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: The Army is keen on Tour of Duty to boost recruitment but a 2015 report, by a defence ministry panel, had recommended making the Short Service Commission more attractive. .................................................................................. Even as the Army is looking at a three-year voluntary stint, or ‘Tour of Duty’, to boost recruitment, a five-year-old proposal to making the Short Service Commission (SSC) lucrative and practical is still pending.

The proposal had been formulated by a group of experts constituted by the Ministry of Defence.

While questions have been raised on the financial viability of the Tour of Duty and of carrying out training of individuals and losing them in the two-three years, the 2015 report had asked the ministry to revert to the minimum five years of short service rather than the now 10 years. .............................. In an interaction with the media on 14 May, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat had said the Tour of Duty concept is still at a nascent stage and under the Army chief’s consideration. If it works out, it’s good, he said, but added that its viability needs to be studied.

“It will require a year of training. The tour of duty will be in Kashmir and the Northeast,” he said. “One year of training costs… Equipping him and doing everything for him and then losing him after four years. Is it going to balance out? It w