Defence down, Indian forces short of 15,000 officers

In the army alone, there is a shortage of 12,510 officers. Defence Minister A K Antony gives Parliament alarming statistics.

A leadership crisis looms over India's defence forces. The army, navy and the air force face are short of over 15,000 officers, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

HT Image

"In the army, there is a shortage of 12,510 officers. The navy is short of 1,747 officers and the IAF (Indian Air Force) is short of 1,016 officers of its sanctioned strength," said Defence Minister A K Antony in a written reply.

The authorised strength of officers in the army was 47,864 officers, in the navy 9,719 while the IAF has a sanctioned strength of 12,211 officers.

Tough selection standards, difficult service conditions and people's belief that working for the armed forces is dangerous are some of the reasons for the shortfall, said Antony.

He said a number of steps have been taken to do away with the shortage and attract a large number of youth to join the armed forces.