Lieutenant-General K Surendra Nath, the general officer commanding-in-chief of Army Training Command, hoisted the National Flag to inaugurate the academy. Before this, religious texts of Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity, were recited.

With this inauguration started the training for the first batch of 130 cadets. The OTA has come up at the same place where earlier Army Service Corps used to exist. Now it has been shifted to Bangalore.
Speaking on the occasion Surendra Nath said OTA Gaya would mould young dynamic minds into capable future military leaders and fulfil a long-felt need of the Indian Army to train and induct more officers into its ranks.

Talking to reporters he said there are around 14,000 vacancies in the Indian Army, which would be filled up in different phases. The strength of the cadets at the Gaya OTA would be increased from the present 130 to 750 in the next couple of years.

He said the OTA is very close to Bodh Gaya, a place of international importance. In the years to come it will be a premier training institution with world-class facilities where not only the cadets selected for the Indian military but also the cadets from foreign countries will also be imparted training.

Earlier, addressing the ceremony, which was attended by senior military officers and civil dignitaries, Lieutenant General Nath said OTA Gaya has been raised to train and mould selected youths into future military leaders and flag-bearers with special emphasis on imbibing the core values of the Indian Army, which are bravery, courage, integrity and selflessness.

The OTA, Gaya has been raised under Lieutenant-General Vijai Sharma, an officer of the Corps of Engineers having an experience of 36 years in military service. Prior to taking over as the first Commandant of OTA, Gaya, the General Officer was serving at Army headquarters, Delhi.

A team of well-qualified instructors specially chosen from the Indian Army would impart training to the first batch of cadets. The trainees will be provided basic military training attuned with the advancements in the latest technology to enable them to serve as professionally skilled leaders of a modern army.
According to Amit Mahajan, the Public Relations Officer, Defence, the selection of a cadet for training at OTA, Gaya will be made in two different ways. Individuals serving in Indian military who want to upgrade their ranks will have to clear Special Commissioned Officer (SCO) course number 28. The age limit for SCO course is between 28 and 35 years.

For freshers, there is a Technical Entry Scheme (TES) course number 25. Its examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for which an individual will have to clear the 10+ examination. Here, the cadets will undergo a year’s training. They will have to undertake three years of technical training at other centres in the country. On completion of the four-year training, the cadet will become a Lieutenant rank officer in the Indian Army.

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