Number of IAF officers leaving force doubles in three years

The number of officers taking premature retirement from the Indian Air Force (IAF) has shot up by more than 90% in last three years, according to the Defence Ministry.

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Defence Minister A K Antony tabled a detailed report on the armed forces officers who have taken premature retirement or resigned from their jobs during last three years. As per the figures provided by the Defence Ministry, in 2009, 96 IAF officers either took premature retirement or resigned from their job. But in 2011, a total of 183 officers left the Air Force, marking an over 90% increase.

Indian Coast Guard is the another force which has shown increase in the number of officers opting for premature retirement. In 2009, six officers retired prematurely from the Coast Guard, but in 2011, the number rose upto 9, showing a 50% increase.

But, Indian Army along with Navy recorded a slight decline in the number of officers leaving the services. In Army, 309 left their job in 2009, but in 2011 the number fell down to 302. Similarly, in Navy the number of officers deciding to leave the force came down from 125 to 122 from 2009 to 2011, respectively.

Informing the House on the steps taken by government to attract talented youth to a career in the defence forces, Antony said such measures have resulted in increased intake of officer in the services. "Government has taken a number of measures to encourage the youth to join the armed forces, including conduct of recruitment rallies, media campaigns etc. This has resulted in increased intake of officers in the armed forces," he said.