Officers Training Academy

The Officers Training Academy (OTA) are training establishments of the Indian Army that train officers for the Short Service Commission (SSC). The 49-week course at the OTA prepares graduates for all branches of the Army, except for the Army Medical Corps.[1] Established in 1963, the first academy is located in Alandur, a southern neighbourhood of Chennai. A new academy was set up at Gaya in 2011;[2][3] but was given the go-ahead in December 2019 to be disbanded.[4]

Officers Training Academy
Centurion tank at OTA Chennai
MottoServe with Honour (OTA Chennai)
Shaurya, Gyan, Sankalp (Valour, Wisdom and Resolve) (OTA Gaya)
TypeMilitary academy
Established15 January 1963 (1963-01-15) (OTA Chennai)
14 November 2011 (2011-11-14) (OTA Gaya)
Location
Chennai
Gaya
,
India
Campus750 acres (3.0 km2) (OTA Chennai)
800 acres (3.2 km2) (OTA Gaya)
AffiliationsMadras University

History

OTA Chennai
2013 stamp dedicated to the Officers Training Academy at Chennai

Seven Officers Training Schools were established in India between 1942–45 to meet the huge demand for officers to serve in the Indian and Commonwealth Armies during World War II. However, these schools were closed down at the end of the war.

In 1962, following the Sino-Indian War, India identified the need to expand the number of officers for effective operations. Two Officers Training Schools (OTS) were established in Pune and Madras (now known as Chennai) to train officers for Emergency Commission into the Army. The process of establishing the schools was begun in September 1962. The Chennai school was inaugurated on 15 January 1963, for nation by and with Brigadier Ram Singh as its first Commandant.[5] The Pune school had a short run and was closed in 1964. However, the school in Chennai continued to operate and on 2 February 1965, it obtained the sanction to shift focus to train officers for the Short Service Regular Commission. OTA Chennai is spread over 750 acres (3.0 km2).

The Short Service Regular Commission has evolved into the Short Service Commission, and the OTS has continued to train officers for these commissions. The school was granted permanent status in 1985. On 1 January 1988, the school was renamed as the Officers Training Academy (OTA), on a par with the NDA and IMA.

The first batch of 25 women to be commissioned as officers into the Army were trained at the OTA, with training commencing on 21 September 1992.[6]

Cadets are organised in six companies. Meiktila, Naushera, Kohima, Jessami, Zojila & Phillora.

OTA Gaya

OTA Gaya, set up in 2011, is located amid an estate of approximately 870 acres in a hilly terrain of Paharpur at Gaya. The academy is located en route from Gaya to Bodhgaya, approx 7 km from Gaya railway station. The international airport of Gaya is adjacent to the academy. In its vicinity is Bodhgaya, an international tourism destination. Gaya Cantonment dates back to World War II, as one of the headquarters of the British Army.

To mark the commencement of the academy, a flag hoisting ceremony was solemnised and the consecration of the raising of the academy was carried out in true secular tradition of the Indian Army, with recital of scriptures from holy books of different religions.

The academy has been equipped with state of the art training facilities, at par with other pre-commissioning training institutions.

The insignia of Officers Training Academy, Gaya has a two-colour background, with upper half as grey and the lower half blood-red, having two cross swords superimposed with the Dharmchakra. A scroll below bears the motto of the academy – 'Shaurya, Gyan, Sankalp' in devnagri.

The first batch of 149 trainee-officers underwent training in the academy during the period July 2011 to Jun 2012 and the first passing out parade was conducted on 8 June 2012. The second batch after successful completion of their training (January 2012 – December 2012) passed out on 8 December 2012. A total of 176 cadets from TES 26 and SCO 29 courses passed out on 8 December 2012. The academy currently has the capacity to train 350 cadets. Lt Gen Sunil Srivastava, VSM(double bar) is the current commandant of the academy, having taken charge in 2018.[2][3]

In December 2019 the Defence Ministry gave the go-ahead to shut OTA Gaya due to lack of intake.[7][4]

Notable alumni

The academy has produced many war heroes and distinguished officers. Many have gone on to work for corporations after leaving the Indian Army. The OTA Alumni Association[8] was registered under the Societies Act 1860 at Chandigarh with all India jurisdiction.

