There is a shortage of 11,153, 1,403 and 1,368 officers in Army, Navy and Air Force respectively, Rajya Sabha was on Wednesday informed.

This deficiency has been continuing from a long time in varying degree though there is no shortage of personnel below officer ranks in the armed forces, Defence Minister A K Antony said in a written reply. The armed forces have undertaken sustained image projection and publicity campaign to create awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging and satisfying career, he said.

There have been shortfalls in the intake of cadets in Indian Military Academy (IMA) at Dehradun. This can be partly attributed to the change in the socio-economic environment, the change in career preferences and availability of employment opportunities in other sectors, Antony said.There is deficiency of offices in the ranks of Lt Col and below and is spread across all formations, he said.

Antony also said no comparison of payroll and allowances of Brigadiers and Lt Generals of Indian Army has been made with that of their counterparts in Pakistan.

On the construction of roads of strategic importance, the Defence Minister said 171 such roads are under construction in bordering areas since 1993. Border Roads Organisation has been restructured to provide sufficient manpower along with enhanced budget allocation so as to ensure timely completion, Antony said.