Following an announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day address that NCC would be extended in about 173 districts in our border and coastal areas that share their boundaries with some or the other nation’s border or coastline, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the proposal to expand the National Cadet Corps through which one lakh new cadets will be inducted.
“In the coming days, NCC would be extended in those border districts for the youth there. We will train around one lakh new NCC cadets from bordering areas, and we will work towards the idea that amongst those, one-third of them are our daughters,” the Prime Minister said.
“The Army will train these border area cadets. The cadets for coastal areas would be trained by the navy and wherever there is an air base, the air force will train those cadets. The border and coastal areas would get trained manpower for disaster management, and the youth would also get skill training for making their career in
the armed forces,’ he added. Soon after the announcement, a Defence Ministry’s statement said Singh has approved the NCC proposal ‘for a major expansion scheme”.
“More than 1,000 schools and colleges have been identified in border and coastal districts where NCC will be introduced,” it said.
A total of one lakh cadets from 173 border and coastal districts will be inducted into the NCC, it said, adding that one-third of them will be girls. “As part of the expansion plan, a total of 83 NCC units will be upgraded (Army 53, Navy 20, Air Force 10) to impart NCC training to the cadets in the border and coastal areas,” the Ministry noted.
The Army will provide training and administrative support to NCC units located in border areas, it said. The Navy will provide support to NCC units in coastal areas and the Air Force will provide support to those located close to its stations, it added.
The NCC is a youth development movement managed by the armed forces. It also provides exposure to cadets in a wide range of activities, with a distinct emphasis on social services, discipline and adventure training. The move to expand NCC in border areas would help empower the youngsters there.