Govt set to declare new recruitment policy for soldiers

NEW DELHI: A new recruitment policy called tour of duty to induct soldiers for short service in the armed forces is likely to be announced this week, setting the stage for the Indian Army to restart recruitment after a twoyear freeze triggered by Covid-19 restrictions, officials familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The tour of duty model envisages the recruitment of personnel below officer (PBOR) rank in the army, air force and navy for four years, including six months of training, said one of the officials. The proposed model has been at the centre of an intense debate in military circles, with some veterans questioning the concept and arguing that disadvantages may outweigh the advantages.

The soldiers recruited under tour of duty will be released from service after four years, though the new system will have a provision for retaining around 25% of them after another round of screening, the officials said. These recruits are likely to be given a severance package of around ₹10 lakh, though they will not be entitled to pension. The ones retained will serve for another 15 years, and will be entitled to retirement benefits.

“It will result not only in bringing down the pension bill, but will lower the age profile of soldiers in units,” said an official. Soldiers recruited through normal process serve for about 20 years and retire in their late 30s with pension.

Recruitment rallies under the new model are expected to be conducted from August to December, as reported by HT on May 28. Around 45,000 men are likely to be recruited under the tour of duty model in the first phase of recruitment, the officials said.

Tour of duty is likely to cause

avoidable turbulence in the system and hit at the ethos and strength of the armed forces, said former director general of military operations Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd). “One of the main drivers of combat effectiveness is the concept of naam, namak aur nishan (pride and glory of the unit),” Bhatia said. “Someone serving for less than four years is likely to be risk-averse, and more focused on their next career.”

“The concept needs to be tested before its introduction, and refined to enhance combat effectiveness while optimising defence expenditure,” he added.

While the details of the new recruitment model are not known, officials said it is likely to do away with specific class composition in certain regiments and create an All-india, All-class system.

In an article published on the HT website last week, military affairs expert Major General Ashok Kumar (retd) wrote, “The proposed concept will give an immediate qualitative surge in the units as only 25% will be retained/ re-inducted. This qualitative edge will result in better leadership at the non-commissioned officerlevel… AIAC will be better as a nationalistic model as ethos will be related to the unit and the country as against laying too much focus on class composition.”