According to the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD), there is a shortage of 11,266 Major and Captain and equivalent ranks and other rank officers in the Indian Armed Forces.
The Defence Ministry attributed this high shortfall owing to the low recruitment of officers in the COVID-19 period.
The Indian Army, being the largest of the three forces, has more than half of the total vacancies.
It has a shortage of 2,094 Major-level officers and 4,734 at the Captain level.
The IAF is short of 881 Squadron Leaders and 940 Flight Lieutenants, while the Navy is short of 2,617 officers of the rank of Lt Commander and below.
However, the MoD assured that the available strength is adequate to meet current operational requirements.
Also, the operational readiness and effectiveness of Army units is being maintained with organisational resources.
