The Government on Monday informed Parliament recruitment of soldiers in the Indian Army has remained suspended mainly to curb the spread of Covid-19 and the Government has not stopped it.
Making this assertion in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt said the recruitment rallies draw huge crowds of aspirants.
"Coronavirus infections have slowed down but it is not over yet.
Big crowds come for recruitment in the Indian Army. Big (recruitment) fairs are organised for the purpose. Therefore we have suspended (the recruitment process in Army) so that the virus does not spread. We have not stopped it."
He also said online examinations for the IAF and the Navy, however, were taking place while replying to a supplementary to a starred question in Rajya Sabha. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said 90 to 100 recruitment rallies are held all over the country to cover every region.
According to the written reply tabled in the House, after the pandemic hit India in 2020, the recruitment in India Army remained suspended during 2020-21 and 2021-22.
However, according to the reply, 2,722 persons were enrolled in the Indian Navy and 8,423 person in the Indian Air Force in 2020-21.
Similarly, 5,547 persons were enrolled in the Indian Navy and 4,609 in the IAF in 2021-22. In 2018-19, 53,431 candidates were enrolled in the Indian Army while the number was 80,572 in 2019-20.
The written reply also stated, "Sufficient recruitment is undertaken to meet manpower requirements of the Indian Armed Forces."
Fielding a question posed by Vandana Chavan(NCP)on recruiting women in armed forces in combat roles, Bhatt said the provisions for recruitment of women in the armed forces are being adhered to and the other issue (combat roles) is under consideration.
Among other issues that came up in the House, Priyanka Chaturvedi(Shiv Sena)asked the government to come out with clear guidelines for booster doses for those under 60 and said several countries are imposing strict conditions for foreign travellers.
Raising the issue of unemployment in the country, V Sivadasan(CPM) said public sector companies are not recruiting properly. In December 2021, he said India had 53 million unemployed people. The House proceedings were adjourned briefly till 12 noon as all the listed Zero Hour and special mentions for the morning session were taken up.