'Tour Of Duty': Indian Armed Forces To Soon Recruit Officers, Soldiers On Fixed Short-Term Contracts, Says Report

The armed forces are likely to soon introduce the concept of ‘Tour of Duty’ to recruit officers and soldiers on fixed short-term contracts, reports Economic Times (ET).

This Tour of Duty concept was mooted two years ago to open up employment opportunities for the youth and also bring major budgetary savings to the exchequer.

The contracts could reportedly last for a period of three years and the hired personnel would train and serve in areas like intelligence gathering, information technology, and counter-insurgency operations among others.

This plan was put forth by Army Chief General M M Naravane first in November 2020 and briefings on the same have taken place in the Union Defence Ministry this week.

As per the proposed ToD concept, most of the soldiers will be relieved from duty at the end of three years and the armed forces will assist them avail further employment opportunities.

Corporates are reportedly interested in reserving jobs for youth who have served a term in the defence forces.

Preliminary calculations project that thousands of crores could be saved this way in the form of pay, allowances and pension if a considerable number of soldiers are inducted under the ToD concept.