Army changes promotion policy for Maj Gens, Lt Gens

New Delhi, Aug 19 (PTI) The General-rank officers of the
Indian Army will now either execute administrative duties only
or lead troops in operational formations, according to a new
promotion policy implemented by the force.

The new policy for Major Generals and Lieutenant Generals
categorised them into either staff or command streams based on
their merit, Army sources said here Wednesday.

Under the policy, which had come into effect from January
1 this year, officers under the staff stream will perform only
administrative tasks while the command stream officers will
get to lead troops in field formations.

The change in the promotion policy came in the backdrop of
Ajai Vikram Singh Committee (AVSC) report which was
implemented in December last year thereby creating 75
additional Major General and 20 Lieutenant General posts.

Officers in the respective streams would, however, get no
opportunity to change streams while moving up the career
ladder. Also, the promoted officer would be allotted a stream
on a pro-rata basis keeping in view the availability of staff
and command posts at any given point of time.

This, in effect, would mean that once a Major General or
a Lieutenant General was placed in staff stream, he would not
get opportunity to command an operational formation.

"The new policy has been in discussion at the Army
Commanders' Conferences for the last two years and came into
effect from January one this year," sources said.

Asked if there was any opposition from senior ranks as
the policy could deny opportunity for deserving officers, the
Army headquarters vehemently denied any such dissent, be it
oral or written, from any quarter.

They said as per the new policy, first mooted by General
K Sundarji when he was army chief in late 1980s, a Major
General, once selected into staff stream, would take up posts
such as Chiefs of Staff of a Corps or a Command Headquarters,
or head an Area Headquarters, which are administrative posts.

On the other hand, a Major General from the Command
stream would head operational formations such as a Division
and once promoted as Lieutenant Generals, would command a
Corps and get the opportunity to become Army Commanders and
Vice Chief.

The Army currently has about 40 operational Divisions and

six Commands -- Udhampur-based Northern, Pune-based Southern,
Kolkata-based Eastern, Chandimandir-based Western,
Jaipur-based South-Western and Shimla-based Training Commands.

The policy was first implemented for 15 Major Generals, who
were promoted to Lieutenant General rank in January this year.
Army headquarters then sent the selected officers in two

separate lists -- 10 for command and five for staff stream --
to the Defence Ministry for final clearance, the sources said.

The system was based on a merit-ranking system taking into
account the annual confidential report (ACR), which include
parameters such as courses attended, commands held, and awards
received.

Army sources said 95 per cent marks were allotted on the
basis of quantified assessment from ACR and the remaining five
per cent was awarded by Army Commanders, who constitute the
Promotion Board, on the basis their assessment of the
candidate.

"The existing system of assessing the officers has not

gone through changes. Army Commanders still hold the
discretionary powers to identify promising officers and
provide five per cent of the marks, which is a value-based
assessment," sources added.
The Ajai Vikram Singh Committee, which went into issues

of stagnation among officer cadre of the Army, Navy and Air
Force, had recommended creation of new posts across all ranks
thereby providing career mobility to young officers and
keeping a young profile for troop commanders.
The committee report was implemented in two phases,

the first phases in 2004 for officers from Captain to Colonel
ranks and the phase two in December last year for officers
from Brigadier to Lieutenant Generals ranks in the three
services. PTI NCB