Army height bar down, applications up 30% in Uttrakhand

The Indian Army’s decision to reduce the minimum height requirement for recruits from Himalayan states has resulted in a substantial increase in the number of aspirants, with figures shooting up by 30% in Uttarakhand alone.

The Army had, in August, reduced the criteria from 166 cm to 163 cm for recruits from the western Himalayan regions of J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab as well as Garhwal and Kumaon in Uttarakhand. The impact has been ‘immediate and drastic’, say organizers of pre-recruitment training camps in Uttarakhand.

An Army recruitment official (ARO) told TOI that the number of applicants had indeed risen. “Approximately 18,000 youths had appeared in the recruitment drive in Chamoli district in April while 22,000 aspirants lined up in Dehradun in October. Several young men, who had been rejected in previous drives after failing the height criteria, participated in the latest recruitment exercise.” This was the first recruitment drive conducted by the Army in Uttarakhand after the new height rule.

Col Ajay Kothiyal, principal, Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, who also founded the Youth Foundation Uttarakhand which organizes pre-recruitment training camps, told TOI, “In the next camp in November, we are expecting 70% more applications to pour in. Many people in remote areas are still unaware of the reduction in height criteria.”

Suraj Negi, member, Youth Foundation Uttarakhand, said, “The next drive will be in March or April 2018 and cover Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Tehri, so more people are expected to apply.”