- The total shortage in the Indian Navy (sailors) was estimated at 11,587 till September 30, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said in reply to a question.
- He said the number of vacant posts in the Indian Air Force (Airmen and Non-Combatant) as on November 1 this year was 5,819.
- No post is vacant for women in Indian Army. Sanctioned posts in Indian Navy and Indian Air Force are gender neutral.
NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DEC 9
The three services are reeling under a shortage of 1.35 lakh personnel with the maximum number of vacancies of 1.18 lakh in the Army, according to details provided by the government in Lok Sabha on Friday.
The total shortage in the Indian Navy (sailors) was estimated at 11,587 till September 30, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said in reply to a question.
1971 में भारत-पाक जंग में अपने युद्धपोत के साथ जलसमाधि लेने वाले महावीर चक्र से सम्मानित कैप्टन महेन्द्रनाथ मुल्ला की पुण्यतिथि पर सादर नमन। pic.twitter.com/TKfs3QLkKa
— Ajay Bhatt (Modi Ka Parivaar) (@AjaybhattBJP4UK) December 9, 2022
He said the number of vacant posts in the Indian Air Force (Airmen and Non-Combatant) as on November 1 this year was 5,819.
The number in the Army was till July 1 and it included junior commissioned officers and other ranks.
“A total of 40,000 vacancies have been advertised for JCOs/OR in the Indian Army. A total of 3,000 vacancies have been advertised for Agniveers in the year 2022 in the Indian Navy. 3,000 vacancies have been advertised in the Indian Air Force as Agniveer-vayu in the year 2022,” Bhatt said.
#AzadiKaAmritMahotsav #winners #India#Anniversary of #VICTORY ✌️in #battle of #Laungewala celebrated as #ParakramDiwas22 at Laungewala #War Memorial & Jaisalmer #military Stn on 05 #December2022 🇮🇳 @adgpi@giridhararamane @NCC_Dte_Gujarat @NCCDteRajasthan @ANI @BSF_Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/7CJbOqKcg6
— PRO Defence Gujarat (@DefencePRO_Guj) December 7, 2022
He said all the recruitments at the level of jawans are being done under the Agnipath scheme.
Noting that on average, 60,000 vacancies occur in all three services every year, out of which approximately 50,000 vacancies are for the Army, the minister said due to the suspension of recruitment rallies in the last two years because of the COVID-19 situation, there was a shortfall of 1,08,685 jawans in the Indian Army at present.
With the improvement in the COVID-19 situation and the start of the recruitment, these vacancies are expected to come down in coming years, he added.
The percentage of women in Armed Forces
| Army
(as on 1st July, 2022) |
Officers (Excluding AMC/ADC) | 3.97% |
| Officers (AMC/ADC) | 21.25 % | |
| MNS Officers | 100% | |
| JCO/OR | 0.01% | |
| Navy | Officers | About 6% |
| Air Force
(as on 1st Dec, 2022) |
Officers (excluding Medical & Dental Branch) | 13.69% |
- Officers
| Year | Intake | Medical Officers | ||
| AMC | ADC | MNS | ||
| 2018 | 75 | 169 | 20 | 571 |
| 2019 | 80 | 102 | 34 | 180 |
| 2020 | 72 | 130 | 26 | 201 |
| 2021 | 75 | 51 | 05 | 205 |
| 2022 | 75 | Recruitment Process not completed | ||
- JCO/OR
| Recruiting Year | Intake |
| 2019-20 | 100 |
| 2020-21 | Recruitment was suspended due to COVID-19 |
| 2021-22 | |
| 2022-23 | 100 (recruitment process not completed) |
Seats fixed for female candidates in Defence institutions like NDA, IMA and others, institution-wise;
| Institutions | Vacancies per year (As on date) | Remarks |
| NDA | 38 (Army – 20, Navy – 06 & Air Force – 12) | These vacancies are not fixed and are based on requirement of respective Services. |
| OTA | 80 | |
| IMA | 20 ( Army cdts from NDA) | |
| AFMC Pune | 30 | |
| College of Nursing (MNS) | 220 |
No post is vacant for women in Indian Army. Sanctioned posts in Indian Navy and Indian Air Force are gender neutral.
Government has taken number of steps to increase women participation in the Defence sector. These include:
Army
Combat employment philosophy of women in the Armed Forces is a continuously evolving process and regularly reviewed by the Indian Army. At present, the women are being commissioned in Indian Army in ten Streams viz. Corps of Engineers, Corps of Signals, Army Air Defence, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, Corp of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers, Army Aviation Corps, Intelligence Corps, Judge Advocate General Branch and Army Education Corps in addition to the Armed Forces Medical Services as Doctors and Military Nurses which is a women only entry. New Avenues such as grant of permanent commission to SSC women officers, induction of women cadets in NDA, recruitment of Women as Provost JCOs/OR.
Navy
The induction of women as officers in the Indian Navy commenced in the year 1991. Since then the Indian Navy has gradually opened all branches to women officers including induction through NDA. Further, for the first time women are also being recruited for sailors’ entries under the Agnipath Scheme w.e.f. 2022 and 20% vacancies are reserved for women.
Air Force
Officers recruitment in the IAF is gender neutral. Women officers are inducted in all the branches and streams of IAF. Opportunities for a career in IAF service are widely publicized through print/ electronic media and special publicity drives. An opening has also been provided through NCC Special Entry for flying SSC (Women) from July 2017 onwards. The experimental scheme to induct women officers in all combat roles, initiated by the IAF in 2015 has now been regularised into a permanent scheme. Such gender neutral approach is facilitating the employment of women officers of IAF in all combat roles without any restrictions.
No study has been undertaken regarding the low participation of women as there has been a steady growth in the induction of women in the armed forces.
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to N Reddeppa and others in Lok Sabha on Thursday.
