Shortage of 50,000 men in forces: Minister

There is a shortage of around 50,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen in the three armed forces, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

In a written reply, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said there was a shortage of 25,472 JCOs and other ranks in the Indian Army, adding that the existing shortage, vis-a-vis the total strength in the Army, is nominal.

The Indian Army has around 1.4 million active personnel.

In the Indian Air Force, there is a shortage of 13,373 airmen, while the Navy needs 13,785 more sailors.

"The government has taken a number of measures to reduce the shortages. These include augmentation of training capacity, sustained image projection, motivational lectures in schools, participation in career fairs and exhibitions and publicity campaign to create awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging career in the Armed Forces," the minister added.

--IANS

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