Over 1.55 Lakh Vacancies in the Indian Armed Forces, Army has Maximum

The Minister of State for Defence, Ajay Bhatt, stated that the government regularly reviews the shortage of personnel and has implemented various measures to address the issue and attract young people to join the services. The Army has a shortage of 8,129 officers, including those in the Army Medical Corps and Army Dental Corps. The Military Nursing Service has 509 unfilled positions, while there are 127,673 vacant posts for JCOs and other ranks. There are also 252 vacancies in Group A and 2,549 in Group B among civilians employed by the forces, as well as 35,368 in Group C.

In the Navy, there is a shortage of 12,428 personnel, including 1,653 officers, 29 medical and dental officers, and 10,746 sailors. Among civilian employees, there are 165 vacancies in Group A, 4,207 in Group B, and 6,156 in Group C. In the Indian Air Force, there is a shortage of 7,031 personnel, including 721 officers, 16 medical officers, 4,734 airmen, and 113 airmen of the Medical Assistant trade, among others. There is also a deficiency of 22 in Group A, 1,303 in Group B, and 5,531 in Group C among civilians being employed.

To address the shortage of personnel, the government has taken various measures, including improving the image projection and publicity of the services through various media, holding career fairs and exhibitions, and giving motivational lectures in schools and colleges. They have also implemented computer-based online application filling and examination, revamped service websites to facilitate a robust recruitment management system, and made the recruitment process more candidate-friendly. In addition, they have granted Permanent Commission to Short Service Commission officers, allowed entry of women through NDA, and created requisite infrastructure to encourage youth to join the services.