NEW DELHI - INDIA'S army, the world's fourth largest, faces a dire shortage of officers because the booming private sector is recruiting the best talent and the army may have to consider conscription.

Just 86 officer recruits enlisted in the current academic session of the British-built Indian military academy, which had vacancies for 250, officials said.

Meanwhile, 62 of 148 college graduates who passed a separate military entrance test for army officers opted out and sought jobs in the private sector.

The army needs a total of 46,615 officers.

Another worry 'for the forces is that most of those applying are not the right material', army chief General Deepak Kapoor said.

The private sector, which has been luring away India's best talent by offering hefty wages and generous perks, has left the military with poor pickings, commanders say.

'The government and the services cannot compete in matters of salary and perks with the corporate world,' Gen Kapoor told reporters last week in New Delhi.

'Our deficiencies should not be met by lowering the quality standards' of the world's largest voluntary army, he added.

India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan and a bloody border skirmish with China since its 1947 independence, has never turned to compulsory recruitment. But Gen Kapoor warned such a move could be an option.

'Compulsory military service could be one of the avenues before the government sometime in the future, but it's not the stage for such a step now,' the army chief added.

But others say conscription is not the answer.

'Conscription to fill the shortage will lead to indiscipline, waywardness and desertions,' warned retired Lieutenant-General Afsir Karim.

Stress, low pay, slow promotions and the military's tough lifestyle are a turn-off for young people thinking of an army career, said former army chief Ved Prakash Malik.

After entering the army, an entry level officer must wait up to 10 years before donning the flashes of a lieutenant-colonel. But even at that level the monthly basic salary does not exceed 12,000 rupees (S$440).

'I've not even finished my four-year term at the business school and we're already receiving offers of more than 65,000 rupees a month and company cars,' said Mr Apratim Ghosh, one of the many who opted out of a military career.

'This is thanks to the enormous opportunities available,' he added.

'The army also must remove promotional bottlenecks and train those who choose the military as a career so that they are confident of landing a job on the civvy street after retirement,' said retired senior officer Karim.

'It's not a good feeling to retire at 52 with two children in school and no savings,' a serving brigadier said, asking to remain unnamed.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE