Govt rules out 'large departure' of officers from defence forces

New Delhi, Apr 30 (UNI) The government today ruled out ''large departure'' of officers from the armed forces in the recent past and said personnel left services on several grounds including medical conditions.

Defence Minister A K Antony informed the Rajya Sabha that defence personnel leave service on account of various reasons, including supersession, extreme compassionate grounds, low medical category and failure to acquire minimum educational qualification. ''However, these cases are examined on a case to case basis, subject to the exigencies of service,'' he added in a written reply.

During the last 5 years ( between 2003 and 2007) 3474 Army officers applied to leave services and 2076 were allowed.

Similarly, 1269 Air Force officers applied for retirement and 793 were allowed to do so.

In Navy, 954 officers had applied to leave the service and 780 were given a go ahead, the minister said.

The improvement of service conditions, pay and allowances of defence personnel was a continuous exercise, he added.

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