§ 13. Mr. MORGAN JONESasked the Secretary of State for India the nature of the proposals now under consideration by the Government of India with regard to a scheme of amalgamation of auxiliary forces in India; and what effect will it have upon the Indian Budget'?
§ Sir S. HOAREI am circulating a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the statement:
§ The main lines on which the reorganisation of the Auxiliary Force, India, has been carried out are as follow:
§ Up to now a large number of members have been included in the active class of units, who, owing to their occupations as Government employés; etc., could never have been available for embodiment when required. These will no longer be retained in the active class, but will be allowed to join the reserve class. The active class as reorganised will be composed, as far as practicable, of those who can definitely be relied on as being available for embodiment at any time. By abolishing the age limit, reducing the proportion of officers to conform to the new establishment for the active class and, where practicable, by grouping units together into contingents, the total number of units, excluding those in the Burma district, will be reduced from 59 to 46; and the strength of the establishment of the new active class will be 448 officers and 9,734 other ranks, as compared with 551 officers and 10,116 other ranks, which are the actual numbers of the present active and "A" reserve classes. The annual saving that is estimated to result from these and similar measures with regard to the Auxiliary Force is 15 lakhs of rupees.