JAIPUR: Number of persons from Rajasthan who joined the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2021 doubled as compared to three previous years, revealed a central government data. While there were 16 persons who joined the IAF as officers in 2020, this figure rose to 31 in 2021 in the desert state.
While Rajasthan has been known for sending men to the defence forces, the inclination has been mostly towards the Army, though this trend is gradually changing according to the statistics.
The officers’ intake in IAF from Rajasthan is almost on a par with the Army. In 2021, 39 cadets were commissioned into the Army after passing out from the Indian Military Academy (IMA), up from 31 in 2020. The intake of officers in the Indian Navy from the state, however, has remained mostly unchanged in previous years with 13 persons joining it in 2020, which increased to 15 in 2021. Rajasthan is only topped by Uttar Pradesh (75), Haryana (61), Maharashtra (40) and Delhi (39) thus making it the 5th largest contributor to the IAF in terms of officers in 2021.
A serving group captain posted in Jodhpur told TOI, “Apart from the awareness, the aggressive publicity done by IAF has resulted in this trend. Moreover in Rajasthan, there are not enough companies where the youth can try for corporate jobs. Additionally with important IAF bases in Rajasthan, young men and women are also becoming more aware of this service.”
Selection of officers and airmen cadre in the IAF is carried out pan-India to ensure equitable representation of all regions through online Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT) and Scheduled Test for Airmen Recruitment (STAR). In addition, recruitment rallies are also conducted for recruitment in airmen cadre. The selection is thus open to all eligible citizens of the country without any discrimination / reservation on the basis of caste, creed, sex, tribe, religion or region (state) and is based purely on merit.
IAF undertakes induction publicity steps to encourage youth including women to join IAF. Modules like direct contact programme, print and electronic media is extensively used to create awareness about IAF and educate students about mode of entries, said a statement of Ministry of Defence during the Lok Sabha session.
