The three services function under their respective Chiefs of Staff. The three Services are –
ARMY – The Army is organised into six Commands – Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern, Central and Army Training Command – each under a General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the rank of a Lieutenant-General. The Commands are divided into Areas and Sub- Areas. An area is commanded by a General Officer Commanding of the rank of a Major General and a Sub-Area by a Brigadier.
The commissioned ranks (from top) are : Field Marshal; General; Lt General; Major General; Brigadier; Colonel; Lieutenant Colonel; Major; Captain; Lieutenant.
NAVY – The Navy is organised into four Commands – (1) Western Naval Command, Mumbai (2) Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam (3) Southern Naval Command, Cochin (4) Far Eastern Naval Command, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Navy has two Fleets – the Western Fleet and the Eastern Fleet.
The commissioned ranks (from top) are : Admiral of the Fleet; Admiral; Vice Admiral; Rear Admiral; Commodore; Captain; Commander; Lieutenant Commander; Lieutenant; Sub-Lieutenant; Acting Sub-Lieutenant.
AIR FORCE – The Indian Air Force is organised into seven Commands – (1) Western Air Command (2) Central Air Command (3) Eastern Air Command (4) Training Command (5) Maintenance Command (6) South Western Command (7) Southern Command
The commissioned ranks (from top) are : Marshal of the Air Force; Air Chief Marshal; Air Marshal; Air Vice Marshal; Air Commodore; Group Captain; Wing/Cmdr.; Squadron Leader; Flight Lieutenant; Flying Officer; Pilot Officer.
National Cadet Corps (NCC) – In the Armed Forces the National Cadet Corps is the Indian military cadet corps with its headquarters at New Delhi. The NCC is a voluntary organization which recruits cadets from high schools, colleges and universities all over India. Its aims are:
(1) To develop qualities of character, courage, comradeship, discipline, leadership, secular outlook, spirit of adventure and sportsmanship and the ideas of selfless service among the youth.
(2) To create a human resource of organised, trained and motivated youth, to provide leadership in all walks of life including the Armed Forces and always available for the service of the nation. The NCC is thus mainly of an educational and national building character. Officers and cadets have no liability for active military service.
A certain percentage of the total intake of candidates for commissioned ranks in the Army, Navy and Air Force, on the basis of direct entry to the Armed Forces training institutions, has been reserved for NCC cadets of the three Services. The NCC consists of three Divisions – (1) Senior Division (2) Junior Division (3) Girls’ Division. The senior and Junior Divisions are composed of three Wings: Army, Navy and Air force. The Army wing has units of the armoured corps, the Corps of Engineers, Artillery, the Signal Corps, infantry, the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and the Medical Corps. The Junior Division consists of students of 8th, 9th and 10th class. It is also composed of Army, Navy and Air Wings.
