The recent publication and controversy over STRATFOR founder George Friedman's The Next 100 Years, with its forecasts of war and new space technology reminds us all to consider the value of science fiction to strategic thinking.

Shortage of officers, especially in junior ranks of the Indian Army, has been engaging the attention of policy planners, the public and the media. Armed forces reflect the society from which they are recruited and enrolled. With economic liberalisation and globalization, job opportunities for the educated youth have increased manifold. Traditional professions such as the civil service and the military do not seem to be very popular among the youth. Corporate India has now provided an environment for entrepreneurship.