Under an initiative led by the Indian Army, over 30 students from across Assam will start training to join the armed forces as officers. Army officials say that the training process for these students, who were selected through a rigorous process, will begin today, Monday, January 8.
According to these officials, this will be the second such programme to be rolled out in the state. The first one was launched late last year, PTI reports.
The Super 30 is supported by the Assam state government and undertaken in collaboration with the National Integrity and Educational Development Organisation (NIEDO), says Defence Spokesperson Lt Col Mahendra Rawat. The objective of this programme is to motivate the youth from the state to join the armed forces as officers.
This programme will begin in Tamulpur today, while the first programme was started in Dibrugarh in November last year.
"There is a sizeable presence of youths from Assam in the lower ranks but officer-level personnel are very few. This programme has been conceptualised by the Eastern Command of the Indian Army to motivate and enable talented students to join the armed forces as officers," he said.
Lt Gen (retd) Rana Pratap Kalita, who retired as the commander of the Eastern Command last month, had previously emphasised the importance of recruiting more young people from the state to join the armed services as officers.
This programme is a residential training programme and will be held at the Army Station in Tamulpur. Two batches of students are set to be inducted into the programme this year. The next intake will be in April, the spokesperson said.
"All students who qualify in the written examination will be mentored for the next selection phase by the Service Selection Board (SSB)," he said.
Last week, the Army signed an agreement with NIEDO, which will conduct the training. The students have been selected through an exhaustive selection process, which included written examinations and interviews, Lt Col Rawat said.
"We are hopeful that these students will serve the nation through the armed forces," he added.
NIEDO CEO Rohit Srivastava said, "The programme for the first batch in Dibrugarh under the 2nd Mountain Division started in November. And, this is the first batch of Tamulpur under the 107 Brigade of 21 Mountain Division,” he explained.
He added that the students were chosen based on merit, and the reservation policy was not implemented.
Despite being named Super 30, he said that more than 30 students have been accommodated because of their excellent performance in the selection test.
