Article Posted on : - Nov 23, 2010

NEW DELHI (PTI): The three wings of the armed forces are facing a shortage of over 15,000 officers, Lok Sabha was informed Monday.

"In Army, there is a shortage of 12,510 officers. The Navy is short of 1,747 officers and the Indian Air Force (IAF) is short of 1,016 officers of its sanctioned strength," Indian Defence Minister A K Antony said in a written reply to a Lok Sabha query.

He said the authorised strength of officers in the Army was 47,864 officers, in the Navy 9,719 while the IAF has a sanctioned strength of 12,211 officers.

Antony said the shortage of officers was attributable to a number of factors including tough selection procedures, difficult service conditions coupled with perceived high degree of risk involved in service career.

He said a number of steps have been taken to do away with the shortage and attract a large number of youth to join the armed forces.