Army is short of 2,094 Majors, 4,734 Captains | India News

NEW DELHI: The Army has a shortage of as many as 2,094 Majors and 4,734 Captains, which are the main ranks that lead soldiers to battle and in other operations, while the 14-lakh strong armed forces are also short of 630 doctors, 73 dentists and 701 nurses.

The shortage of Majors and Captains can be attributed to “low intake” during the Covid-19 pandemic, fewer recruitments in all support cadre entries, mainly consisting of short-service commission and other service entries, junior defence minister Ajay Bhatt told Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Monday.
“In order to mitigate the shortage, a proposal to make SSC entry more attractive is under consideration,” he added.

According to official figures, the much smaller Navy and IAF also have shortages in the ranks equivalent to Majors and Captains. The Navy has a shortage of 2,617 officers in the Lieutenant Commander and below ranks. IAF, in turn, is short of 940 Flight Lieutenants and 881 Squadron Leaders.
As reported by TOI, almost the entire shortage of officers in the 14-lakh strong armed forces is “alarming” in the fighting ranks of the three services. Though salaries of military officers have substantially gone up after the 6th and 7th Central Pay Commissions, youngsters still find them poor compared to the corporate sector, especially for a life which is considered tough and risky.