101 IAF pilots have applied for early retirement:Indian Defence minister A K Antony

Ajay Banerjee

Call it the lure of the fast-growing private aviation sector or inadequate salaries, more than 100 pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) have applied for premature retirement in the past one year. This high number comes less than year after the services were locked in a very bitter public spat with the bureaucracy on wages.

The IAF has some 1,500 pilots in total and it has projected shortfall of some 300 pilots in future as it expands its squadrons of fighters and adds more choppers. The IAF has already hiked the intake of pilots in its training academies and now they take around 260 trainees in each annual course, up from 190 trainees earlier. Defence Minister AK Antony gave out the fact that 101 pilots --- most of who are highly skilled in flying fighters, choppers and transport planes --- have applied for a premature retirement. Antony told Rajya Sabha that the broad reasons furnished by the applicants for grant of premature retirement are supersession, lack of career progression, medical/compassionate grounds etc.

Such applications are considered on a case-to-case basis in accordance with extant government policy and service exigencies. Antony said efforts were being made to carry out a proactive publicity campaign to reach the target group across the country. The number of retirement seekers has gone up despite the government having made claims that the sixth pay commission had addressed the needs and aspirations of defence personnel. Separately, the government today said IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal PK Barbora’s remarks that politics was impinging badly on the country’s military requirements were his “personal views”.

“The IAF Vice Chief had expressed his personal views during his talk at a seminar while referring to the delays that had occurred in the past in procurement of aircraft and systems,” Antony said in reply to a Rajya Sabha query. Meanwhile, replying to another query, the Defence Minister said the DRDO had entered into a joint venture with Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) to develop a long range and medium range surface-to-air missile systems.

He added that the IAF was taking several steps such as advertising in print and electronic media, motivational lectures in schools and participation career fairs to reach out to youth across the country. Replying to another query, the minister said IAF had lost 13 aircraft in different crashes during the year. The list includes an An-32 transport aircraft, three MIG 27s, three MiG 21s, two Su-30MKIs in Jaisalmer, one each Mi-17 and Mi-8 along with two trainer aircraft.

Tribune India &Times of India

Posted in: India