|
DEFENCE,
ARMY RECRUITMENT
They Have It In
Them But...
The
"Do you have it in you?'' line has been in currency since 1997 but
as mode's research found, the youth in the metros believe that the army
does not offer a good salary. Besides, it comes packaged with a high risk
factor.
 |
| Do you
have it in you? |
The campaign
is being targeted at the qualified youth like engineers and MBAs but the
hurdle here is that this segment is looking to the corporate sector which
offers fat pay packets and perks. "The campaign is meant for people
who seek adventure," says Oberoi. "It is for those who want
challenge and not a nine-to-five job.'' But, rues a senior army officer,
"It is difficult to compete with multinational companies who offer
Maruti cars and mobile phones to the people they are inducting.''
The agency
is now trying to address the upwardly mobile lifestyle aspect in its campaign
by using big pictures which show army officers at evening balls and at
polo grounds. Though the emphasis has shifted to "the other side
of life" that the army offers, the problem is serious and long term.
So serious, in fact, that in an effort to make up for the shortfall, the
army-in an unusual decision-has decided to cut short the training period
at IMA and the National Defence Academy (NDA) by six months. But as the
officers' internal note points out, "With these measures, we plan
to induct approximately 1,400 additional officers by the end of 2001...
However, the deficiency level of officers will only be brought down to
20 per cent by the end of this decade and to 10 to 15 percent by 2020.''
Considering
the fact that nearly 82 per cent of army officers don't make it above
the rank of a major and only about 7 per cent go on to become colonels,
the army will need more than just an aggressive ad campaign to sell itself
as an option that can compete with today's corporate world. It is a sad
travesty that for all its heroism in Kargil, the infantry-the fighting
arm of the army-has been adversely affected by last year's war.
Top
|
The
Government should target inflation and leave the exchange rate to the
market, says P. Chidambaram in 
Not
just Nayla, all villages can be easily e-connected, says INDIA TODAY Associate
Editor V. Shankar Aiyar in 
