2 days Ago By Rajat Pandit
NEW DELHI: With India moving towards the creation of tri-Service theatre commands, the Army has adopted a radical change in the promotion policy for top officers by making it necessary for all lieutenant generals to be graded on their performance through a " quantified assessment system ". This new system, which will come into force from March 31, will "facilitate merit-based selection" of serving Lieutenant Generals for apex-level appointments in the integrated theatre commands and tri-Service establishments, sources told TOI. The new policy for Lieutenant Generals, with "revised annual confidential report (ACR) forms", will not apply to the vice chief and commanders-in-chief of the six operational commands and one training command in the Army.
These eight officers are also Lieutenant Generals but a rung higher than other three-star generals. The over 11-lakh Army has almost 90 Lieutenant Generals, 300 Major Generals and 1,200 Brigadiers in its 43,000-strong officer cadre. "The new policy for Lieutenant Generals will align the Army with the much smaller IAF and Navy, where the quantified appraisal of equivalent ranks (air marshals and vice admirals) is already there," a source said.
"There was no quantified ACR system for Lieutenant Generals so far. Now, they will be graded on different attributes on a scale from 1 to 9. In effect, promotions will be based on merit rather than just seniority.
The impending creation of theatre commands requires a uniform assessment system for the top ranks in all the three Services," he added. The Army headquarters' letter on the new policy does not specify whether it will also be applicable for the selection of the vice-chief and seven commanders-in-chief (C-in-C) within the force. As per the existing Army policy, promotion to the C-in-C level is based purely on seniority, in conjunction with the date of birth and vacancies available.
A Lt-Gen, after he has commanded one of the 14 corps in the force, must have 'residual' service of 18 months (till he turns 60) to be promoted as the C-in-C of one of the seven Army commands. Strong reservations against the new policy are already being expressed by some officers. "Very few officers become three-star generals after being assessed on merit at every step in their careers in the Army's steeply-pyramidical structure," a senior officer said.
"After the Lt-Gen rank, promotion to C-in-C was based on seniority. Introducing merit at this stage will open the door for interference, political or otherwise," he added. The policy comes at a time when the blueprint for the three theatre commands for China, Pakistan and the Indian Ocean Region has been finalized to ensure an integrated war-fighting machinery.
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