Chandigarh, Feb 3 (IANS): Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday virtually laid the foundation stone of a armed forces preparatory institute in Hoshiarpur district to facilitate more youth taking up a career in the defence services.
The Sardar Bahadur Amin Chand Soni Armed Forces Preparatory Institute project will be executed at a cost of Rs 27 crore over an area of 12.75 acres by the PWD (B&R) Department and would be completed by the end of 2021.
The upcoming institute would impart training to 270 candidates per year.
The Chief Minister said this new armed forces preparatory institute would be instrumental in realizing the dreams of Punjab's young sons and daughters to join the armed forces. At a time when women pilot officers are flying the Rafale and helicopters, and are actively involved in every field of the armed forces, the day will soon come when girls in India will be part of the fighting force like their counterparts in other countries, he added.
Amarinder Singh thanked MP Ambika Soni, the President of the Sardar Bahadur Amin Chand Soni Education Trust and Society, for providing land free of cost as a gift to the Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training Department to establish the institute.
Soni, on her part, thanked the Amarinder Singh government for its help setting up the institution that could become a modern training ground for youth from Punjab to join the armed forces.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister lauded the role played by Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI) in Mohali in providing defence training to youth, enabling them to secure permanent commission in the armed forces through the National Defence Academy (NDA) or equivalent service academy.
The Chief Minister mentioned that out of 144 cadets trained at the academy, 97 joined the NDA and 65 were commissioned as officers from April 1, 2017 to December 31, 2020.
Since its inception, 156 out of 384 cadets trained at the AFPI had joined the NDA and 69 were commissioned as officers, he said, adding that from two per cent initially, the number of trainees going into the armed forces from this institution had gone up to 45 per cent.