Army not happy with Gen Kapoor's policy

New Delhi, Aug 19: A report published in DNA on Wednesday, Aug 19, revealed that indian army chief General Deepak Kapoor's policy is creating disharmony in the promotion board as many think the changes would trigger flattery and hamper professionalism.

Kapoor's policy would reinstate a proposal, which was introduced by former army chief Genaral K Sundarji in late 1980s. This approach divides senior officers in two parts - staff and command.

The staff would handle administrative duties while the latter would look after corps and army commands. The proposal would affect promotion of officers to senior ranks like lieutenant general and major general.

In Jan 2009, the promotion board comprising Kapoor and eight army commanders, who are the senior-most lieutenant generals promoted 15 major generals to the rank of lieutenant general. The lieutenant generals are supposed to head the north, east, west, southwest, central army commands and the army training camps.

The list in two halves was sent to the ministry of defence for final nod. However, sources reported that the board had disagreed to the policy and Kapoor had offered to carry a study on the effects of the proposal.

It is reported that three senior lieutenant generals, who are members of promotion boards have corresponded with the army chief requesting for changes.

Initially, an officer was awarded a rank taking into account the courses attended, commands held and accolades received. Although 95 per cent of the promotion decision depended on all this, yet the remaining 5 per cent was based on an individual's Annual Confidential Report (ACR).

However, under Kapoor's policy the five per cent was to be automatic and proportional to the ACR marks.

Most army officials objected to the decision as they felt it would encourage and breed 'sycophancy' while some felt that Kapoor's was a scientific system.

OneIndia News