The Indian Army has made a major change in the promotion of its officers. The army is now preparing to introduce the theater command system, under which the merit list of all lieutenant generals will now be prepared on the basis of their performance. The army said that this new system will come into effect from March 31, 2025, which aims to promote selection on the basis of merit. All this is happening at a time when India has finalized the blueprint for three theater commands for China, Pakistan and the Indian Ocean region.
This new policy of the Indian Army will be applicable to Lieutenant Generals under the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) form. According to the Times of India report, this new policy will not apply to the Army’s 6 operational commands, Vice Chief of a training command and Commander in Chief. There are about 11 lakh soldiers in the Indian Army. Talking about officers in it, there are more than 90 Lieutenant Generals, 300 Major Generals and 1,200 Brigadiers.
The Indian Air Force and Navy already have a rank-based evaluation system in place for promotions. Now a uniform rule has been made for promotions in all three wings of the army. According to the report, an officer said, “Earlier there was no merit system at the Lieutenant General level, now they will be graded on a scale of 1 to 9 based on different works. This will give priority to merit instead of seniority.”
Many officers have opposed this change in the army. According to the report, a senior officer said, “Very few officers are selected on the basis of merit at every stage in the army’s hierarchical structure and become three-star generals. After the rank of Lieutenant General, promotion to C-in-C was based on seniority. Now including merit at this level will open the door for political or external interference.”
