Juniors and peers set to have a say in naval officers' promotion

The Indian Navy on Saturday announced changes to its appraisal policy to include feedback from juniors and peers as a key parameter for rating the performance of officers before they can climb the career ladder.

- Rahul Singh

Naval officers were thus far rated only by their superiors, the existing practice in the bigger army and air force.

The switch from the decadesold model to the new system seeks to address limitations in the existing top-down approach and produce well-rounded middle level leaders, officials aware of the matter said. The policy will be applicable up to the rank of commodore, equivalent to a brigadier in the army, Hindustan Times has learnt.

Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar steered the overhaul named 360-Degree Appraisal Mechanism. The navy the smallest among the three defence services -accounts for around 10,500 officers and more than 65,000 sailors.