New Delhi, Mar 5: The Army suffers from a shortage of over 11,000 officers, mainly in the ranks of Lt Colonel and below. Giving the information in a written reply in Rajya Sabha Wednesday, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said there is an overall deficiency of 24 per cent in the number of officers, adding that the shortage has been continuing for some time. "Presently, there is a shortage of 11,153 officers in the Army, mainly in the ranks of Lt Colonel and below," he said.

Antony said several steps have been taken by the Army to bridge the gap, that includes making all officers, including those in Short Service Commission (SSC), eligible to hold the substantive ranks of Captain, Major and Lieutenant Colonel after two, six and 13 years of service respectively.

In addition, 750 posts of Lieutenant Colonels have been upgraded to Colonel's rank and the tenure of SSC officers has also been extended from ten years to 14 years. Besides, the Armed Forces have undertaken sustained publicity campaigns to create awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging and satisfying career.