(a) the details of recommendations made by Ajay Vikram Singh Committee on restructuring of officers’ cadre in armed forces;
(b) whether the Government has implemented the said recommendations for all the three services including Navy;
(c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
(d) whether an officer is promoted to the post of Colonel in fifteen and a half years
while in Navy it takes nineteen years to reach the equivalent rank; and
(e) if so, the reasons therefor?
MINISTER OF DEFENCE (SHRI A.K. ANTONY)
(a) to (e): A Statement is attached.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4897
FOR ANSWER ON 26.4.2010
The Ajay Vikram Singh Committee made recommendations encompassing a wide spectrum of service
related issues to address the twin aspects of reducing the high age profile and improving
cadre mobility of officers. Based on the recommendations of the Committee, a number of
measures have been implemented for the three Services with some variations to meet service
specific requirements. These include time based promotion upto the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel; introduction of Colonel (Time Scale) rank; upgradation of 750 posts of Lieutenant
Colonel to Colonel; upgradation of 1896 posts in the ranks of Colonel, Brigadier, Major
General and Lieutenant General and their equivalents in Navy and Air Force.
Government letter has been issued for reducing the minimum qualifying service for
substantive promotion to the rank of Colonel and their equivalents in the other two Services
to 15 years of reckonable commissioned service. The service specific requirements of the
Navy are at variance with the other two Services, with respect to period of service for
promotion to Captain. This is in keeping with the operational and functional requirements.