Shortage of Officers and Soldiers in Defence Forces

Shortage of Officers and Soldiers in Defence Forces 

The details of shortage of personnel in the three wings of the defence forces are as under:

Army		Navy		Air Force
Officers* (As on 1.7.2016)	Other Ranks (As on 1.7.2016)	Officers* (As on 30.9.2016)	Sailors (As on 30.9.2016)	Officers* (As on 1.8.2016)	Airmen (As on 1.11.2016)
8370	35174	1332	10982	29	9841

*excluding medical and dental branches.

Force accretion of Armed Forces is an ongoing process dictated primarily by capabilities to be achieved and threat perception.  Accordingly, Government has sanctioned a number of proposals for accretion of manpower in the recent years.

A number of measures have also been taken to meet the shortage of manpower in the Armed Forces including by sustained image projection, publicity campaign to create awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging and satisfying career, as also by augmenting the training infrastructure of the Armed Forces.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri M Raja Mohan Reddy in Lok Sabha.

Source: PIB