Officers Training Academy

The Officers Training Academy, Chennai (OTA) is a training establishment of the Indian Army that trains officers for the Short Service Commission. The 49 weeks course at the OTA prepares graduates for all branches of the Army, except for the Army Medical Corps. Established on 15 January 1963, the academy is spread over 750 acre about 15 km south of Chennai, India. A new academy has been set up at Gaya.

OTA Chennai
Seven Officers Training Schools were established in India between 1942-45 to meet the huge demand for officers to serve in the Indian and Commonwealth Armies during World War II. However, these schools were closed down at the end of the war.

In 1962, following the Sino-Indian War, India identified the need to expand the number of officers for effective operations. Two Officers Training Schools (OTS) were established in Pune and Madras (now known as Chennai) to train officers for Emergency Commission into the Army. The process of establishing the schools was begun in September 1962. The Chennai school was inaugurated on 15 January 1963, with Brigadier Ram Singh as its first Commandant. The Pune school had a short run and was closed in 1964. However, the school in Chennai continued to operate and on 2 February 1965, it obtained the sanction to shift focus to train officers for the Short Service Regular Commission.

The Short Service Regular Commission has evolved into the Short Service Commission, and the OTS has continued to train officers for these commissions. The school was granted permanent status in 1985. On 1 January 1988, the school was renamed as the Officers Training Academy (OTA), at par with the NDA and IMA.

The first batch of 25 women to be commissioned as officers into the Army, were trained at the OTA with training commencing on 21 September 1992.

OTA Gaya
OTA Gaya, raised in July 2011, is the third pre-commission training (PCT) academy of the Indian Army with a planned training capacity of 750 cadets. The aim of the academy is to train Gentlemen Cadets to become part of a professionally competent commissioned officer corps of the Indian Army. The academy is located amid an estate of approx 870 acres in a hilly terrain of Paharpur at Gaya. The Academy is located en route from Gaya to Bodhgaya, approx 7 km from Gaya railway station. The international airport of Gaya is adjacent to the Academy. In its vicinity is Bodhgaya, an international tourism destination. Gaya Cantonment dates back to World War II, as one of the headquarters of the British Army.

To mark the commencement of the academy, a flag hoisting ceremony was solemnised and the consecration of the raising of the academy was carried out in true secular tradition of the Indian Army, with recital of scriptures from holy books of different religions. The academy has been equipped with state of the art training facilities, at par with other pre-commissioning training institutions. The insignia of Officers Training Academy, Gaya has a two-colour background, with upper half as grey and the lower half blood-red, having two cross swords superimposed with the Dharmchakra. A scroll below bears the motto of the academy - 'Shaurya, Gyan, Sankalp' in devnagri.

The first batch of 149 trainee-officers underwent training in the academy during the period July 2011 to Jun 2012 and first passing out parade was conducted on 8 Jun 2012. The second batch after successful completion of their training (January 2012 - December 2012) passed out on 8 December 2012. A total of 176 cadets from TES 26 And SCO 29 courses passed out on 8 December 2012. The academy currently has the capacity to train 350 cadets and Lt Gen G S Bisht is the current (and third) commandant of the academy, taking charge in Oct 2012.

Notable alumni
The Academy has produced many war heroes as well as distinguished Officers. Many after their engagement with Indian Army have donned corporate role. OTA Alumi Association was registered under societies Act 1860 at Chandigarh with all India Jurisdiction.

Param Vir Chakra

 * Major Ramaswamy Parameshwaran 8 Mahar Regiment   "Operation Pawan"

Ashok Chakra

 * Major D. Sreeram Kumar, On deputation to 39 Assam Rifles
 * Lt. Navdeep Singh(Posthumous), 15 Maratha Light Infantry
 * Capt (Now Lt Col) Jas Ram Singh, Ashok Chakra Of the 6th Battalion of The RAJPUT Regiment
 * Capt Jasbir Singh Raina, Ashok Chakra Of the 10th Battalion of the Brigade of The GUARDS
 * 2 Lt (now Col) CA Pithawalla, Ashok Chakra Of the 17th Battalion of The JAMMU AND KASHMIR Rifles
 * Lt Col Harsh Uday Singh Gaur, Ashok Chakra Of the 10th Battalion of The BIHAR Regiment

Mahavir Chakra

 * Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, 23 Punjab, Indo-Pak War 1971
 * 2 Lt SS Samra, Maha Vir Chakra (Posthumous) Of the Brigade of The GUARDS, Indo-Pak War 1971
 * Major PS Ganapathi, Maha Vir Chakra Of the 8th battalion of The MAHAR Regiment, OP PAWAN
 * Major Krishna Gopal Chatterjee, Maha Vir Chakra Of the 3rd Battalion of 4th GORKHA Rifles, Siachen Conflict 1987
 * 2 Lt Rajeev Sandhu, Maha Vir Chakra Of the 7th Battalion of The ASSAM Regiment, Indian peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka 1987
 * Major Padmapani Acharya(Posthumous), 2 Rajput, Op Vijay
 * Major Sonam Wangchuk, LADAKH Scouts, Op Vijay
 * Lt Balwan Singh, Maha Vir Chakra Of the 18th Battalion of GRENADIERS Regiment, Op Vijay
 * Lt Keishing Clifford Nangrum, Maha Vir Chakra (Posthumous) Of the 12th Battalion of JAMMU AND KASHMIR Light Infantry, Op Vijay