Senior officers of the Army face a revised policy on promotions

Lieutenant generals will soon have an additional hoop to jump through before they get promoted

- AJAI SHUKLA is a former colonel in the Indian Army.

Among the bold reforms that India's military is embracing, its organizational structure will change from 17 single-service commands to a more functional and operationally responsive network of 3-5 tri-service theatre commands. To ensure that the Army-led commands are headed by generals that the government considers suitable, the force is modifying its promotion policy at the highest levels. From 1 April, it will institute a "quantified assessment" that will for the first time grade all lieutenant generals, including its 14 corps commanders, on their performance.

So far, the confidential reports of three-star ranked corps commanders, who are one level below army commanders and two levels below the Army chief, have not had the "quantitative assessment" that all other reports have. The apparent assumption was that those found fit to command a corps are also competent to command a theatre. In effect, a corps commander could get charge of a theatre so long as the officer had at least 18 months of service left before retirement at age 60.

There is sound logic in the assumption that an officer promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, eligible to command an Army corps (of 60,000-80,000 troops), is also fit to command a theatre. Theatre commanders, like corps commanders, are also lieutenant generals.