Indian Army recently proposed a model called “Tour of Duty” under which keen civilians will be able to join the Army for a short span of 3 years. This model focuses on that portion of youth who are willing to experience army life but are not wishing to have a full-time career in it. This will rather be a sort of internship programme.
The notion emerged after various visits and addresses were made by the officials in different colleges across the country. Army Chief General M M Naravane on Wednesday said “When our officers addressed youths in colleges, we came across the feeling that they want to experience army life, but not as a career. Taking a cue from this, this idea was born of why not give them an opportunity to serve for two to three years, ”.
The multi-faceted model
The proposed idea of “Tour of Duty” tends to look after many aspects. Lately, there has been a deficiency in the number of officers and commanders in the Indian army. At first, the model will run as a trial with recruitments only on a limited number of vacancies. Initially, only 100 officers and 1,000 men will be appointed to complete a three-year tenure in the force. If the model accomplishes, the vacancies will be increased.
Secondly, such short span recruitments will cut down the salary and pension expenses to a great extent with no compromise in the efficiency of recruits. Officials evaluated the model to cost over 80-85 lakhs including training, pay, and allowances of people joining. Whereas the budget for people joining under the Short Service Commission, who serve up to 14 years, is about 6 crores.
“With the ToD concept implementation, there is likely to be an exponential reduction in our salary and pension budgets,” an official explained.
Also, the proposal aims to boost the sense of nationalism and patriotism among the youths.
Anand Mahindra comes in support of Indian Army
Industrialist Anand Mahindra has backed the proposal of ToD model by offering employment to ToD graduates, that is, to the people devoting their 3 years to the Indian Army through this programme. He appreciated the model through an e-mail to the Indian Army. He said that he would be glad to consider the candidature of ToD optees for corporate jobs as their exposure to military life will benefit the workplace they choose next.
The email reads as, “I recently learned that the Indian Army is considering a novel proposal, the ‘Tour of Duty’. The young, fit citizens of India will get an opportunity to gain operational experience in the Army both as soldiers and officers through this voluntary three year-programme. I definitely think military training will be an added advantage for Tour of Duty Graduates as they enter the workplace.“