New Delhi: The armed forces are reeling under a shortage of 9,712 officers and around 1.09 lakh soldiers, airmen and sailors, according to details provided by the government on Monday.

In response to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said that the Army has a shortage of 7,912 officers and 90,640 soldiers.

In the Indian Navy, the number of posts of officers lying vacant is 1,190, while it is 11,927 for sailors.

The Indian Air Force has a shortage of 610 officers and 7,104 airmen, according to details provided by Bhatt.

"The government has taken a number of measures to reduce the shortages. These include sustained image projection, participation in career fairs and exhibitions and publicity campaign to create awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging and satisfying career (in the armed forces)," he said.

To encourage the youth to join the armed forces, motivational lectures are regularly organised in schools, colleges, other educational institutes and at the camps of the National Cadet Corps, he said.

"Further, the government has taken various steps to make the job in the armed forces attractive including improvement in promotion prospects in the armed forces and to fill up vacancies," he added.