officer said.

Just a vestige of the past: Ex-Himachal governor

Some former governors were largely supportive of the idea to do away with the legacy of ADC.

Former governor of Mizoram Lt Gen. Madan Mohan Lakhera (Retd) told ThePrint: “There are so many times that the officer (police or military) ensures a smooth tour programme for the government (among other tasks). However, if the Army feels that there is a shortage of officers, military ADC can be withdrawn as the governor deals with mostly the civil population.”

V.S. Kokje, former governor of Himachal Pradesh, said the Army has initiated a good move.

“I feel it is just a vestige of the past. The roles performed by a military ADC attached to a governor can also be performed by others and they can contribute much more in their core jobs,” he said.

Nikhil Kumar, who has been the governor of both Kerala and Nagaland, however, said ADCs are personal secretaries to the Governor and are hence “an asset”.

“Special care is taken to select officers with a smart bearing and very good service record. He is expected to have high grade general knowledge and local sensitivities in his work as Personal Assistant of the Governor and is thus an asset,” he told ThePrint.

“He (the ADC) is also an Ambassador of his parent service/cadre expected to be at his best in assisting the Governor,” he added.

Also read: This is how more Army jawans can become officers under new Bipin Rawat plan

New Delhi, May 19

The Central Bureau of investigation (CBI) has booked two former Major Generals for alleged corruption in conducting Group C and D examinations in the Survey of India in 2002, resulting in wrong selection of 44 candidates as those who had succeeded were made to fail, officials said on Tuesday.

The FIR has been registered against then Brigadier MV Bhat, Director, Survey Training Institute (STI), and then Brigadier KRMK Babaji Rao, Deputy Surveyor General, STI. Both of them retired as Major Generals, they said.

Other names include JK Rath and R Rama Singh, the then officials of STI.

The agency has registered the FIR after a two-year-long preliminary inquiry based on a complaint from a vigilance officer in the Ministry of Science and Technology who alleged malpractices in compilation of marks in the answer sheets of the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for Group D to C Topo Trades held during October 2002 in the Survey of India. It was alleged that candidates who had passed were made to fail and vice versa, resulting in wrong selection of 44 candidates. The agency had alleged that answer sheets were deliberately manipulated by accused officers to favour selected candidates, they said. — PTI

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he utility of officers employed for the proposed three-year service would be highly suspect. We will end up being flooded with officers of the Captain rank who will be going around looking for odd jobs in the civil market. To draw on the right material that can meet the demands of exacting standards of performance in the defence services, the terms and conditions offered for short service commission have to be attractive enough.

Lt Gen Harwant Singh (Retd)

Military Commentator

THE news that the Army is considering a proposal to allow civilians to join the force for three years, claimed to be an effort to attract talented young people, is laughable. How does one attract good talent with the offer of just three years’ service? What will be the utility of an officer when taken in for such a short period is the question the higher command needs to address.

The proposal is part of efforts to bring in reforms in the 13 lakh-strong Army. The military appears to be under pressure to cut its expenses in every possible manner. This is in keeping with the proposal to reduce the defence budget. The military’s higher command, in response to this demand from the government, is going about like a bull in a china shop rather than applying its mind and standing up for what is inescapable for national security.

Several committees have looked into reorganising the Army, essentially to cut costs, reduce teeth-to-tail ratio, make the Army more efficient (lean and mean, a phrase often used) and improve the career prospects of the officer cadre. Still, there appears to be continuing pressure on the military to further decrease expenses. There is little realisation that in areas of national defence, as in life, some things do not come cheap.

However, the government (MoD) has been cherrypicking only those recommendations of various committees that conform to its thinking and plans. Thus, many of the more useful recommendations of the Ajai Vikram Singh Committee and more recently those of the Shekatkar Committee have been left out. Since most of the recommendations are interlinked, so when you do ‘cherrypicking’, it leads to disruptions and complications and the end result is often the opposite of what was intended.

The number of civilian employees paid out of the defence budget is around 3.75 lakh. These are from various groups such as the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), ordnance factories, Military Engineer Services (MES), defence PSUs. MoD, etc. Though they are around 25 per cent of the strength of the defence forces, in terms of pay, allowances and pensions, their take-home, in proportionate terms, is much higher.

This is due to non-functional financial upgradation (NFFU) granted to these civilian employees and the availability of far more vacancies for them in higher pay bands, compared to those in the defence forces. Further, their advancement in career to higher pay bands (due to NFFU) comes with far shorter service than that of defence forces officers. Thus, an officer in Class A service — most of them among these 3.75 lakh are in this class — climbs to the pay band of a joint secretary to the Government of India with 19 years of service, while a Major General, unfairly equated with a joint secretary, gets to that pay band after around 29 years of service.

This group of 3.75 lakh is the actual tail that needs drastic pruning and yet it has never been touched. In the defence forces, there are about 20 in the apex scale of pay, whereas among these civilians, with a far smaller cadre strength, the figure is well over 100.

Nearly 70 per cent of the Army’s budget is tailored towards revenue expenditure, leaving little money for other essential requirement of modernisation etc. A former Chairman, Chiefs of

Staff Committee, Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) highlighted this aspect in an article. What seems to be missed out is that revenue expenditure is 70 per cent because the budget itself is small (during 2019-20, it was about 1.46 per cent of the GDP). If the allocation for defence were to be 3 per cent of the GDP (as proposed by the Parliamentary Committee of Defence), this percentage would perhaps come down to 40 per cent or less of the defence budget.

A review of the officer cadre involves the ratio between regular and short service cadre and rank structure of various appointments within the service. In the past, the Ajai Vikram Singh Committee recommended a ratio of 1:1.1 between the regular and short service cadre. The more appropriate ration should be 60:40 (60 per cent regular and 40 per cent short service).

The authorised strength of the officer cadre of the Army is nearly 40,000. Presently, the shortage of officers is around 12,000; it has persisted all along and impacts the performance of units.

Presently, the short service commission officers serve up to 10 years, extendable to 14. Such length of service has drawbacks and problems of readjustment and re-employment in civil life. Equally, such terms and conditions of service just cannot attract good material.

On the proposed three years of service, the utility of officers employed for such a short period would be highly suspect. We will end up being flooded with officers of the Captain rank, released from the Army, who will be going around looking for odd jobs in the civil market, which will have its own impact on the military’s standing in civil society.

To draw on the right material that can meet the demands of exacting standards of performance in the defence services, the terms and conditions offered for short service commission have to be attractive enough.

Therefore, the duration of the short service should be five years with additional four months for training. Their academic qualification should be Class XII (science stream) or graduation. As regards their resettlement, a small percentage may be absorbed in regular commission and all others given assured admission and free technical education with stipend for the duration of their education. Some can be absorbed in CPOs and central civil services.

Those who wish to altogether opt out should be given an appropriate one-time financial grant. These officers could be given CSD canteen facilities.

Finally, from what has been appearing in the press, asking the military to accept second-grade weapons and equipment, reducing the strength of officers and men in units, and changing organisations of field formations throws up a dismal picture.

Possibly, we are moving closer to our state that prevailed before 1962. The military’s higher command owes it to the nation to keep the country safe and stand up for national security interests.