25% to 2.5%: Army recruitments fall to BPOs

Swati R. Chaudhary / TNN / Apr 27, 2006, 01:48 IST

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The BPO industry pays well and with each job hop , one can make more money.

25% to 2.5%: Army recruitments fall to BPOs

BANGALORE: From 25 per cent to an abysmal 2.5 per cent! That's the state of recruitments in the army from Bangalore, thanks to the booming BPO sector.
"At least a quarter of the recruitment pie from Karnataka would be filled up by Bangalore and partly Mysore," says deputy director general recruiting Brigadier J S Mankikar. Formerly, one would see students who had passed PUC but were unable to procure a seat in professional courses enroll in the army.
"Now, the BPO industry has lured this chunk of people away," says Mankikar. Owing to this reduction in applications, the army even tried altering certain rules in the entry level.
"Previously, it was essential for a candidate to have at least 40 per cent in each subject and an aggregate of 50 per cent to apply for the position of a soldier (technical). Last year, we opened the post to all those who have passed PUC," says director, recruiting, Colonel S T Reddy.

But that doesn't seem to have bettered the response from Bangalore. The reason for this is largely the pay cheque. "The BPO industry pays well and with each job hop, one can make more money. While the basic salary in the army might not be as much, the benefits provided add up to much more.
Unfortunately, today's world is driven by money," says Mankikar. Besides, recruitment officers have noticed a resistance to leaving their home-towns, especially when a seemingly lucrative option is available.

Drop in Coorg too: From Coorg too, the number of recruitments has dropped drastically in the past three years.
From 153 applicants and 93 recruits in 2003, to 28 recruits from 67 applicants in 2005, there has been a slump from Karnataka's traditional martial race.
"With coffee and spices prices shooting up, the Coorgs find it more lucrative to make money from his home rather than travelling around the country," says Reddy. Adds Mankikar, "Some units that were reserved for Coorgs, now find vacancies."
The only belt that continues to be strong for the army is Belgaum and surrounding areas in North Karnataka.
The reasons for that are manifold: the presence of an army training centre ensures a strong interaction with the local population, the lack of industrial development and the poor agriculture sector owing to irregular rains and insufficient irrigation facilities.
"The Army is looked upon as a good job opportunity," says Reddy. For the rest of the state though, the army hopes that the state government will make provisions to train aspirants in physical abilities and will give English and Hindi a boost in schools.
"Children must be prepared to take on the national mainstream," says Mankikar. But until that happens, it looks like the drought of representation from Karnataka will continue.

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