Indian Army ranks and insignia

The Indian Army, the land component of the Indian Armed Forces, follows a certain hierarchy of rank designations and insignia derived from the erstwhile British Indian Army (BIA).
Upon the establishment of India's independence in 1947, the country became a dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations. Nevertheless, the armed forces, namely, the British Indian Army (IA), the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) and the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) - under the helm of King George VI as the Commander-in-Chief - retained their respective pre-independence ranks and corresponding insignia. In the Army's case, the service retained its pre-independence insignia, comprising the Tudor Crown and four-pointed Bath Star, called the pip.
In May 1949, Lord Mountbatten, the inaugural Governor-General of India, dispatched a note to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, titled Names and Insignia of Indian Armed Forces, containing a list of suggestions regarding the nomenclature of the armed forces that were to be enforced upon the dominion's conversion to a republic. In the note, Mountbatten proposed that the Tudor Crown, worn on the epaulettes of ranks of Majors and above should be replaced by the Lion Capital of Ashoka and that the pip should be replaced by the Star of India or another form of star.
In September 1949, Nehru forwarded the proposals to the country's minister of defence, Baldev Singh, recommending Mountbatten's suggestions, which were consequently enforced upon India's emergence as a republic on 26 January 1950. Simultaneously, the King's Commission, which was granted to commissioned Indian officers of the BIA was also changed to Indian Commission on the same date; and at a subsequent date the King's Colours of the various armed regiments were laid to rest at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun.
Presently, the Army's rank hierarchy is divided into three broad categories: Group-A: Commissioned Officers (Officers) Group-B: Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO) Group-C: Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO), also referred as Other Ranks (OR)
The Army has ten commissioned officer (officer) ranks, which are designated as Group-A service ranks and are equivalent to the All India Services.
The highest attainable rank in the Army's officer cadre is that of the Field Marshal, a ceremonial five-star rank immediately superior to full General. It is awarded exclusively to deemed recipients for recognition of exceptional service and leadership during wartime; however, it does not feature in the Army's organizational structure. In the Army's history, only two four-star officers have ever been promoted to the rank: Gen. S. H. F. J. Sam Manekshaw in 1973 and Gen. K. M. Cariappa in 1986. Recipients are considered to be serving officers until their death.
The highest operational rank is General, which is held exclusively by the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). The first Indian to be promoted to the rank was then-Lt. Gen. K. M. Cariappa, following his appointment as the second Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Army in January 1949.
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), a rotational position deemed the highest uniformed designation-cum-professional head of the armed forces, is also held by four-star officer drawn from the Army or the Navy or the Air Force. However, CDS appointees do not wear the corresponding insignia of their respective service, but are rather allotted a unique insignia independent of that service's rank hierarchy: a crimson-colored epaulette, adorned with the tri-service emblem of the armed forces. As of 2024, only two four-star officers from the Army have been appointed to the position.
The rank of Second Lieutenant is no longer in use; all new officers are commissioned as Lieutenants. Notable past holders include 2Lt. Arun Khetarpal, 2Lt. Rama Raghoba Rane, and other ranks including CHM Piru Singh Shekhawat and CQMH Abdul Hamid.
The appointments of Regimental Quartermaster Havildar and Regimental Havildar Major are no longer used in the Indian Army (except for the Regiment of Artillery and Army Air Defence) and those duties are now performed by JCOs.
Commissioned officers are the leaders of the army and command anywhere from Platoon, Company, Battalion, Brigade, Division, Corps and the whole army.
At the time of joining, all Indian Army officers are inducted as officer cadets. The rank of officer cadet is denoted by an officer's uniform with no insignia.
Indian Army officers are continually put through different courses and assessed on merit throughout their career, for promotions and appointments. Substantive promotions up to Lieutenant Colonel or equivalent (subject to clearance of Part B and Part D exam for Major and Lieutenant Colonel) and are based on time in service whereas those for Colonel and above are based on selection, with promotion to Colonel also based on time served. Due to steep hierarchy and few vacancies, most of the officers retire at the rank of Colonel and only a few make it to the rank of Brigadier and above. Civilian equivalents are in accordance with government policies on functional allocation of duties in staff billets, otherwise the rank structure of the armed forces is different from the civilian with regard to years of service and vacancies available.
Indian Army officers undergo various courses such as Young Officers Course, Junior Command Course, Defence Services Staff College course at DSSC Wellington, Management Development Programme: Senior Defence Management Course, Higher Defence Management Course at the College of Defence Management (Secunderabad), Higher Command Courses, NDC courses at various premier institutions of Armed Forces for promotions. The same is applicable to officers other two services namely Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.
In the Indian Army, officer cadets are known as Gentlemen Cadets or Lady Cadets. Gentlemen Cadets (GCs) join the National Defence Academy (NDA), Indian Military Academy (IMA)/Officer's Training Academy (OTA) after going through the Service Selection Board (S.S.B.) interview. Gentlemen Cadets undergo a pre-commission training programme at NDA, IMA/OTA, which is equally divided into terms.
Junior commissioned officers are promoted from non-commissioned officers and are broadly equivalent to warrant officers in the British Army. 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.
The current living recipients of the Param Veer Chakra are all from JCO ranks namely Bana Singh Retd, Sanjay Kumar, and Yogendra Singh Yadav.
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.
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.
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.
Other ranks in the Indian Army include Non-Commissioned Officers ("NCOs") and Soldiers ("sepoys" or "jawans")
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.
A sepoy is a rank equivalent to Private in most Commonwealth armies. Many regiments and corps use other distinctive and descriptive names instead of sepoys. These distinctive equivalents for Sepoy include:
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).
Since the time of the British raj, 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.
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:
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.
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.
Some members of the ruling families of Princely states were given ceremonial honorary ranks during the colonial era.
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 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.
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 "Rank ABC (Retd) and not Rank (Retd) ABC", a correct example is: "Brigadier Sant Singh (Retd)". The stated rationale of army was, "Rank never retires, it is an officer who retires." This form of address applies to both living and deceased officers.