India Recruits Short Term Soldiers To Boost Ranks, Curb Spending
India is recruiting soldiers for 4-year contract under a new policy called “the path of fire”.
(Bloomberg) -- India is recruiting soldiers for a four-year contract under a new policy called “the path of fire” that is designed to boost employment and cut down on pension bills that account for about a fifth of annual defense spending.
The shift in recruitment for the fourth largest military in the world comes after the pandemic affected enlistment for the past two years. While India’s unemployment has dropped to the lowest in three months, there’s concerns strong economic growth isn’t enough to create more jobs and military enlistment may help.
The government has cleared the new recruitment policy which will be “transform” the Indian military, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh told reporters in New Delhi, announcing India’s plan of enlisting all of its soldiers under the short-term, lapseable policy.
About 3,000 men above the age of 17 will get enlisted and depending on their performance and requirements, more will be added, Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhuri. The new policy will “reduce the average age profile of the Indian army from the 32 years to about 25 years,” he added.
Under the plan, which references a popular Hindi poem and Indian action drama, the recruits will train for six months, serve in the military for three and a half years but won’t be entitled to pension when they leave. Traditionally, soldiers serve for about two decades with years of interspersed training and then retire with a guaranteed pension.
Singh skirted questions on how much the government would be expected to save by depending on a body of temporary soldiers top defend India’s disputed borders.
“We do not look at military for savings,” he said, adding the “government was willing to spend more” to provide for the military when asked about the ballooning pension bills.
For decades, pensions have averaged around a fifth of India’s overall defense budget and has steady increased as retired officers push for higher payouts and benefits. In the current financial year, pensions accounted for about as much as 23% of the total defense outlay of $6.7 billion.
India Military Sees Tiny Budget Rise Despite Modernization Plan
“The argument that pension bills will drop because of short-term employment is doubtful,” said Rahul Bedi a Delhi based defense analyst said, adding that the impact on pension bills will be visible only after two decades. “But soon there will be a large body of weapons and combat trained men without employment released into society,” Bedi said.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.