M A I N   N E W S

MoD rejects new promotion policy for Maj-Gens & above
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 7
The Ministry of Defence has rejected the proposed single stream policy of promotion of Major-Generals to the rank of Lieutenant Generals and above. It has asked the Army to redo the policy’s format as the law ministry did not agree to the proposal, well-placed officials said today.

The Army’s Military Secretary branch has been tasked with reworking the policy to make it “acceptable” and is learnt to have begun ironing out deficiencies.

The promotion policy has been mired in controversy as the Army wanted to merge the ‘two-streams’ that segregate Command and Staff officers of the level of Major-General and above. While officers in the former stream go on to command formations, others do not.

The Army had suggested a new policy by merging the two streams to form a single stream. It even carried out a promotion board this January on the basis of the new single-stream policy. Questioning the merger of the streams, the ministry wanted to know the need to change the policy introduced only two years ago during the tenure of General Deepak Kapoor.

At that time, the two-stream policy was chosen by segregating the one stream formula. This was done to “adjust” officers after the MoD added some senior posts on the recommendation of the Ajai Vikram Singh Committee (AVSC). With the proposal being sent going back-and-forth, several promotions have been delayed. Worst hit are at least seven senior Major-Generals, who have retired in the past few months as the defence ministry and the Army locked horns over the promotion policy.