Indian military short of officers

According to a report in the Hindustan Times from 25 November 2006, the Indian military is short of about 12,000 officers in the army. Chief of Army Staff General Joginder Jaswant Singh said: "The reason for shortage of officers is because of new units coming up such as Rashtriya Rifles, which have to be manned by officers from regular army. As a result, there is a redirection of officers in the combat units". The Indian Army - in total 1.1 million strong - attempts to counter these shortages by attracting "the youth for a career in the army as commissioned officers" and also by encouraging women to join.

The Indian military is presently heavily modernising, and the first Indian military base in a foreign country - Farkhor Air Base in Tajikistan - became operational only recently. This is a sign that India wants to increasingly manifest itself as also as a regional military power.

Sources: Indian Army going hi-tech to build modern warfare, 25 November 2006, IAF to station MiG-29s in Tajikistan, The Times of India, 20 April 2006