New Delhi: As part of exercise to streamline the National Cadet Corps (NCC), Ministry of Defence has set up  a  15-member High Level Expert Committee, under the chairmanship of former Member of Parliament Baijayant Panda, for a comprehensive review of National Cadet Corps (NCC) in order to make it more relevant in changed times.

The Terms of Reference of the Committee which also includes eminent persons like former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Olympic shooting silver medallist and former Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, the Chairman of the Mahindra Company, Anand Mahindra, would inter-alia, broadly provide for suggesting measures which can empower NCC cadets to contribute more effectively towards nation building and national developmental efforts in various sectors; propose measures for gainful engagement of its Alumni for betterment of the organisation as a whole and to study and recommend best practices of similar international youth organisations for inclusion in the NCC curriculum.

The other members of the Committee include Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, MP, Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Prof. Najma Akhtar, Vice Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia, Prof. Vasudha Kamat, Former VC, SNDT Women’s University, Mukul Kanitkar, National Organizing Secretary, Bhartiya Shikshan Mandal, Maj. Gen. Alok Raj (Retd), Milind Kamble, Chairman, DICCI, Rituraj Sinha, MD, SIS India Limited, Ms. Vedika Bhandarkar, Chief Operating Officer, Water.org, Anand Shah, CEO, Databook and Mayank Tewari, JS (Trg), Department of Defence (DoD).

The NCC is the largest uniformed organisation which aims at developing character, discipline, a secular outlook and ideals of selfless service amongst young citizens. It also aims to create a pool of organised, trained and motivated youth with leadership qualities in all walks of life.