![](https://bharatshakti.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LT-BSI-Defence.gif")
NEW DELHI: The problem of shortage of officers at the junior level continues to plague the Army as it experiments with a variety of means to mitigate the status. In spite of an upward drive in the selection of officers in the recent past, the problem remains.
The Army is also inducting more technically qualified officers keeping in view the ingress of technology in the battlefield. The women entry officers are training in the NDA and will ultimately join units on completion of their training. Artillery is the latest combat arm to open its doors to women officers.
The silver lining is that shortages notwithstanding, the army has not lowered its standards in recruitment of officers.
Guest: Lt Gen C Bansi Ponnappa. The General officer is currently the Adjutant General at the Army HQ. He is also the Colonel of the Mahar Regiment.
The officer was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery after graduating from the Indian Military Academy.
A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College and the Army War College, he commanded a medium artillery regiment in a high-altitude sector and later an artillery brigade in the desert.
He retired as Deputy Director General (Strategic Communication) at Army Headquarters.
A prolific defence commentator, he is the author of Vintage Guns of India' and has co-authored and edited several other books.
His articles on defence and strategic affairs have appeared in leading newspapers and military journals in India and overseas.
Following his retirement from the Army, he served at the apex level of an Indian multinational before becoming the founding editor of BharatShakti, a role he held for over a decade.
