Indian Army: Inflated Annual Confidential Reports creates sycophancy

Curbing Inflated ACRs
The curse of inflated ACRs is the bane of the Army. This need to be checked by simply following the laws of averages where in any organisation there are very few outstanding persons and equally few below average persons. The bulk is in the average category. The Air Force and the Navy follow a very sound ACR system in which the inflation of the ACRs is negligible as compared to the army. In these services due weightage is given to the technical acumen of an individual unlike in the army, where organisation of a non professional event, like a sports event or a dinner party, has an over riding bearing on one’s career prospects. If a person is a good flyer in Air Force or a good technician in the Navy he gets his due. On the other hand in the army a prestigious DSSC Wellington graduate (psc), is also judged for his event management skills which are of no professional consequence. A 9 pointer ACR should be as rare as a PVC or a PVSM. The bulk of the Indian army officers should find satisfaction in 5 or 6 pointer ACRs with bright ones getting an odd ‘7 pointer’. An ‘8 pointer’ should be personally judged by two levels up and if deemed otherwise by the RO or the SRO, it should negatively reflect on the poor judgment of the IO. This will not only reduce the rat race but will also show some logic in the reporting system. Further more for those persons who are actually outstanding, there will be lesser competitions from other officers who are actually average but graded higher than what they deserve. The ACR form should also have a column to indicate whether the Reporting Officer is a good judge of his command or not. Our ACR system is the root cause of all the ills in the army. Earlier it is corrected the better.
Brig Harwant Singh(Retd)
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ACRs in the Army: click here

ACR- Stab in the Back?
1. He has done his job well and has produced results. Has done various courses including the prestigious ones on competitive basis. Has held various important appointments. Has, may be, an award or a decoration.
2. His superiors find nothing wrong with him, indeed, find him good and recommend him for his next promotion.
3. One day he is told that he is not suitable for promotion. And this has been decided by a bunch that doesn’t know him, has never seen him, find nothing wrong with him and yet he bites the dust. Hasn’t he been stabbed in the back? (He is, of course, an officer of the Indian Army!)
To Be Objective or Not To Be
1. What you write in an ACR must be objective and never subjective. Very sound advice! All those who write ACRs know this. They also know that if one is to get his promotion (that is the “objective” in other words), he must be given a 8 point if not a 9 point report. Only then he has a fair chance. Anything less, he is doomed.
2. If you want to punish one, give him 7 points. He has to be recommended for promotion, as that is the rule. But he will never make it, and knows it. He can’t complain as he is above average and can’t support a claim for a better grading. He can neither smile nor weep.
3. Isn’t the IO being really ‘objective’ when he gives 8 or 9 points? Well, mustn’t he ensure that he attains his objective? So, why all this fuss about a large number of officers getting 8 and 9 points? Hasn’t the situation been made to order?
Col BN Ratha(Retd)
04 Jun 10

Moderator Comment
Armies in which promotions depend on personal prejudices, rather than dispassionate assessments of professional capability, will see poor quality leadership rise to the top. "There are many senior military officers who surround themselves with career opportunists. This is in part because they invariably begin to believe the sycophants who gather around him." How can such senior officers as IO, RO and SRO write a fair objective ACR of their juniors?

The ACRs and Medical Reports do not generally represent the true picture of the Officer especially from rank of Brigs to Lt Gens as all are branded "High Profile" (9 pointer). The Medical Standards need to be made more stringent to knock out the flab. Very few Generals can pass the mandatory physical standards as no tests are conducted for their physical fitness assessment. Fifty percent or so of the Generals are medically unfit but due to their superior rank and sphere of influence they retain SHAPE One category till retirement and most of them aspire to serve and retire in and around Delhi having developed local interests, as per statistics.

Army wants more short service officers

-by Ritu Sharma 27 January 2010
"The army has submitted the proposal to increase the intake of short service commissioned officers by making it more lucrative. The proposal is lying with the defence ministry," a senior armed forces official told IANS, requesting anonymity. Currently, people who are not certain about committing to permanent positions in the army join under SSC and serve the army for five years. At the end of the period the officer is allowed to either opt for permanent commission, choose another five years of service or retire. In contrast, an officer under permanent commission has to serve for 20 years. The SSC acts as the support cadre to the regular cadre, which is twice its strength. The proposal seeks to reverse the proportion. "According to an internal report the shortfall of 11,000 army officers would be bridged in 20 years. The proposal is to take two short service officers for every permanently commissioned officer. This will help make up the shortfall in due course without affecting the promotion aspects caused by the pyramidal structure of the army. "In short the proposal is to increase the proportion of short service commissioned officers from the current one-third," the officer told IANS.

