Indian Armed forces, on several occasions, says that it is facing a shortage of officers in its three services. However, the report says that Indian army has granted voluntary retirement to as many as 37,866 officers and soldiers in the last three years.
According to the report that was tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday, 35,255 personnel have taken voluntary retirement from Indian army. Further, 2,579 personnel voluntary retired from the Air Force and only 32 from the Navy.
15,727 personnel from Indian Army had sought premature discharge in 2004. On the other hand, the highest number of Air Force personnel took voluntary retirement in 2006. Among the 1,782 officers discharged from the Army in the past three years, 1,119 were granted retirement.
The Indian Navy had decided to grant voluntary retirement to 456 personnel among the 549 applications. The Air Force had granted retirement to 489 personnel while it had received 729 such requests.
It is being said that suppression in promotion and personnel’s failure to qualify minimum technical knowledge level for promotion are the one of the biggest cause behind the decision of voluntary retirement taking by armed forces personnel.
