NEW DELHI: The defence ministry on Wednesday decided to allow short-service commission (SSC) Army officers to use military ranks after their release from the force, a demand that has been pending since 1983.
The SSC officers, after completion of their mandated terms and conditions of service of 10-14 years, were not authorised to use military ranks till now. “This had been causing dissatisfaction and discontentment among SSC officers, who serve under the same service conditions and face similar hardships as permanent commission (PC) officers with similar profile,” said an official.
“This government decision will also act as a morale booster for existing SSC officers as well as young aspirants. The government has been making several attempts to make SSC attractive in the Army. Permission to allow use of military ranks by these officers has been one of their major demands,” he added.
The demand for use of military ranks by the SCC officers, who form the backbone of the support cadre of the Army, was pending since 1983, said the official.
But the long-pending package to make SSC more attractive for bright youngsters, with several proposals ranging from grant of paid study leave to a golden handshake at the end of their tenures of 10 to 14 years, is still to be finalized and approved.
The Army currently has around 43,000 officers, with around 75% of them in PC cadre, and 11.8 lakh other ranks. The minimum service tenure for a SSC officer now is 10 years, instead of the earlier five years. Around 50-60% of them are also granted PC to serve till at least 54 years of age. It also makes them eligible for pension after completing the mandatory 20 years of service.