New Delhi, Sep 4 - The Indian Army and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Friday inked a pact to grant degrees to soldiers during their service -- a step aimed at providing the jawans with a second career option.

The programme, called Gyan Deep, aims to equip the soldiers who join the force just after school with a graduation degree. Based on the US system of community colleges in defence cantonments, it will benefit a majority of the 1.2 million soldiers in the army.

Army chief General Deepak Kapoor and IGNOU Vice Chancellor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai were present at the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) here.

Every year nearly 50,000 trained soldiers retire from the army after an average of 15 years in service. The programme will impart market-driven courses and soft skills to them.

Soldiers looking for a second career after retirement often find it difficult to meet the academic qualification required for jobs in the public and private sectors, where a formal degree from a recognised university or institute is mandatory.

'The army jawans retire generally after 15 years of service and form a part of highly trained, dedicated, disciplined and loyal work force. Giving their best years of their youth to the service of the nation, they are left to fend for themselves in a highly competitive job market with no formal degree to take up a respectable job,' an army official associated with the project said.

'The jawans will be given BA, BBA, BSc and BCom degrees depending on their area of work,' the official added.