National Service Scheme (NSS)

Introduction

The National Cadet Corps is the Indian military cadet corps with its head Quarters at New Delhi. It is open to school and college students on voluntary basis.The National Cadet Corps in India is a voluntary organization which recruits cadets from high schools, colleges and Universities all over India. The Cadets are given basic military training in small arms and parades. The officers and cadets have no liability for active military service once they complete their course but are given preference over normal candidates during selections based on the achievements in the corps.

The NCC in India was formed with the National Cadet Corps Act of 1948. It was raised on 15 July 1948 The National Cadet Corps can be considered as a successor of the University Officers Training Corps (UOTC) which was established by the British in 1942. During World War II, the UOTC never came up to the expectations set by the British. This led to the idea that some better schemes should be formed, which could train more young men in a better way, even during peace times. A committee headed by Pandit H.N. Kunzru recommended a cadet organization to be established in schools and colleges at a national level. The National Cadet Corps Act was accepted by the Governor General and on 15 July 1948 the National Cadet Corps came into existence.

During the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, NCC cadets were the second line of defence. They organised camps to assist the ordinance factories, supplying arms and ammunition to the front, and also were used as patrol parties to capture the enemy paratroopers. The NCC cadets also worked hand in hand with the Civil Defence authorities and actively took part in rescue work and traffic control. After the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars the NCC syllabus was revised. Rather than just being the second line of defence, NCC syllabus laid a greater stress on developing qualities of leadership and Officer-like qualities. The military training which the NCC cadets received was reduced and greater importance was given to other areas like social service and youth-management.

NCC Flag Contains NCC Crest in gold in the middle, with the letters "NCC" encircled by a wreath of seventeen lotus with a background in Red, Blue and Light blue.Red depicts the Army, Deep Blue depicts the Navy and Light Blue depicts the Air Force. The seventeen lotuses represent the 17 State Directorates. "Unity of Discipline" (Ekta aur Anushasan) is written at the bottom of the NCC Flag.

Motto of NCC

The need for having motto for the Corps was discussed in the 11th Central Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting held on 11 Aug 1978. The mottos suggested were “Duty and Discipline”; “Duty, Unity and Discipline”; “Duty and Unity”; “Unity and Discipline”. The final decision for selection of “Unity and Discipline” as motto for the NCC was taken in the 12th CAC meeting held on 12 Oct 1980.