Sunday, December 22, 2019

‘Raising of retirement age to benefit 4 lakh army personnel’

A study is currently under way to identify the disciplines where the service tenure can be extended

22/12/2019, DINAKAR PERI,NEW DELHI

The Army’s attempt to increase the retirement age of jawans in specialised disciplines progressively to between 55-58 years is likely to benefit 30-40% of the force, or about four lakh personnel, who would get to continue in the service longer, army officials said. A study is currently under way to identify various disciplines where the retirement age can be enhanced.

“We are loosing skilled manpower,” said an army official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“We have identified specialists in various disciplines and looking if we can increase their [retirement] age progressively to 50, 54 and eventually 58,” the official added. Such specialists include medical assistants, radiologists and technicians in the electronics and mechanical engineering corps posted at Corps Headquarters and base workshops among others. “Our estimate is this will benefit 30-40% of the personnel in the 1.2 million strong army,” the official stated

The study, which was initiated earlier this year and is being carried out by the Adjutant General, was to have been submitted to the government a couple of months back. However, it was later extended.

“It was sent to the Commands for comments but the initial feedback was not encouraging,” the official said, explaining the delay.

For instance, the Army Medical Corps (AMC) recommended only three trades for enhancement. So, Army Headquarters had asked for another assessment and the revised comments “are expected in a month.”

A majority of jawans start retiring at about 40-42 years of age. While this has been set due to the rigours of military service, there has been huge technological advancement over the decades and not all personnel go through the same stress or serve in extreme situations, officials said.

“The effort is to identify specialised disciplines by category and service and enhance the age of retirement,” the official added.

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