Army meet to discus staff shortage

The issue is being discussed at the five-day biennial conference of the commanders that began here today.

Indian army is short of 11,200 officers and with the rising number of mid-career officers opting for the attractive pay packages in the corporate world, the shortages are only going to rise.

Lead by the army chief General Deepak Kapoor, the conference is also slated to discuss all the key issues that have bearing on the , "operational readiness'' and the morale of the troops. The emphasis, this time, is being laid on the cyber security and improvement of communication systems.

 

The conference would also see senior authorities of the ministry of defence interacting with the commanders on the problems being faced by the army on the ground.

According to a defence spokesperson, the issues like `` improvement of welfare measures for soldiers and ex-servicemen, policy on conditions of service of the women officers, streamlining procurement procedure, developing infrastructure in remote areas along border areas and payment of rentals for land occupied by Army in J&K and North-East'' will be discussed in the meet.

The conference is also likely to review reports of some study groups on ``review of uniforms and review of study leave policy for the officers.''