Indian Army's Remount and Veterinary Corps falls short on training, animal transport unit use: CAG audit
By Anish Kumar | First Published Dec 23, 2024, 8:17 PM ISTA CAG audit revealed shortcomings in the Indian Army’s Remount and Veterinary Corps, including unmet training goals, under-utilised Animal Transport Units, and outdated veterinary equipment scales.
New Delhi: A recent audit conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on the defence services revealed that the Indian Army’s Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) fell short of achieving half of its training objectives and failed to fully utilize its Animal Transport (AT) Units.
Led by the Director General, the Remount Veterinary Services oversees the breeding, rearing, training, and healthcare management of the Indian Army's equine and canine population.
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The CAG's audit report, covering the period from 2018-19 to 2020-21, was presented in Parliament last week.
“Three out of the six short-term training goals as per the Technical Training Directive of RVS, related to import of frozen semen of proven elite stallions from European Countries to upgrade the sporting potential of Army Equines; training of raptors to hunt down drones/surveillance devices; and training of local breeds of dogs to assess their suitability for employment as military working dogs, were either not achieved or under-achieved,” the CAG has observed in its report.
The audit report also highlighted that in four out of five selected Animal Transport (AT) Units, the distance between these units and their dependent deployment locations ranged from 174 to 534 kilometres. This led to additional transportation costs for mules and under-utilisation of ATs, which varied between 89.46% and 10.74%.
Animal Transport (AT) units are a lifeline for Indian Army soldiers operating in challenging terrains and adverse weather conditions.
Comprising horses and mules, these units play a crucial role in transporting ammunition and essential supplies, such as rations, to high-altitude and remote sectors with difficult terrain. The Indian Army considers mules an indispensable component of the logistics chain in such remote and demanding environments.
The audit report also pointed out that the revision of outdated Veterinary Mobilisation Equipment Scales had been pending at the offices of the Director General, Remount Veterinary Services (DG RVS), and the Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services, for over 16 years.
As a result, “the scales which were in use were devoid of the latest technological developments in the field of veterinary medicine.”
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