A standard uniform will ensure a common identity for all senior-rank officers and reflect the true ethos of the Indian Army….reports Asian Lite News
The Indian Army has implemented a new common uniform regulation for senior officers with Brigadier and above ranks irrespective of the parent cadre and initial appointment, Army officials said.
They said the move will reinforce common identity and Indian Army’s character as a fair and equitable organisation. The decision was taken after detailed deliberations during the recently-concluded Army Commanders Conference and extensive consultations with all stakeholders.
Officials said that headgear, shoulder rank badges, gorget patches, belt and shoes of senior officers of flag rank (Brigadier and above) will now be common and standardised. The flag-rank officers will now not wear any lanyard.
The step has been taken to promote and strengthen common identity and approach in service matters amongst senior leadership beyond the boundaries of regiments, officials said.
Brigadier and above officers are those who have already commanded units and battalions and are mostly posted at headquarters or establishments where officers from all arms and services work and function together.
A standard uniform will ensure a common identity for all senior-rank officers and reflect the true ethos of the Indian Army, officials said.
There is no change in the uniform worn by Colonels and officers below that rank, Army officials said.
Meanwhile, the Minister said 20 vacancies for Women Army cadets per year have been allotted in National Defence Academy, Pune with effect from July 2022. He said that Short Service Commission has 90 vacancies for women including 10 additional
vacancies increased with effect from June 2023.
However, Bhatt said, approval has been given, since March 2023 for the induction of women officers into Artillery units as well as Remount and Veterinary Corps.
He said the entry of women officers as pilots in Army Aviation commenced with effect from
June 2021, and the enrolment of women in other ranks in the Corps of Military Police in the Indian Army commenced in 2019.
As per the Minister, the total number of women in Indian Army medical cadres, as on July 1, 2023, is 1,212 in Army Medical Corps (AMC); 168 in Army Dental Corps (ADC); 3,841 in Military Nursing Service (MNS).
He also added that the total number of women officers in the Indian Army (excluding AMC, ADC and MNS) as on January 1, 2023 is 1,733.
Bhatt was responding to the query of CPI MP Sandosh Kumar P when he asked about the number of women in Indian Army medical and non-medical cadres; and the government’s plan to increase the number of women in the Indian Army