12/11/21, 11:57 PM Army ranks and insignia of India - Wikipedia

Junior commissioned officers

Junior commissioned officers  are promoted from  non-commissioned officers  and are broadly
equivalent to warrant officers in Western armies. Senior non-commissioned officers are promoted
to JCO rank on the basis of merit and seniority, restricted by the number of vacancies. In between
the Commissioned Officer and the NCOs lies the Junior Commissioned Officers. They are treated
with great respect as they have a minimum of 28 yrs and over service and are referred to
as Sahab by all ranks.[18]

The current living recipients of the  Param Veer Chakra  are all from JCO ranks namely  Bana
Singh Retd, Sanjay Kumar, and Yogendra Singh Yadav.[19]

JCOs are entrusted with supervisory roles and the three JCO ranks are  Subedar
Major,  Subedar  and  Naib Subedar. JCOs are equivalent in status to Group B (Gazetted) of
Government of India.[20]

Junior commissioned officers are treated as a separate class and hold many additional privileges.
In the army, they have a separate mess (the JCO's mess), get well-furnished family quarters, and
are authorized to travel in AC II-tier on the railways.[21] [22]

Ranks
Infantry and other Description Insignia Retirement Age
Cavalry and Armour
arms

After 34 years service

Golden national
Subedar major Risaldar major or at the age of 54,
emblem with stripe
whichever is sooner.[23]

After 30 years service

Two golden stars with
Subedar Risaldar or at the age of 52,
stripe
whichever is sooner.[23]

After 28 years service

One golden star with
Naib subedar Naib risaldar or at the age of 52,
stripe
whichever is sooner.[23]

JCOs are currently enrolled as jawans and few of them get promoted to officers over a period of
time-based on their performance and on their ability to clear promotion examinations. A few JCOs
are directly enrolled as religious teachers and in certain technical arms such as the  Corps of
Engineers. As of 2021, the Indian Army is discussing a proposal to directly enrol Junior
Commissioned Officers (JCOs) in all arms of the service to address the shortage of commissioned
officers. According to the proposal, the Indian Army will directly induct JCOs who have cleared the
Services Selection Board (SSB) interview. The UPSC will conduct an entrance examination, which
would be followed by an SSB interview and a medical examination. Selected candidates would then
be trained for one and a half years before joining the units as JCOs. Subsequently, they would be
promoted to officers up to the rank of Colonels based on their length of service and
qualifications.[24]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_ranks_and_insignia_of_India 1/4
12/11/21, 11:57 PM Army ranks and insignia of India - Wikipedia

Other ranks

Other ranks  in the Indian Army include Non-Commissioned Officers ("NCOs") and Soldiers
("sepoys" or "jawans")

Non commissioned officers

Non-Commissioned Officers ("NCOs") are soldiers promoted to positions of responsibility and are

equivalent to junior non-commissioned officers (sergeants and corporals) in Western armies.

Ranks
Infantry and other Description Insignia Retirement Age
Cavalry and armour
arms
After 26 years service
Havildar Daffadar Three rank chevrons or at the age of 49,
whichever is sooner.[23]
After 23 years service
Naik Lance Daffadar Two rank chevrons or at the age of 49,
whichever is sooner.[23]
After 19 years service
Lance Naik Acting Lance Daffadar Single rank chevron or at the age of 48,
whichever is sooner.[23]

Soldiers

Ranks
Insignia Retirement Age
Infantry and other arms Cavalry and armour
After 15 years 56 Days
Sepoy Sowar Plain shoulder badge only service or at the age of 42,
whichever is sooner.[23]

Honorary ranks

Brevet

Honorary ranks and honour, also called brevet, are granted in the Indian Army, and its branches
such as  India Territorial Army  (TA), for various reasons. These ranks may not entitle the rank
holder to pay, pension, or perks (e.g. ranks given to celebrities).

Retiring Soldiers

Since the time of the British raj,[25] exemplary soldiers who are about to retire are given honorary
ranks, usually a few days before their retirement, although these ranks can be granted at any time.
Examples include the grant of the rank of Field Marshal, which is rarely granted. Most frequently,
honorary ranks that are granted are those of junior commissioned officers, which are granted 1 or 2
weeks before retirement.

