The Indian Army is one of the largest in the world, with a history going
back several hundred years. It was during the British era, that a Military
Department very similar to the present Ministry of Defence was set up
but, with most of the senior positions occupied by the British. It was
after Independence, on 14th January 1949, the Army had its first Indian
Commander-in-Chief, General (later Field Marshal) KM Cariappa. The army
headquarters is located in Sena Bhavan and portions of the south block
of the Red fort in Delhi.
Armed Forces offer excellent career opportunities to the adventurous
young candidates. It is a career that offers immense facilities, a privileged
lifestyle and of course, honour in serving the country. The Armed
Forces characterize the ideals of service, sacrifice, patriotism and our
country's composite culture. The basic responsibility of the Army is to
safeguard the territorial integrity of the nation against external aggression.
In addition, the Army is often required to assist the civil administration
during internal security disturbances and in the maintenance of law and
order, in organising relief operations during natural calamities like
floods, earthquakes and cyclones and in the maintenance of essential services.
The two main lines of work in the armed forces are categorised under
the Fighting Forces and the Support Services. The fighting forces comprise
the armoured corps, artillery, signals, engineering and the infantry (and
similar divisions in the navy and air force), while the Support Services
include electronics and mechanical engineering, ordinance corps, medical
corps, intelligence and education.
The Indian Army functions under the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), formerly
designated as Commander-in-Chief. COAS is assisted by Vice - Chief of
the army staff and seven other Principal Staff Officers (PSO's), namely,
the two Deputy Chiefs of the Army Staff, Adjutant General, Quarter Master
General, Master General of Ordnance, Military Secretary and Engineer-
in- Chief.
The Army is divided into six operational commands (Field armies) and
one training command, each command under a General Officer Commanding
in chief who has an equal status to the Vice-Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS),
and working under the control of Army HQ in New Delhi. The major field
formations are Corps, Division and Brigade which are commanded by a Lieutenant
General, Major General and Brigadier respectively.
The Indian Army is organised into five regional commands
HQ Central Command, Lucknow ;
HQ Eastern Command, Calcutta ;
HQ Northern Command, Udhampur;
HQ Western Command, Chandimandir; and
HQ Southern Command, Pune.
In addition, there is a Army Training Command at Shimla for the purpose
of laying down the training policies for the Army.
The Indian Armed Forces employ more than a million young men and women
each year. One can join the Army as an officer or an Army Man. The recruitment
to the Armed Forces is voluntary and every citizen of India, irrespective
of his caste, class, religion and community is eligible for recruitment,
provided he meets the laid down physical, medical and educational criteria.
Recruitment into the Army is carried out according to Recruitable Male
Population (RMP) of each state.
