Heirs to a British tradition, the Indian armed forces are entirely professional, and Indian soldiers generally sign a very long-term contract upon enlistment, up to 17 years for the lower ranks. For the Modi government, this situation seemed problematic, since it was a question of maintaining a force of 1,4 million professional soldiers, whose payroll continues to increase while the standard of living rises in the country. Like the professional Western armed forces, New Delhi has therefore decided to implement a new recruitment policy for its armed forces, with an initial 4-year contract offered to young recruits, and a contract extension for only a quarter soldiers who have reached the end of this one, so as to set up an effective age and rank pyramid, but above all in order to rejuvenate the workforce, and significantly reduce the weight of the army payroll.
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