The army's sanctioned strength is 46,615 officers, but it has been facing a shortage of 11,238. For the world's fourth largest army middle-rung officers leaving for better-paying corporate sector jobs has been a constant problem.

The problem has been aggravated because the army is unable to get enough numbers to join its officer rank. The defence forces need 2,100 officers every year.

The army is now opening a second Officers Training Academy (OTA) at Gaya in Bihar. Set to house 500 cadets, the academy is scheduled to start functioning by the middle of the year.

However, in the existent OTA at Chennai the cadet intake has come down from 407 in 2008 to 315 in 2009, against an authorised strength of 700.

"The army has sought to make SSC more lucrative by increasing the number of serving years from five to 10. Another proposal is to give them a two-year study leave at the end of their service to help them find a better second career option," said the officer.

Now, the army is hoping the financial crisis in the corporate sector and the Sixth Pay Commission -- which has increased their salaries -- will help bring in many more officers to the armed forces.
Army wants more short service officers -by Ritu Sharma

Indian Army unattractive career for the youth?

Indian Army- an unattractive career for the youth?

Major problems

The Indian Army is grappling with an acute shortage of officers. Despite the recession, it has been unable to attract more talent and contain their outflow. The army’s sanctioned strength is 46,615 officers, but it has been facing a shortage of 11,238.In 2008, the army was able to take in 1,500 officers – but over 1,800 left the force. The army now faces a shortage of 11,238 officers.

India’s army, the world’s fourth largest, is failing to attract enough youngsters with “officer-like qualities” for its 1.13-million strong Army. The authorized strength of Indian Air Force is 12,136, whereas the Indian Navy has an authorized strength of 8,797 officers. Indian Army is facing a massive exodus from its ranks, with more and more officers opting for premature retirement. The problem was aggravated when about 3,000 officers sought premature retirement in the last three years. Most of them moved to the lucrative corporate sector. Inability to retain the trained personnel is a major issue.

Minor prolems

Today’s knowledge-based youth seeks not just superior salaries, but the freedom to retain mobility in the career market.

Poor service conditions and the other compensatory packages too make career in Army an unattractive one.

Innovative strategies to improve talent scouting for army officer positions

Today, there is no freedom of mobility in the job market for an army officer. The exit policies are archaic and the officers are akin more to a bonded labour, than a government functionary. The bogey of national security has allowed the military to get away with blatantly illegal and unethical exit policies for its soldiers for a long time. The long-term damage of an exit- barrier ending up as an entry-barrier has not even been considered by the military.

The armed forces need to view their splendidly trained officers as national assets rather than bonded labour. It needs to be understood that once a young man weighing various job options knows that he is free to leave the army whenever he wants to, he might well be attracted to getting trained and groomed as a leader in a military institution, if only in the realistic hope that it might enable him to get a better job in the market than he would get after doing simple graduation/post graduation from a university elsewhere. If he chooses to leave after training, the Army should be happy that it has created a quality national asset who will prove his worth somewhere else. That limited, insulated mentality has to be shed to internalize and accept this thought. Though some might leave immediately after training, many will choose to serve as officers for varying lengths of time

Presently, cadets passing out from the NDA get a graduation degree. They have to undergo further training in the training institutes of respective services before they become officers, but their academic qualification remains graduation. This additional training period plus an additional year or so of distance education after commissioning should enable all officers to get a post graduate degree in some disciplines. This will not only help increase their self esteem but also equip them to get better jobs and even pursue further studies should they choose to at any time.

The SSC acts as the support cadre to the regular cadre, which is twice its strength. A new proposal seeks to reverse the proportion. According to an internal report the shortfall of 11,000 army officers would be bridged in 20 years. The proposal is to take two short service officers for every permanently commissioned officer. This will help make up the shortfall in due course without affecting the promotion aspects caused by the pyramidal structure of the army. The army has sought to make SSC more lucrative by increasing the number of serving years from five to 10.

Another proposal is to give them a two-year study leave at the end of their service to help them find a better second career option.

Another probable reason for the Armed Forces not getting the right type of youth for their officer cadre is that youth from rural background and less developed states like UP and Bihar are not able to qualify in the selection process it being very scientific and tough. Instead of waiting for end product in these areas, the Armed Forces may identify the potential candidates when the students are in Eighth standard through the medium of National Cadet Corps and then groom them to come up to the right standards. These young minds should be taken to various remote areas where Army is deployed on adventure trips and made to see for themselves how the love for the country and adventure makes the adrenaline flow faster in the blood stream. Here, NCC can play a stellar role.

