Officers Training Academy

History

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 had begun in September 1962. The Chennai school was inaugurated on 15 January 1963, for nation by and 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. OTA Chennai is spread over 750 acre.

The Short Service Regular Commission has evolved into the Short Service Commission, and the OTA 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), on a pair with the NDA and IMA.

The Presidential Colours were presented to the Academy on 18th August 1990 by R. Venkataraman, the then President of India.

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.

Cadets go through holistic training activities in their curriculum at OTA Chennai , including auxiliary programs such as Emergency Medical Response, Search and Rescue and Hand to Hand combat from organizations such as Red Cross and Survival Instincts.

Cadets are organised in 2 Battalions namely Ranjith Singh Battalion and Shivaji Battalion. RS Bn consists of three companies, namely, Kohima, Jessami, and Phillora; Shivaji Bn consists of three companies, namely, Meiktila, Naushera and Zojila.

OTA Gaya

OTA Gaya, set up in 2011, is located amid an estate of approximately 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 academy provides basic military training to officer cadets of the Short Service Commission (Technical) course for a period of 11 months. Post the completion of basic military training, the officer cadets of SSC Tech are commissioned as officers in the Indian Army after the passing out parade.

The academy has two battalions: Khetarpal battalion and Batra battalion, named after two of India's PVC awardees. Each battalion has four companies. Khetarpal battalion has Gurez, Kalidhar, Basantar and Dograi companies, whereas Batra battalion has Tithwal, Rezangla, Hajipir and Longewala companies. They are named after famous battles of the Indian Army.

The first batch of 149 trainee-officers underwent training in the academy during the period July 2011 to Jun 2012 and the first passing out parade was conducted on 8 June 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 has capacity to train 350 cadets.

A gap of one and a half years due to covid pandemic saw minimal activities during the passing out parade. TES-38 was the first course to pass out from the portals of this academy after the hiatus.

Lt Gen Vivek Kashyap, PVSM, AVSM, VSM is the current commandant of the academy, having taken charge in September 2025.

Notable alumni

The academy has produced many war heroes and distinguished officers. Many have gone on to work for corporations after leaving the Indian Army. The OTA Alumni Association was registered under the Societies Act 1860 at Chandigarh with all India jurisdiction.

Param Vir Chakra

• Maj Ramaswamy Parameshwaran PVC

Ashoka Chakra

• Lt Col Jas Ram Singh
• Maj Gen Cyrus Addie Pithawalla AC, VSM
• Col Jasbir Singh Raina
• Lt Col Harsh Uday Singh Gaur
• Col Jojan Thomas
• Col D. Sreeram Kumar
• Lt Navdeep Singh
• Maj Mukund Varadarajan

Mahavir Chakra

• Brig Kuldip Singh Chandpuri MVC, VSM
• 2/Lt S. S. Samra
• Lt Col P.S. Ganapathi
• Col Krishna Gopal Chatterjee
• 2/Lt Rajeev Sandhu
• Maj Padmapani Acharya
• Col Sonam Wangchuk
• Col Balwan Singh
• Lt Keishing Clifford Nongrum
• Capt Pratap Singh

Vir Chakra

• Capt Jintu Gogoi

• Capt Jerry Prem Raj

• Lt Col Vikram Deuskar

• Col RS Chopra

Politics

• Maj Sunil Dutt Dwivedi - Member, 17th Legislative Assembly, Bhartiya Janata Party, Farrukhabad constituency, SS 50, Regiment of Artillery
• Capt Brijesh Chowta - Member of Parliament, 18th Lok Sabha, Bhartiya Janata Party, SS 65, Gorkha Rifles

Media Personalities

• Maj Ramon Chibb - Filmmaker, SS 50, Kumaon Regiment
• Maj Gaurav Arya - Public Speaker, SS 57, Kumaon Regiment
• Maj Mohommed Ali Shah - Actor, International TedX speaker, Motivational Speaker, Actor, TV panelists, SS 76, Regiment of Artillery

Others

• Col Sophia Qureshi first Indian woman officer to lead an Indian Army contingent in a multinational military exercise (Exercise Force 18, 2016)
• Capt Tania Shergill became the first Indian woman Parade Adjutant to lead an all-men contingent at an Army Day function in Indian Army.

President's Colours

Colour Presentation

SS 50 Course got the honours of receiving the coveted Presidential Colours awarded to the Academy. The Colours were presented on 18 August 1990 by R. Venkataraman, the 8th President of India.

List of Commandants

The Commandant of the Officers Training Academy is the overall in-charge of all the functioning of the Officers Training Academy, Chennai. The Commandant of the College is a three-star rank officer (Lieutenant General) from the Indian Army. He is supported by the Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor (DCCI), held by a Major General.

OTA Chennai

OTA Gaya

In popular culture

• OTA : Saga of excellence, Patriot by Major Gaurav Arya

• : Women of Honour: Destination Army, by Nat Geo. The special feature follows two lady cadets through their journey at the Officer's Training Academy where they undergo rigorous training to join the Indian Army.

• Documentary of OTA Gaya

References

() - coordinates of OTA, Bihar

References

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29. (2014-06-15). "Lt Gen Phillip talks duty, valour at parade".
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32. (2017-07-01). "Training of Gentleman cadets culminates with scintillating Parade".
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34. (2019-12-09). "91 cadets commissioned as Army officers from Gaya academy". The Economic Times.
35. (2021-01-10). "Lt Gen GAV Reddy takes over as Commandant of OTA Gaya".
36. (2022-04-06). "Lt Gen PS Minhas took over as the Commandant of OTA Gaya on 6 Apr.".
37. (1 October 2024). "Lt Gen Devendra Sharma, GOCinC & All Ranks of Army Training Command, congratulate Lt Gen S S Dahiya, SM, VSM on taking over as the Commandant of Officers Training Academy, Gaya.".