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Indian Army is third largest in the world with more than 1,325,000 active troops and 2,143,000 reserve troops. The primary goal of the army is to work for national security and protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country. It guards the country from threats and external aggressions. Its secondary responsibilities are to support the civil authority during calamities and natural disasters. Here is an overview of the structure of Indian army, its responsibilities, ranks and reporting portfolio.
The Indian Army is divided into three segments namely Army, Navy and Air Force. The President of Indian is the Supreme Commander of these three services. The army headquarters is located in Delhi and under the command of the Chief of the Army Staff. He holds the rank of a four star General and is assisted by 8 Lieutenant Generals.
The description of these eight lieutenant generals include a vice-chief, two deputy chiefs, a military secretary, the quartermaster general, an adjutant General, the master general of ordnance and the engineer in Chief.
Indian Army CommandsThe Indian Army is divided into six commands for operations and one command for training. The General-Officer-Commander-in-Chief (GOC-i-C) also called as the Army Commander heads each of these commands. Usually the senior-most Lieutenant Generals in the army is conferred with this rank.
CorpsEvery command generally consists of two or more corps. In total there are thirteen corps in the Indian army each of them commanded by a General Officer Commander (GOC), who is also called the Corps Commander. He holds a Lieutenant General rank.
DivisionEvery corps is made of three to four divisions. Each of these divisions is headed by GOC (Division Commander) who holds the rank of Major General. Indian army has totally 37 divisions.
BrigadeEvery corps is made of three to four Brigades. In a Brigade, there will be usually 3,000 troops. Every Brigade is commanded by a Brigadier.
BattalionFour to five rifle companies constitute a battalion. Ever battalion is commanded by a battalion commander in the rank of a Colonel. A battalion is the main fighting unit of an infantry.
Rifle CompanyA rifle company is made of three platoons. A company is commanded by a Company Commander who is in the rank of a Major or Lieutenant Colonel.
PlatoonA platoon is made of three sections. The Platoon Commander who is also a JCO commands a platoon.
SectionThis is the smallest military outfit comprising 10 candidates. A section commander in the rank of a Havaldhar commands a section.
Indian army OrganizationIndian Army functions under two parts namely Arms and Services. The troops that will actually carry out the different operations make up the arms segment. The rest of the army is said to belong to the services segment. The responsibility of the services segment is to provide the logistics and administration support for the army.
Fighting arms consist of armor, infantry, and mechanized infantry.
Supporting Arms comprise artillery, engineers, army air defense, army aviation corps and signals.
Services consist of Army Service corps (ration, transport and clerks), Army Medical Corps, Army ordnance corps (armament, ammunition, vehicles, clothing and all equipment), Corps of electronics and mechanical engineers (repairs and recovery), Remounted veterinary corps and The Intelligence corps.