Sachin Pilot to be officer in Territorial Army

Union Minister Sachin Pilot will be commissioned as a regular Lieutenant in the Territorial Army (TA) here on Thursday.

Unlike sportsmen and celebrities like Kapil Dev, M S Dhoni and Mohan Lal who joined the TA as honorary officers, the Junior Minister for Information Technology will be a “regular officer” who will receive 36 days of mandatory training every year for which he will pocket a salary above Rs 50,000 just like any other lieutenant in the Army.

Pilot will be attached to 124 TA battalion of Sikh regiment in Delhi and receive salary and incentives in accordance with the time he spent in service. Anybody joining TA can also remain gainfully employed in any other profession.

The TA is made up of volunteers who receive military training for 30 days in a year so that they can be mobilised as a second line of defence in times of emergency. It is not a profession and employment in a civil profession is a pre-requisite for joining the TA.

Earlier this year, Pilot cleared the written examination conducted by the TA as well as the Service Selection Board interview. The minister will be given the rank by Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh and additional director general in TA, Lt Gen A K Siwach.