Indian Army eyes ITI, B.E. students as recruits
Recruitment drive would target those in the age bracket of 17 to 23 years
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-04-30 05:15 GMT
Chennai: “Do you have it in you” is the question the Indian Army will now be asking engineering students in the state. As per a new recruitment policy unveiled on Wednesday, ITI and engineering students will now be targeted as prospective recruits for the forces. “Post engineering a lot of students remain jobless or earn low salaries. We hope to give them a better option in the Army,” said Brigadier Sangram Dalvi, Deputy Director General, headquarters recruiting Zone. The next recruitment procedure will start on May 4.
Addressing the media he said that as Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh had the maximum number of engineering colleges, the recruitment drive would target those in the age bracket of 17 to 23 years. A candidate will be allowed to sit for the written test after he clears the three major steps which include document verification, Physical test and medical test. A minimum qualification of tenth standard is required.
The starting salary for the young soldiers will be Rs 24, 000 to Rs 35, 000 depending on his place of posting. This year there is a vacancy of 6,000 seats, out of which 2,413 seats are for Tamil Nadu and 10,800 for Andhra Pradesh and 1,654 for Telangana. Brigadier Dalvi further said that Chennai zone is the third largest contributor to the forces. All together Southern states contribute 21 per cent of the total population in Army.
In Tamil Nadu, maximum number of jawans are recruited from the districts of Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Madurai and Theni. If the vacancy is not filled, it will be surrendered within two years.The Indian Army is also planning a one year course before the recruitment to train the candidates for preparing them for the recruitment procedure from January 2016. The added incentive is that these recruits will have a shot at becoming officers in the Indian Army after a couple of years, subject to them clearing mandatory tests.