Remove stagnation at the middle level and thus improve promotion opportunities of the officers, close to that of civil and police services; After entering the army, an entry level officer must wait up to 10 years before donning the flashes of a lieutenant-colonel. Improve opportunities for officers and men to be able to spend more time with their families; re-establish social status and warrant of precedence of the armed force officers at the centre and state levels; compensate adequately the increased level of personal risk and hardships in the field areas; bridge salary and compensation gap between the private sector and government services, to the extent possible.

The Armed Forces will have to emulate the big IT companies and set up their own training academies— take the relatively rougher diamonds and polish them in-house. In other words, instead of trying to look for people with “officer-like qualities”, the Armed Forces will need to create them.
Posted by Nimmy on April 12, 2010
Read the full dicussion:
Indian Army -an unattractive career for the youth?

BSF to induct 1,000 women in combat duties for the first time

Monday 13 July, 2009.
Setting a milestone, the Border Security Force will induct about 1,000 women personnel for combat duties for the first time by the end of this month. The women, who are currently undergoing training at the BSF establishment in Khatka, Punjab, will participate in the passing out parade on 29th July, which will be attended by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.

"It would be a proud day for us when women will work shoulder-to-shoulder with men," BSF Director General M L Kumawat told a news agency. These personnel have been imparted training in weapon handling, intelligence, border management, sports, unarmed combat frisking and guard duties.

The women, along with their male counterparts, will carry out search and frisking at check posts, immigration points and trade routes along the borders with the force guards.

"The women component is essentially needed for the force as our duty of guarding borders involves frisking women travellers besides other relevant duties," Kumawat said. The first batch will be deployed in Punjab sector.

The newly trained personnel will be inducted for the posts of constables and the BSF also expects to get women officers in the post of assistant commandants and higher ranks. The women battalion will be part of the 29 battalions sanctioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs for the BSF as part of its expansion plan.

Women personnel in central forces like CRPF, CISF and SSB are already performing ground duties, this is for the first time that BSF will deploy women on ground.(AJ-12/07)
BSF to induct 1,000 women in combat duties for the first time: DD News

THE TIME MACHINE: Musings of a Veteran

Now on this morning, taking a flight from Delhi to Banglore as I strap myself in the not so comfortable seat of the economy class Air bus, though, far more comfortable than the hard wooden berth of the Third class railway compartment I traveled on for my earlier journey to Banglore that I am reminded of.

It was some time in late 1952, then a student of MSc Final in Lucknow University, that I got a call from Army Headquarters to report to the Services Selection Board (South). The UPSC had been kind to me in that, for the combined written test, preceding the Board, I had been allotted Allahabad, not too far from Lucknow as the Exam Centre. Army HQ had no such, considerations and I was required to travel to Banglore, some where down South, just a spot, which I remembered on the map of India, in the Geography Class of yore as a student of Class X.

Taking a rickshaw from the hostel, with just a hundred rupee note in my pocket, I arrived at the Charbagh railway station. Traveling third class, changing trains, at times near mid- night, finding a berth and managing the connections was in itself an adventure. As the trains sped south, the ever changing vista, unfolding and speeding backwards, had me riveted to the scene outside, it was the geography lesson coming alive. The aroma of the unfamiliar food items on the stations where the train halted, the cacophony of the un- understood combined gibbering of the hawkers, porters and the multitude of passengers all in a melee, did provide some diversion and mental relief from the long and tiring journey. Five days, four changes, Kanpur, Jhansi Secundrabad, Guntkul, later I arrived at Bangalore, having, in the process, acquired a stiff- neck from looking out of the window during the waking hours and a nagging pain in the back due tossing and turning that too with difficulty, on the narrow hard wooden berth. I was hungry but had no appetite for the Idli, Dosa and other fare, for which I had yet to acquire a taste, available en-route, which were as foreign to me as Banglore.

Banglore, those days, was a retiree’s heaven, with a lay back life style, living in bungalows with large compounds, flowers and tall trees. It was a city full of greenery, clean and fresh air, with only a few vehicles plying on the wide roads that too under the strict and watchful eyes of the traffic cops. There were rows and rows of ice-cream parlors, coffee shops, and a multitude of cinema houses. sixty-four or so that I counted on the guide map, and the ubiquitous Uddapee restaurants, specialists in Idli, Dosa and coffee, the cup of tea that I was so used to sadly conspicuous by its absence.

The aircraft door closes with its characteristic bang and whoosh, sealing us in the air-conditioned capsule After two hours plus of looking out, of and on, from the window with nothing much to see except some clouds floating down under, flicking through the newspaper, the Swagat in-flight IA magazine and pecking at the served snacks, drinking cups of coffee and water from a couple of miniature water bottles, I felt the plane letting its nose down and once again we were on mother earth. The Ac door opened, after a bit of ceremony by the cabin crew and we were in Banglore.

