The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Govt plans to augment NCC strength to 27 lakh cadets in 10 years
Increase reach to more schools, colleges, focus on border areas; organisational structure of NCC units to be standardised
THE MINISTRY of Defence is planning a phase-wise augmentation of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) from the current 17 lakh cadets to 27 lakh in the next 10 years, The Indian Express has learnt.
This is aimed at enhancing the reach of the tri-service organisation to a greater number of educational institutions, with a focus on border areas. The Ministry has previously said there was an “increasing demand for NCC from educational institutions throughout the country”.
Open to schools and colleges on a voluntary basis, the NCC grooms and trains youth in social services, discipline and adventure activities. Cadets are also given basic military training in small arms, though there’s no liability to take part in active military service after the course.
Upon completion of the NCC training, junior wing cadets (school students) get an ‘A’ certificate while senior wing cadets (in colleges) get ‘B’ and ‘C’ certificates. These certificates have a fixed weightage in selection as Agniveers and in other Government jobs.
According to sources, in the first phase, three lakh cadets will be added to the 17 existing directorates of the NCC covering all states and Union Territories. The next two phases, the sources added, will see the NCC’S strength go up by three and four lakh cadets, respectively.
The first phase was approved by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in March, with the Ministry, in a statement, saying, “The additional 3 lakh cadets will take the NCC strength to 20 lakh cadets from just 20,000 cadets in 1948, making it the largest uniformed youth organisation of the world.”
The NCC augmentation plan is the first such move since 1979. In his 2020 Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced training for one lakh NCC cadets from 173 coastal and border districts, a third of them girls.
According to the plan, the organisational structure of every NCC unit will be standardised to have seven companies and 24 troops. Each company comprises 160 senior wing/ senior division cadets and each troop consists of 100 cadets from the junior division/ junior wing.
Once standardised, each battalion will train 2,520 cadets at a time. basic weapons training may also be upgraded from the current 0.22 calibre rifles, sources said.
However, the Army has decided that no additional manpower will be provided for the NCC augmentation process, although retired Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOS) and soldiers will be contracted as instructors, sources said.
Under the plan, the number of youth exchange programmes will also increase and more cadets will get an opportunity to gain international exposure.
The overall revision of syllabus in line with the New Education Policy is also being worked out and there are plans to include NCC as an elective subject in the curriculum of colleges, the sources added.