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India wants smarter but leaner Army

Xinhua, March 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Indian government has said that it wants a smarter and leaner Army to cut down the inevitable salary bills.

"Flab in the military has to be cut. I have asked the Army to identify the areas, it will take time and cannot be done overnight," Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said Friday.

He said that in one area where the manpower can be reduced is telephone operators, saying they are redundant these days.

"What is the need for operators in today's time when everything is automated? Much of the training can be carried out through simulators," the minister said.

"However, these reductions in manpower will be decided by the forces. A smart, lean military is better than a big, unwieldy, manpower-centric military," Parrikar said.

India's 1.3 million military is the third largest in the world. Endit