Ready for future battles: Army orders restructuring of its officer cadre

The Indian Army has issued a formal order to restructure and right-size its officer cadre to make it ready for future battles, setting up a high-level committee headed by the Military Secretary, who is a Lieutenant General, to study all aspects and submit a report by end of November.

Terms of reference of the committee were laid down in a "Convening Order" issued by Vice-Chief of Army Lt Gen Devraj Anbu on June 18, with the consent of Army chief General Bipin Rawat, a defence ministry source said. The committee has been asked to keep in mind the recommendations of the committee headed by former defence secretary Ajai Vikram Singh, which were accepted by the government in 2004.

The Military Secretary Jaswinder Singh Sandhuheaded committee has been asked to make projections for futuristic growth and consequent manpower requirements.

"The cadre-review exercise should not be misconstrued as a process of upgradation of posts, or increase in number of higher ranks or be driven by competitive pressure from other services," says the order.

It stresses that futuristic projections should form the basis for induction and reduction of officers. The committee has been asked to go through a recently concluded study on right-sizing.

"The committee will also examine and identify likely areas for reduction, with focus on the base (entry level)," says the order.