Army chief empowered to activate 10,000 recruits of Territorial Army

NEW DELHI: The defence ministry has empowered the Army chief to activate 14 of the 32 infantry battalions of the Territorial Army (TA) for deployment across the country till February 2028.

The part-time TA supports and supplements the regular Army in static security duties for protection of vital areas and installations, and aids civil authorities in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

"The 14 battalions will constitute around 10,000 personnel," an officer said.

The already stretched 11.5-lakh-strong Army currently has a shortage of around 8,400 officers and 93,000 soldiers. Around 60,000 soldiers retire every year but the annual intake under the Agnipath scheme is limited to 40,000 at present. Moreover, 75% of the Agniveers from each batch will be demobilised after four years under the scheme rolled out in June 2022.

TA was started on Oct 9, 1949, as a volunteer reserve force of "citizen soldiers". TA units have helped out on several occasions, including the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars, during Operation Rakshak in 1980s against insurgents in Punjab and the 1999 Kargil conflict.