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There is a shortage of personnel in the defence. The deficiency in the Officers cadre and Personnel Below Officers Rank (PBOR) in the Army, Air Force and Navy is given below :
Army
Air Force
Navy
Officers
12099
429
1124
Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR)
No Actual shortage
5081
6593
The risk factor involved in soldiering and increased availability of attractive, alternative employment opportunities, have contributed to the shortage.
Several steps have been undertaken by the three Services to fill up the vacant posts. An Image Projection Campaign by the Army was launched in 1997 and currently Phase IV of the Campaign is being finalized. In addition, seminars, lectures and presentations are organized by the Recruiting Offices at schools and colleges in order to motivate the youth to join the Army.
Sustained publicity efforts are being undertaken by the Air Force to attract talented and qualified youth into the officers’ cadre. Almost 3000 schools and colleges are on the mailing list for sending publicity material. Campus interviews are undertaken by qualified assessors from Selection Boards so as to interact directly with potential candidates and answer their queries about the service. Schools and colleges are visited regularly for motivational talks.
Extensive publicity and recruitment drives are being carried out by the Navy. Motivation drives are conducted in various colleges / institutions in order to widen the scope of target population.
In addition, the commitment and bravery of the Armed Forces is consistently projected through the electronic and print media. The Directorate of Public Relations of Ministry of Defence regularly interacts with media persons while giving defence-related information and endeavours to ensure positive publicity. Regular coverage of defence related events in the print and electronic media help in creating awareness among the masses and motivating the youth to join the armed forces. Websites are also operative on the Internet providing career information on the three Services.
This information was given by the Defence Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee in a written reply to Shri Lalit Suri in Rajya Sabha today.
SKS / ASR / HS
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