The time machine of IA had taken just hours of so to bring me to Banglore of the day, a Banglore so different from that of yore, totally .unrecognizable- in a hurry, chaotic and moving at a snails pace. The high power cars crawling helplessly, the daredevil two wheelers sneaking through nonexistent openings, the ramshackle buses spewing black clouds of unburnt diesel, and gleaming High rises, replacing the earlier bungalows and the green trees, the hiding the sky, the price of progress, it was distressing to say the least, albeit with one saving grace; tea and North Indian food now available at every nook and corner.

Alas the IA time machine which had so effortlessly compressed five days in hours cannot take me back to the Banglore that I had visited in 1952 that had captured the imagination of a young me. However, wonder of wonder what IA can’t do, the present Government of Karnatak has done with one single stroke and taken every one back way down the time by just adding a few letters to Banglore and making it Bengaloru, indeed really a Time machine.

Brig Lakshman Singh (Retd)

Services Selection Board: Diluting Standards

Five DAY PROGRAMME
The candidates are called through “Call Letters” to appear in 5 days tests at SSB (Allahabad/Bhopal/Bangalore/Mysore/Varanasi/Dehradun)

Four categories of tests: A) Screening Test B) Psychological Test C) Group Testing Officers (GTO) Test D) Interview Screening Test (First Day). After the individual has filled in certain Forms and also the Bio Data forms known as “Personal Information Questionnaire” (PIQ), the candidates will undergo two types of tests as under.

a) Verbal and Non-Verbal tests
b) Picture story writing followed by discussion of the stories

Once the Screening Test is over, the results are declared within 1 hour of the completion of the test. Those who clear the test are required to stay back for the next 4 days and the remaining persons are dropped back at the Railway Station for their return journey.

Psychological Test (Second day). These tests are in four parts as under:-

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)- Commonly known as Picture Story writing.
Word Association Test(WAT)
Situation Reaction Test(SRT)
Self Description Test(SD)
Group Testing Officers (GTO) Test (Third and Fourth day)
The following tests are conducted in this caregory :-

Group discussion
Group Planning Exercise (sometimes known as Military Planning Exercise)
Progressive Group Tasks
Half Group Tasks
Individual Obstacles
Group Obstacles Race
Command Task
Lecturette
Final Group Task

Interview: (Held during afternoon/evening hours on 2nd/3rd/4th day)

Board Meeting (Fifth day)
The candidates are required to appear before the complete Board of Examiners comprising of President,Dy President, all the psychologists, all the GTO’s and Technical Officer. After the Board Meeting is over,the final result is declared within ½ an hour. Selected candidates are required to stay back for their medical examination (takes about 3 to 5 days) in the Military Hospital near by or at a different place and the remaining candidates are dropped at the Railway Station for their return journey.

NOTE: Candidates appearing for the first time for a particular type of entry are paid 2nd class return journey fare from the place of their residence to the place where they have come for the interview. Accommodation and messing are free for the entire duration of their stay while under going SSB Tests. The Air Force candidates are required to go to a different place for medical examination on the specified date. Air Force candidates who had applied for ‘Pilot Entry’ have to first appear in ‘Pilot Aptitude Battery Test (PABT)’. Those who are rejected in P.A.B.T cannot re-appear in this test subsequently.

Diluting the Selection Process
The Asian Age, 19 August 2008
General faces probe over Army selections
New Delhi: The Indian Army has ordered a court of inquiry against a senior officer of the rank of Major-General who had earlier headed one of the Service Selection Boards (SSBs) at Allahabad, Army sources have confirmed. The court of inquiry was set up after allegations that the officer had favoured a candidate for selection, sources said. "The findings of the court of enquiry are awaited," sources said. The Service Selection Board is the board which conducts personality and intelligence interviews to analyse the potential and capability of aspirants wanting to become officers in the Indian Army...
Diluting the selection process: OLQ debased!
SSB Guide

Dilute Standards: Ministry of Defence to Army

Photo courtesy The Hindu
The bureaucrats in the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Finance having failed either to improve the Defence Forces Rank Status (WoP) or enhance its salary structure for middle rung Officers are desperately trying to dilute standards and norms of selecting Officers for the Armed Forces. The Sixth Empowered Pay Panel Report bereft of representation from the Defence Forces, is stuck due to uncertain Political Climate and the confusion created by the Bureaucrats of both the ministries working in tandem. Employing Retired Officers is increasing the liabilities and creating more administrative problems than addressing the shortages. The articles linked below highlights the flip flops and gauge for oneself the confusion created and the mindset of the bureaucrats. We only hope, that a day comes when the children of IAS Officers and Politicians opt to join the Armed Forces in increasing numbers to Defend the Nation.

Defence Ministry suggests standards’ dilution for officers
No dilution of standards for officers: defence ministry