IAF changing with the times

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">BANGALORE: Indian Air Force is donning a more ''liberal'' avtaar, tying up with Defence Research and Development Organisation and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to share infrastructure and specialised skilled manpower.<br /><br />Elaborating on the new ''flexi'' way of functioning, Air Chief Marshall S Krishnaswamy said they had made a pact to share infrastructure and skilled manpower.<br /><br />The Chief was in Bangalore to deliver the keynote address at Silver Jubilee Seminar on ''Flight Testing and Flight Test Training'' in Bangalore on Tuesday.He said that IAF is going on a sharing mode even in terms of airfields and airspace, giving a lift to the country''s civil aviation sector.<br /><br />Speaking on the tie-up with DRDO and HAL, he said that there was a need to work together. "We should remove bureaucracy, open the doors and latches. We shall share our resources," he said, adding that IAF is changing with the times. <br /><br />Unlike earlier times when IAF personnel would be deputed to organisations like DRDO, they would work simultaneously in both IAF and DRDO, depending on the need. <br /><br /><formid=367815><br /><br /></formid=367815></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />Many people would quit IAF on completion of the deputation earlier, which would not happen now, he cited. <br /><br />The army chief further informed that Short Service Commission has been done away with, except for women. Rerecruitment of retired personnel has also been stopped, he added. <br /><br />"I have no problems in recruitment," he stressed. The annual airmen recruitment had gone up from 3,000 to 8,000 this year, he said, adding IAF''s recruitment drive in collges too was getting a tremendous response. The recent drive in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, where the number of recruits had earlier dwindled, have shown a good response too this year, he maintained.<br /><br />IAF has got a response from over 100 men from Jammu and Kashmir a good response to the drive in Tripura too, he said. <br /><br />"Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana, where recruitments have gone down would be the next targets of the IAF recruitment drive. While IAF had not projected itself in a methodical way till now, we must now come in line with the private sector," he added.<br /><br />Krishnaswamy said about 5,000 to 6,000 IAF personnel retire every year. <br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>