Param Vir Chakra

Ashoka Chakra

Mahavir Chakra

Vir Chakra
  • Capt. Jintu Gogoi (posthumous) – 17 Garhwal Rifles
  • Capt. Jerry Premraj (posthumous) – 158 Medium Regiment

Others

List of Commandants

The Commandant of the Officers Training Academy is the overall in-charge of all the functioning of the Officers Training Academy, Chennai. The Commandant of the College is a three-star rank officer (Lieutenant General) from the Indian Army. He is supported by the Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor (DCCI), held by a Major General.[10]

S.No Rank Name Appointment Date Left Office References
1 Brigadier Ram Singh January 1963 October 1965 [11]
2 Brigadier Pritpal Singh November 1965 October 1967
3 Brigadier A M M Nambiar January 1966 December 1966
4 Major General I C Katoch, PVSM March 1970 September 1972
5 Brigadier R H Bagina, VrC September 1972 January 1974
6 Brigadier C M Cariappa, AVSM January 1974 December 1975
7 Brigadier S M Suri, AVSM January 1976 April 1978
8 Brigadier E A Thyagarajan, AVSM April 1978 August 1982
9 Major General T S Verma, PVSM September 1982 January 1985
10 Major General N S Nair, VSM February 1985 April 1986
11 Major General N Viswanathan July 1986 December 1987
12 Major General N K Oberoi April 1990 November 1992
13 Major General V Rajaram December 1992 February 1995
14 Major General K C Dhingra, VSM March 1995 June 1997 [12]
15 Major General V Jayashankar July 1997 July 1999
16 Major General G H Israni, VSM July 1999 July 2000 [13]
17 Major General Sudhir Mohan August 2000 February 2003
18 Lieutenant General S D Awasthi March 2003 September 2004 [14]
19 Lieutenant General K K Kohli, AVSM, VSM October 2004 July 2006 [15]
20 Lieutenant General R K Swamy, AVSM, VSM October 2006 September 2008 [16]
21 Lieutenant General J S Bajwa, UYSM, SM September 2008 July 2010 [17]
22 Lieutenant General Gautam Banerjee August 2010 July 2011 [18]
23 Lieutenant General S S Jog, SM, VSM November 2011 October 2014 [19][20]
24 Lieutenant General R P Sahi, AVSM January 2015 October 2015 [21]
25 Lieutenant General Bobby Mathews, PVSM, AVSM & Bar, VSM October 2016 February 2017 [22]
26 Lieutenant General Rajan Ravindran, VSM March 2017 February 2018 [23]
27 Lieutenant General Sanjeev Kanal, AVSM March 2018 To date [24]

See also

References
  1. "Recruitment and Training". Ministry of Defence, Government of India. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  2. "Gaya Officers Training Academy poised to conduct maiden passing out parade". Yahoo News. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  3. "Gaya to get Army's second Officers Training Academy". Times of India. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  4. Pandit, Rajat (10 December 2019). "With few takers for Army, Officers' Training Academy at Gaya to be shut down". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  5. "Pranab Mukherjee to review passing-out parade at Chennai OTA". The Hindu. Chennai. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  6. "OTA: Grooming Leaders". Sainik Samachar, Ministry of Defence. 15 May 2001. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  7. Dutta, Amrita Nayak (10 December 2019). "Army proposal to disband Officers Training Academy in Gaya gets defence ministry nod". ThePrint. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  8. OTA Alumni Association
  9. "A determined officer's ultimate sacrifice in the service of nation". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  10. "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". indianarmy.nic.in.
  11. "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". indianarmy.nic.in.
  12. "T H E B O M B A Y S A P P E R S Quarterly News Letter" (PDF).
  13. "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". indianarmy.nic.in.
  14. "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". indianarmy.nic.in.
  15. "Army Chief visits OTA". Oneindia. 10 July 2006.
  16. "Maj Gen Swamy to be new OTA commandant". Oneindia. 25 October 2006.
  17. "Seminar on integration of women in the Indian Army". pib.gov.in.
  18. "Post-graduate Diploma launched for OTA cadets". The Hindu. 29 June 2011.
  19. "h11". sainiksamachar.nic.in.
  20. "350 officers commissioned into Indian Army". The Economic Times. 14 September 2013.
  21. Alexander, Deepa (13 March 2015). "These boots are made for marching". The Hindu.
  22. "Lieutenant General Bobby Mathews retires". Deccan Chronicle. 28 February 2017.
  23. March 10, Press Trust of India; March 10, Press Trust of India; Ist, Press Trust of India. "Lt Gen Rajan Ravindran takes over as OTA Commander". India Today.
  24. "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". indianarmy.nic.in.

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