Pay Scale for the Indian Army

The Indian Army is one of the largest in the world and is the dominant military power in South Asia. It is an increasingly modern and capable force. It is also a major source of employment in India. However, as India's economy has grown, pay in the Army has not kept up, making it difficult for the Army to recruit and keep talented officers.

Identification

The Indian Army is the ground force military of the Republic of India. It has a standard monthly salary scale based on rank and tenure at that rank, and modified by a set of other factors, paid in Indian rupees.

Considerations

The Indian Army does not have an "up or out" policy like the U.S. military. Officers are not dismissed if they fail to achieve promotion within a set period of time. This influences their pay scale. Each rank has a base pay, to which is added a fixed annual raise, until the maximum is reached. The exceptions are at the very top, with the Vice Chief and Chief of Staff, who receive a fixed salary.

Function

Lieutenants receive 8,250 rs per month, plus 300 rs for every year in rank until a maximum of 10,050 rs, or until promotion. For the sake of simplicity, this scheme will henceforth be described in the following format: Lieutenant: 8,250/month, plus 300/year to 10,050.

Captain: 9,600/month, plus 300/year to 11,400

Major: 11,600/month, plus 325/year to 14,850

Lt. Colonel: 13,500/month, plus 400/year to 17,100

Colonel: 15,100/month; plus 450/year to 17,350

Brigadier: 16,700/month, plus 450/year to 18,050

Major General: 18,400/month, plus 500/year to 22,400

Lt. General: 22,400/month, plus 525/year to 24,500.

The Vice Chief of Staff receives 26,000 per month, and the Chief of Staff 30,000 per month.

Significance

The value of the U.S. Dollar typically floats in between 50 and 45 Indian rupees, as of 2008. Therefore, a first-year captain receives roughly between $250 and $300 per month, for an annual salary of $3,600. This is better than India's per capita wealth figures (just below $950 per head), but there are substantial income disparities in India, and the typical educated middle-class Indian can expect to do much better than that. It should be noted that local purchasing power almost triples the real value of this income, so in purchasing power parity terms that Indian captain earns between $9,000 and $10,000.

Benefits

Like other military organizations trying to compete with a strong domestic economy, the Indian Army offers bonus payments to those with special skills that it wants to retain. These come in the form of a single annual payment with pay grades of $3,000, $4,500, $7,500 and $10,000 depending on the qualifications of the individual.

Resources

• Indian Armed Forces