Onward march

PUNE, Jan 13: Union Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav's gamble to declare the special commissioned entry as a measure to meet the shortfa...

PUNE, Jan 13: Union Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav8217;s gamble to declare the special commissioned entry as a measure to meet the shortfall of officers in the armed forces seems to have paid rich dividends.

Taking an initiative to make up for the deficiency of junior-level officers in the Army, Bombay Sappers has begun an unique exercise to train eligible jawans to become officers through the special commissioned officers8217; entry.

This is probably the first Army regimental and training centre in Maharashtra to have begun this effort in order to meet the shortfall of officers currently quoted at 12,000 throughout the country.

Says Brig. Dr. Mrinal Suman, Commandant, BEG and Centre and Station Commander, Khadki, 8220;the aim is to provide maximum opportunities to upcoming jawans to progress in life and possibly become gazetted officers.8221;

According to him, the move to train soldiers through the Human Resource Development Centre HRDC will provide yet another avenue for soldiers who otherwise had little chance to come up in life. The general idea is to tap talent within the Army and groom soldiers with potential for the posts of commissioned officers. Since many of the jawans join the forces after completing either standard 10th or 11th, this effort by BEG comes as a boon to them especially if they qualify, they also stand to gain a degree from the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University. If Maj K M Upadhyay, who heads the HRD centre at BEG is to be believed, more than 230 soldiers from Southern Command qualified in the written tests held on November 12, 1997 who will now appear before the Services Selection Board. If they are selected, they will find themselves at the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun.

The HRD Centre at BEG covers a vast expanse including Headquarters, Pune Sub Area, Headquarters, Maharashtra and Goa Area, Mumbai, Command Troops and 617 Independent AD Brigade.