A Complete Guide To Indian Army | Rank Structure Details

Army, in simple words is valor+ nobility. Quite a mathematical equation isn’t it? But certainly a true one!

Amongst renowned Armies of the world, Indian Army is one of the most disciplined, highly skilled and well trained army. Its guiding principle lies in the passion and dedication of the soldiers and Officers. Giving a tribute to this appreciated unit of India, here is an article that lays down all the necessary details of Indian Army.

Indian Army is the largest wing of Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and it is commanded by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). The current COAS is General Bipin Rawat.

The central mission of the Indian Army is to guarantee national security and national unity, defend the nation from external aggression and internal threats, and maintain peace and security within its borders along with conducting humanitarian rescue operations during natural calamities or any other disturbances. Indian Army earned fame with its brilliant performance in some crucial wars such as Kargil war, Bangladesh war, war of India- Pakistan 1965 and Siachen conflict.

Jumping onto the internal structure of Indian Army here are its necessary details:

COMMANDS

Indian Army is the fourth largest army in the world and is divided into 7 commandments:

 

Eastern Command (Headquarter – Kolkata)

Currently, in this command 12 divisions and 4 cores are working.

 

23rd Infantry Division – Ranchi

2nd Mountain Division – Dibrugarh

5th Mountain Division – Bomdila

17th Mountain Division – Gangtok

56th Mountain Division – Zakhama

21st Mountain Division – Rangia

20th Mountain Division – Binnaguri

57th Mountain Division – Leimakhong

71st Mountain Division – Missamari

27th Mountain Division – Kalimpong

59th Infantry Division –Panagarh

72 Infantry Division – Pathankot (Currently being raised)

III Corps – Dimapur, Nagaland

IV Corps – Tezpur, Assam

XXXIII Corps – Siliguri, West Bengal

XVII Corps – Panagarh, West Bengal

 

Central Command (Headquarter - Lucknow)

Currently no unit of this command is working and it is assigned to South Western Command.

 

Northern Command (Headquarter - Udhampur)

At present, 7 divisions, 3 cores and 1 brigade of this command are working.

 

3rd Infantry Division – Leh

19th Infantry Division – Baramulla

10th Infantry Division – Akhnoor

8th Mountain Division – Dras

28th Mountain Division – Gurez

25th Infantry Division – Rajauri

39th Infantry Division – Yol

XIV Corps – Leh

XV Corps – Srinagar

XVI Corps – Nagrota

10 Artillery brigade

 

Southern Command (Headquarter - Pune)
Currently, in this command 6 divisions, 2 cores and 3 brigades are working.

 

41st Artillery Division – Pune

11th Infantry Division – Ahmedabad

31st Armoured Division – Jhansi

12th RAPID– Jodhpur

36th RAPID – Sagar

54th Infantry Division – Hyderabad/Secunderabad

4th Armoured Brigade

340th Mechanised Brigade

475th Engineering Brigade

XII Corps – Jodhpur

XXI Corps – Bhopal

 

South-Western Command (Headquarter - Jaipur)
At present, 7 divisions, 2 cores and 3 brigade of this command are working.

 

42nd Artillery Division – Jaipur

4th Infantry Division – Allahabad

16th Infantry Division – Sri Ganganagar

6th Mountain Division – Bareilly

18th RAPID – Kota

33rd Armoured Division – Hisar

24th RAPID – Bikaner

6th Independent Armoured Brigade

615th Independent Air Defence Brigade

471st Engineering Brigade

I Corps – Mathura

X Corps – Bhatinda

 

Western Command (Headquarter - Chandigarh)

Currently 9 divisions, 3 cores and 6 brigades of this command are working.

 

40th Artillery Division – Ambala

1st Armoured Division – Patiala

26th Infantry Division – Jammu

7th Infantry Division – Firozpur

14th RAPID – Dehradun

29th Infantry Division – Pathankot

9th Infantry Division – Meerut

22nd Infantry Division – Meerut

15th Infantry Division – Amritsar

2nd Independent Armoured Brigade

3rd Independent Armoured Brigade

23rd Armoured Brigade

612th Mechanised Independent Air Defence Brigade

474th Engineering Brigade

55th Mechanised Brigade

II Corps – Ambala

IX Corps – Yol

XI Corps – Jalandhar

 

Training Command (Headquarter - Shimla)

This Command is the nodal agency for all institutional training in the army.

 

Indian Army RANKS

Indian Army has a widespread, well established rank structure which adds more honor to it and below is its complete information:

 

Rank – Field Marshal

Insignia – National emblem over a crossed baton and saber in a lotus blossom wreath

The Field Marshal rank is the highest rank in the Indian Army. It is a ceremonial or wartime rank.

 

Rank – General

Insignia – National emblem over a five-pointed star, both over a crossed baton and saber

Apart from the honorary rank of Field Marshal, this is the highest rank held by an Army officer. It is only the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) who holds this rank.

