In its platinum jubilee year, the Indian Military Academy (IMA) is staring at a crisis. For the first time ever, the Army’s premier officer training institute is functioning at just over one-third of its capacity.

In a development that has caused consternation in Defence circles, only 86 cadets have turned up for the 124th course of the Dehradun-based training academy that was supposed to churn out 250 young officers.

What’s even more worrying is that only 148 managed to cut the grade in the Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination and the subsequent interviews conducted by the Army’s Service Selection Board (SSB). And of these, 62 candidates opted out and did not sign up for the course.

While the Army says that the number of applicants has not gone down, it concedes that there has been a downward trend in the quality of candidates applying for permanent commission over the past decade. This year, it seems to have hit rock bottom.

The tri-services National Defence Academy (NDA) is also grappling with a similar situation. Less than 200 cadets have joined up for the 119th course that started this month at the academy against its capacity of 300. Again, this is the first time ever that the number of cadets joining a batch at the academy has dipped below the 200 mark.

The acute shortfall at the two training academies has once again brought out the declining number of ‘quality’ candidates lining up to join the armed forces. Officers say this is a dangerous trend that can seriously undermine the Army’s operational abilities. The force is already staring at a shortage of 11,238 officers — mostly at the lower and middle levels. Lack of a decent stipend, limited growth opportunities and tough working conditions have been blamed for the trend but top analysts say that another major factor is the reducing respect for the armed forces in society.

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