Indian army is the second largest army in the world which has more than 1.4 million active military personnel and it also has that top 5 military airforce and navy.
And for a large percentage of the youth in India becoming a soldier in the Indian army is one of their most interested career options apart from being an engineer and doctor.
Because of that, lakhs of students appear for civil service examination so that they can join the Indian army and serve for the country.
So in this article let’s take a look at the pros and cons or advantages and disadvantages of joining the Indian army in detail.
So let’s get started.
Pros and cons of joining Indian army
Pros
1. Discipline life
One of the main highlights and advantages of joining the Indian army is that you will have a highly disciplined life.
Most of the soldiers in the Indian army join the service in the young age so it becomes very easy for them to stay disciplined in their profession like,
- Waking up early in the morning
- Eating breakfast on time
- Doing military exercises everyday
And because of this strict rule and disciplined lifestyle, a big chunk of soldiers after getting retired will continue to stay disciplined throughout the life.
Apart from that since you have such a highly disciplined life if you lack self confidence in yourself you can definitely get a lot of confidence after joining the Indian army because of the training is such which can turn you as a warrior.
2. Respect & job satisfaction
Another huge advantage of joining Indian army is that you can get immense respect from the society of the India.
And you can also have a lot of job satisfaction because you are actually serving your mother land and protecting it and you will be the first line of defence for the protection of 1.3 billion people who are living in India.
This can give you a lot of respect and job satisfaction as being a soldier in the Indian army.
3. Job security & good salary
Another big benefit of Indian army is that you can have a lot of job security and also earn good salary.
Before you join the Indian army you will be signed on a contract of how many years you should serve the nation as a soldier.
The minimum tenure of Indian army soldier is 17 years and the service of the majority of the soldiers in the Indian army can go up to 35 years in army for example the Colonel officer of Indian army will serve up to 58 years before he gets retired from the army.
And the average salary of a Indian army soldiers or sepoy is 20000 INR per month and with higher posts and ranks you get in the army you can increase your salary as well for example the Colonel officer rank in the Indian army e gets 230000 rupees as salary every month Along with many other perks.
And it is very rare to see that a soldier in the Indian army gets fired unlike any other job which you can expect in the private sector.
4. Perks of being a soldier
Apart from good salary, you also that many other benefits of being a soldier.
You can also purchase many popular goods for your daily life like soaps, food material, bags and electronic devices, vehicles in army canteen where the prices will be low because on this products that Government of India does not charge the tax.
You can also get health insurance if you get ill from the Government of India and also get free treatments in the military hospitals.
You can also get 60 days of paid leave and 20 days of casual leave annually to either attend any marriage or stay with your family and parents, etc and you can also apply for higher studies and get two years leave after you join the Indian army..
You can also get to live in army quarters which are built separately from the normal people residential areas and you can have many amazing facilities for sports, gardens and good roads and nice environment and
neighbourhood in the army quarters if you get transferred to different locations in India during your profession and you can also purchase houses at cheap prices from the Indian government since you are an army soldier.
You can learn more about all The perks of being a soldier in Indian army here.
5. Free education and scholarship
The Government of India will also provide the education fees of your children of the soldiers for free of cost.
You can consider admitting your children in the army public school or kendriya vidyalaya school and you can also receive a 5000 rupees scholarship from the Government of India every year for the children of the ex army soldiers and officers.
6. Pension
Even after the post retirement of the soldier you can still get pension of lifetime from the Government of India for serving for the nation.
Although there are a few conditions you need to match in order to get eligible for the pension like,
- Those who are below the officers rank should serve in the army for at least fifteen years or more
- Those who are in the officers rank should serve in the army for at least 20 years or more
In both of these cases you can get a lifetime pension from the Government of India and the pension amount will depend upon various factors like your officer rank at that point of time for example,
if you work in the Colonel rank in army when you were retiring, you can expect higher pension compared to a captain rank in army And the pension amount will be 50% of the amount of salary that is last withdrawn when retiring and you will also get provident fund after retirement.
And even after the death of the soldier, the wife of the soldier can collect the pension of 30% post death of the soldier.
7. Learn new skills & meet new people
After joining the Indian armed forces and military you can get a chance to meet new people from different locations of the country to join the armed forces along with you to serve the nation.
Because you will be meeting people from different parts of the nation with different ideas and mindsets you can learn a lot of things from them like their perspective of thinking and gain a lot of exposure.
Because all of the people are joining army in order to serve the nation who have a similar attitude and character like you do & it can lead to building a life long relationship with your colleagues in the army.
There is a lot of brotherhood feeling between the soldiers in the Indian army because that kind of feeling and trust is important as they together undertake many operations which can be threatening to the life and without that trust and brotherhood between the soldiers operations cannot be made successful.
And you can also improve your networking and communication skills and negotiation skills during the job in army and if you are interested in sports you can proceed in that after joining the army as well.
For example Neeraj Chopra who is the gold medalist winner in 2021 Olympics was a subedar in army and joined the army in sports quota under the Rajputana rifle in 2016, just like that there are many other sports person who reached many heights after joining army.
These are all the advantages of joining the Indian armed forces specially army.
Cons
1. Away from your family
One of the main disadvantages of joining Indian army is that you can have to stay away from your family and parents for a long time.
Since you are away from your family you can miss some important moments of your life like the birth of your child, first birthdays of your children, some important weddings and functions in your family, etc.
2. Regular transfers
This is another disadvantage you can have as a soldier and also officer in the Indian army.
As a Soldier in the Indian army you can expect a transfers between every 3 to 5 years in your term.
This can lead to a lot of problems if you have a family to look after and children because it will disturb their education if you take them along with you during the transfers.
3. Constant risk of life
Another big problem we have in Indian army is that there is a constant risk of life because of terrorist attacks in India.
Especially if you are posted in Jammu and Kashmir state, according to some data, more than 5000 Indian soldiers have died in the battle against militancy in Kashmir in the past 27 years.
Terrorism is a serious threat to the Indian army soldiers and we have seen many terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir against Indian army soldiers like Pulwama, etc.
Apart from militancy, their is also a constant risk of life when the military operations are been conducted by the officers and also in the tough training of soldiers.
4. Ranks are more important than your age
Another big disadvantage of Indian army is that it because the whole army is based on ranks and positions from captain to major general.
Your rank in the army will depend upon how many years you serve, for example if you want to become a major general in the army you should serve at least 32 years in the army.
Your personal age does not really matter in the army, if you are a soldier you should take the orders of your officer irrespective if officer is younger than you or not.
There is no room for ego and pride of being older than others because your value will be dependent upon your rank in the army and your contributions not upon your age.
5. Strict rules
Another big disadvantage of joining in the army is that it has strict rules, the rules apply for each and every soldier and officer in the army, there is no differences and partiality, etc
If you fail to be disciplined and focused, you can get lots of punishments from your seniors.
With that said let’s conclude the blog post.
Conclusion
These are all the pros and cons of joining Indian army.
Do let me know if you are interested in joining Indian army.
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