 

Rank – Lieutenant General

Insignia – National emblem over crossed baton and saber

Lieutenant generals are appointed only by selection (after 36 years of commissioned service) and may hold the position of a Vice Chief of Army Staff or Army Commanders.

 

Rank – Major General

Insignia – Five-pointed star over crossed baton and saber

Major Generals are promoted by selection (after 32 years of commissioned service).

 

Rank – Brigadier

Insignia – National emblem over three five-pointed stars in a triangular formation

Brigadiers are promoted by selection (after 25 years of commissioned service)

 

Rank – Colonel

Insignia – National emblem over two five-pointed stars

Colonels may be promoted by selection (after 15 years of commissioned service) or may be promoted (time-scale) after 26 years of commissioned service.

 

Rank – Lieutenant Colonel

Insignia – National emblem over five-pointed star

 

Rank – Major

Insignia – National emblem

 

Rank – Captain

Insignia – Three five-pointed stars

 

Rank – Lieutenant

Insignia – Two five-pointed stars

 

Junior Commissioned Officers of the Indian Army

Rank – Subedar Major (Infantry) or Risaldar Major (Cavalry and Armoured Regiments)

Insignia – Gold national emblem with stripe

 

Rank – Subedar (Infantry) or Risaldar (Cavalry and Armoured Regiments)

Insignia – Two gold stars with stripe

 

Rank – Naib Subedar (Infantry) or Naib Risaldar (Cavalry and Armoured Regiments)

Insignia – One gold star with stripe

 

Non Commissioned Officers of the Indian Army

 

Rank – Havildar (Infantry) or Daffadar (Cavalry and Armoured Regiments)

Insignia – Three rank chevrons

 

Rank – Naik (Infantry) or Lance Daffadar (Cavalry and Armoured Regiments)

Insignia – Two rank chevrons

 

Rank – Lance Naik (Infantry) or Acting Lance Daffadar (Cavalry and Armoured Regiments)

Insignia – Onerank chevron

Soldiers

 

Rank – Sepoy

Insignia – Plain shoulder badge

 

Indian Army CORPS:

There are various corps or to say headquarters (not to confuse with field headquarters) formed to handle an all-arms field army of three to five divisions or their equivalents. Here is a list of the same:

There is a list of corps with their respective headquarters.

1. I Corps - Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)
2. II Corps - Ambala (Haryana)
3. III Corps - Dimapur (Nagaland)
4. IV Corps - Tezpur (Asom)
5. IX Corps - Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh)
6. X Corps - Bhatinda (Punjab)
7. XI Corps - Jalandhar (Punjab)
8. XII Corps - Jodhpur (Rajasthan)
9. XIV Corps - Leh (J & K)
10. XV Corps - Srinagar (J & K)
11. XVI Corps - Nagrota (J & K)
12. XXI Corps - Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
13. XXXIII Corps - Siliguri (West Bengal)

 

Add to the above, there are also certain administrative corps of Indian Army which are as follows-

1. Army Aviation Corps
2. Army medical Corps
3. Army Ordnance Corps
4. Corps of Military Police
5. Defence Security Corps
6. Indian Army Service Corps
7. Indian medical Service
8. Military Nursing Service
9. Indian Army Corps of Signals

 

Impressing isn’t it? Most certainly the internal structure of Indian Army is perfectly sorted and you can also be a part of this dignified stream by joining through one of the following process:

TGC (Education)
Age – 23 – 27 Years
Qualifications – MA/MSc in 1st or 2nd division

UES
Age – 18-24 Years
Qualifications – Final-year Student of an Engineering Course

TGC
Age – 21-27 Years
Qualifications – BE or B.Tech or B.Arch MSc computer

JAG (Men & Women)
Age – 21-27 Years
Qualifications – Law Graduate with at least 55% marks

National Defence Academy
Age – 16½-19½ Years
Qualifications – 10+2

10+2 Tech
Age – 16½-19½ Years
Qualifications – 10+2 (70% marks with PCM)

Indian Military Academy (Non-Tech)
Age – 19-24 Years
Qualifications – Graduate

Short Sevice Commission (Non-Tech)
Age – 19-25 Years
Qualifications – Graduate

Short Sevice Commission
(Tech Men & Women)
Age – 19-27 Years
Qualifications – BE/BTech stream of Engineering/B.Arch, MSC Computer

NCC Special (Men & Women)
Age – 19-25 Years
Qualifications – 50% aggregate in graduation with an “A” or “B” grade in NCC “C” certificate

 

Talking of female entry into Indian Army there are a handful of options that provide great opportunity to be a part of Indian Army. Here is a list of those options:

1. Combined Defence Services Examination (CDS)
2. Short Service Commission (Technical) Women
3. NCC (SPL) Entry Women
4. Joint Advocate Military Nursing Service (MNS)
5. General (JAG) SSCW Entry Scheme

 

The complete inside- out of Indian Army has been drafted above. If you are proud of this honorary field and want to serve your motherland then start preparing for Indian Army now and check its official website.