New Delhi, June 14: Advertising agency Lintas has been hired by the Indian Army to design a headhunting campaign. The agency will target its campaign at students in the IITs and engineering colleges because the army is desperate to overcome the chronic shortage in its officer cadre.

Lintas has been handed the army account for Rs 8 crore. Its brief is to design a publicity blitz that is specifically aimed at technology graduates.

The army is modernising fast with huge imports of equipment likely to be made from the West (in contrast to the Russia-dependent experience of the past) but army headquarters has assessed that it was not able to attract quality manpower.

The army has a sanctioned officer cadre of about 46,500. While it is top-heavy ? with surplus officers at the rank of colonels and brigadiers ? its entry-level recruitment has been falling far short of targets. Over the last three years that gap has been narrowed somewhat from about 12,000 four years ago to about 10,000 currently.

The shortage is mostly at the ranks of lieutenants (section commanders) and captains (platoon commanders).

The army finds it difficult to recruit technical officers in adequate number because engineer graduates go for higher-paid jobs in the corporate sector. That is precisely where Lintas has been asked to come in. Officers are commissioned in the rank of lieutenant where salary is between Rs 13,000 and Rs 14,000 plus perks.

Army headquarters is planning to increase the intake of technical-entry scheme recruits in the Officer Training Academy in Chennai on short service commission and in the Indian Military Academy.

The army has conducted advertising campaigns in the past, too. But the “Do you have it in you?” slogan emblazoned on a poster of a handsome young officer was not enticing enough for engineer graduates.