Presently there is a shortage of 11,153, 1,430 and 1,368 officers in Army, Navy and Air Force respectively. However, no survey has been conducted by the Government of India.

There have been shortfalls in the intake of cadets in Indian Military Academy (IMA) (DE) at Dehradun. The shortfall in recruitment of officers in the services can be partly attributed to the change in the socio-economic environment, the change in career preferences and availability of employment opportunities in other sectors.

Several steps have been taken by the three Services to attract more talented youth to join the Defence Forces. All officers including those in Short Service Commission (SSC) have been made eligible to hold substantive rank of Captain, Major and Lieutenant Colonel after 2, 6 and 13 years of reckonable service respectively. In addition to the above, 750 posts of Lieutenant Colonels have been upgraded to Colonel’s rank. The tenure of SSC officers has also been extended from 10 years to 14 years.

The Armed Forces have undertaken sustained image projection and publicity campaign to create awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging and satisfying career. Candidate-friendly recruitment procedure to attract more number of candidates and a focused publicity drive in various institutions to attract potential candidates have been undertaken. Awareness campaigns, participation in career fairs and exhibitions, advertisements in print and electronic media, counseling and motivational talks in schools, colleges and NCC camps are also some of the other measures in this direction. In addition, the commitment and bravery of the Armed Forces is consistently projected through the electronic and print media.

The Government has also appointed VI Central Pay Commission to go into the question of revision of pay and allowances etc. of all the Government servants including the Armed Forces. The three-Services have presented a joint memorandum to the Pay Commission suggesting revision of pay and allowances and other service conditions. The matter has also been discussed with the Pay Commission by the three Service Chiefs and officers in the Ministry of Defence.