New Delhi
The Indian Army is launching a pilot project for two months from January 1, 2022, to make it easy for the jawans to become officers, by relaxing the selection criteria.
The new rules will apply to jawans in the age bracket of 30-35 years and those who are eligible in the selection process as Special Commissioned Officers (SCOs).
Instructions have been sent out to all Army units that those participating in the process through the Services Selection Board (SB) need not undergo "Stage-1" of the selection process, which entails a verbal test and participation in the group discussions, as they would qualify automatically to the "Stage-2" of the selection process. If the pilot project is successful, the same criteria would be extended for the selection process for entry to the ACC (Army Cadet College) that trains the Army officers for the defence services, a defence ministry source said.
A jawan selected as a SCO undergoes a 8-week communication skills capsule, followed by a one-year training in the Officers Training Academy.
The SCO stream is one of the three opportunities offered to a jawan to become an officer at different stages of his career, first in the ACC for jawans between 22-27 years of age, second is the SCO and the third is for getting the permanent commission to those above 42 years of age.