Prominent citizens as brand ambassadors

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_ranks_and_insignia_of_India 2/4
12/11/21, 11:57 PM Army ranks and insignia of India - Wikipedia

In order to inspire Indian youths to join the Indian Army, and to acknowledge contribution
towards the nation, honorary ranks are awarded to the accomplished and eminent personalities
who act as brand ambassadors for the defence forces. The following were awarded honorary
titles:[26]

Indian Army's Territorial Army (TA)

Kapil Dev, 2008, Lieutenant Colonel, TA, cricketer.[26]

Mohanlal Viswanathan, 2009, Lieutenant Colonel, TA (Madras Regiment), Malayalam
actor.[26][27]
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 2011, Lieutenant Colonel, TA (Para), cricketer.[26]
Abhinav Bindra, 2011, Lieutenant Colonel, TA (Sikh Regiment), sport shooter and
politician.[26]
Deepak Rao, 2011, Major, TA (Para), military trainer and author.[26]

Foreign trainees of India's military academies

Trainees of foreign nations who are trained by the military academies of India, such as the National
Defence Academy (NDA) or the Indian Military Academy (IMA), are sometimes awarded honorary
ranks in the Indian Army. The trainees are usually from friendly armies, such as the  Singapore
Army.

Reciprocal awarding of honorary ranks to other nations

Nepal

Since 1950, when former Indian army chief General  K. M. Cariappa  visited Nepal, awarding the
highest reciprocal honorary ranks to the newly appointed serving chiefs of each other’s armies is a
practice followed by India and Nepal. For example, in 2009 the newly appointed  Nepal Army
Chief General Chhatra Man Singh Gurung was decorated with the honorary rank of General of the
Indian army at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi by the President of India who is also the Supreme
Commander of Indian Army. Similarly, in 2010 the newly appointed Indian Army Chief General V.
K. Singh was awarded the honorary rank of General of Nepal Army at Shital Niwas in Kathmandu
by the President of Nepal who is also the Supreme Commander of Nepal Army.[28]

British Colonial era: Indian Army ranks to British Army

Some members of the ruling families of  Princely states  were given ceremonial honorary ranks
during the colonial era.[25]

An 1832 journal reports that during the colonial British raj era, the Commander-in-Chief of British
Army (ex officio  role of the serving  Monarch of Britain) promulgated an order directing that the
Lieutenant colonel of  H.M.  (Royal British Army) can not be superseded by the  East India
Company's Indian Army's Lieutenant Colonel. Whenever an Indian Army's Lieutenant colonel was
promoted to Colonel, all the British Army's Lieutenant Colonels who were deployed with the Indian
Army and had the equal date and rank with the newly-appointed Colonel of Indian Army were also
mandatorily given the local Indian Army's honorary rank of Colonel from the date of his Lieutenant
Colonelcy with British Army. This unfair system preserved the fictional equivalency of British Army
officers with Indian Army officers while denying the officers of the Indian Army their hard-earned
honours and ranks within their peculiar service. This was not a reciprocal system, i.e. Lieutenant
Colonel of East India Company (EIC) (Indian Army) were not promoted to Colonels rank when a
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_ranks_and_insignia_of_India 3/4
12/11/21, 11:57 PM Army ranks and insignia of India - Wikipedia

British Army Lieutenant Colonel of equal date and rank was promoted to Colonel's rank in Indian
army. For example, when a ranked Lieutenant Colonel of  Bengal Presidency's Indian Army was
promoted to Colonel he was ranked 34th on the general list, he superseded 33 other Lieutenant
Colonels of Indian Army, along with him all of the British Army's Lieutenant Colonel serving with
the Bengal Presidency were also given the honorary rank of Colonel of Bengal Presidency and they
superseded 33 Lieutenant Colonels of Indian Army who were their seniors. The army officers of
EIC appealed against this derogatory and non-reciprocal system in EIC's Court of Directors. EIC
directors had no authority to revoke or amend the order issued by the British monarch.[29]

Retired officers: form of address

On 21 July 2014, the Indian Army issued a circular for retired personnel informing them that the
correct form of addressing a retired officer is "Brigadier ABC (Retd) and not Brigadier (Retd)
ABC",[30] the correct example is "Brigadier Sant Singh (Retd)". The stated rationale of army was,
"Rank never retires, it is an officer who retires."[30] This form of address applies to both living and
deceased officers.[30]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_ranks_and_insignia_of_India 4/4