New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has authorised the Chief of the Army Staff to call out every officer and enrolled person of the Territorial Army (TA) for essential guard duties or embodiment to support the regular Army. The order, issued under Rule 33 of the Territorial Army Rules, 1948, enables full deployment to supplement the regular forces wherever required.
According to the official notification dated May 6, 2025, “Out of the existing 32 Infantry Battalions (Territorial Army), embodiment of 14 Infantry Battalions (Territorial Army) [has been approved] for deployment in the areas of Southern Command, Eastern Command, Western Command, Central Command, Northern Command, South Western Command, Andaman and Nicobar Command and Army Training Command (ARTRAC).”
The order clarifies that the embodiment will be carried out only if budgetary provisions exist or are made available through internal re-appropriations. In cases where units are deployed at the request of ministries other than the MoD, the respective ministries will bear the cost. The directive will remain in effect for three years, till February 9, 2028.
The Territorial Army comprises officers and other personnel who are engaged in other jobs but spend a part of the year performing their duties as soldiers. They go through a selection process and receive appropriate training for this. Indian cricketer M S Dhoni holds the rank of an honorary Lt Col in a Territorial Army Battalion of the Parachute Regiment.
This move comes at a time when Pakistan continues to escalate the conflict along India’s western border.
All of this began after 26 persons, most of them tourists from across India, were massacred by terrorists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Investigations revealed that the attack was masterminded in Pakistan by the Lashkar-e-Taiba. It was also confirmed that at least two of the terrorists involved in the attack are Pakistanis. Immediately after this, India and Pakistan got engaged in a major diplomatic and military stand-off.
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