Altogether 17 special commissioned officers were inducted in the Indian army on Saturday morning with passing out parade held at the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Gaya. Gaya OTA commandant Lt Gen Sunil Srivastav inducted the officers and administered the oath to serve the country with sincere dedication. The induction ceremony, though simple in view of the Covid-19 protocol, was held with military elegance that included a fly past by three micro light aircraft of the army.

All the inducted officers are from lower ranks of the army and they were given year long basic training in military science including the changing warfare techniques like chemical, biological and cyber warfare.
Addressing the newly inducted officers, reviewing officer of passing out parade Lt Gen Sunil Srivastava, who is also the commandant of the Gaya OTA, exhorted the young officers to serve the nation in the highest traditions of the Indian army by imbibing the virtues of military ethos and excellent soldierly qualities.

According to a press note issued by the media cell of the Gaya OTA, besides the 17 special commissioned officers who were inducted in Gaya, 81 other cadets who after year long basic military training at Gaya OTA, obtained degrees from Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering Secunderabad, Military College of Telecommunication Engineering Mhow and College of Military Engineering, Pune were also inducted at their respective institutes. These officers too, were scheduled to be inducted in Gaya but could not do so on account of the Pandemic.

At the ceremony at Gaya, a group of 69 senior secondary school pass outs who completed one year training programme at Gaya OTA were sent for military engineering programmes conducted at Secunderabad, Mhow and Pune.

As per the state wise breakup of the army officers inducted on Saturday morning, three officers each are from UP and West Bengal, two officers each hail from Assam and Maharashtra. One officer each are from Andhra Pradesh, Arunanchal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Nagaland.