Army proposes to cut fanfare; to do away with Army Day, Territorial Army Day: Report

A number of measures are being planned to trim the excess from the Army resources for better utilisation of manpower, resources (financial and material), an Indian Express report said.

The measures include doing away with certain celebrations like the Army Day and Territorial Army Day parade, discontinuing brass bands, quarter guards, individual officers’ mess, and Canteen Stores Department (CSD) for units in peace stations.

“A final call on the proposals will be taken at the Army Commanders Conference which is scheduled to be held later this month in New Delhi,” a senior officer in the Army headquarters said. The officer said that the proposals have been received favourably by most.

The proposals were drafted after a look at the existing practices and were circulated among major establishments, command headquarters, and important directorates of the Army.

Some of the proposals include merging multiple officers’ mess of permanently located units in peace stations into one station mess. However, units that move from peace to field tenures would be able to retain their officers’ mess.

Another proposal is to discontinue individual CSD units in one station and establish one canteen in peace stations.

The report also said that the measures include discontinuing the Army Day parade on January 15 and Territorial Army Day on October 9. The number of Army bands, pipes, and drums ensembles for the Republic Day parade and Beating Retreat ceremony is to be brought from 30 to 18.

Other measures include reduced fanfare for Vijay Divas and Kargil Divas celebrations. Only one investiture ceremony will be held in Delhi for awardees of Army HQs and other units in Delhi.

Cultural troupes like dance, traditional martial arts, and jazz bands will be dropped. They can instead be continued as hobbies within the unit.