As the son of a general in the Indian Army, Aditya Bakshi grew up on a steady diet of second-hand Commando war comics that lionised the plucky British Tommy's heroic feats against Johnny Foreigner.

Now, aged 28, he is publishing the first Indian version of the black-and-white cartoons in an attempt to celebrate India's own war heroes and to update the image of the world's second-largest standing army.

Mr Bakshi and the military top brass also hope that the bi-monthly Indian War Comics will help to stem a brain drain to the private sector that has left the Army short of 11,200 officers. The first issue, which will go on sale in two weeks, is called My Heart Wants More! and tells the tale of Vikram Batra, a real-life army captain who died in the country's conflict with Pakistan in 1999 over the Kargil Heights in Kashmir.

“The point is to increase the visibility of the Army and promote the ethics of patriotism, self-sacrifice, honour and bravado,” Mr Bakshi, a navigation officer in the Merchant Navy, told The Times.

India's Army is second only to China's in size, with 1.1 million active troops and 1.2 million in reserve, and a military career was once considered to be one of the most respectable and lucrative on offer. It faces a shortfall of officers because middle-class young men are being drawn towards the burgeoning information technology, banking, retail and media sectors.

They are also put off by the bloody insurgencies in Kashmir and the restive northeast, and by a recent spate of suicides and corruption scandals within the Army. Last month the National Defence Academy revealed that it had filled only 190 of the 300 places on its three-year training course. The Indian Military Academy — another top officer training college — had filled just 86 of its 250 places. Worse still, of the Army's depleted officer corps of 32,000, almost 3,000 officers had resigned or sought premature retirement since 2004 - including 1,095 in the past year.

Last month General Deepak Kapoor, the army chief, asked the Government to double army pay and suggested that it may have to consider introducing conscription for the first time. “The Government and the services cannot compete in matters of salary and perks with the corporate world,” he said. Starting salaries in leading Indian corporations are more than double the wage of 9,000 rupees (£115) a month for a junior officer.

Colonel Sakhuja, an army spokesman, said that the military was not involved officially in the comics — although it was providing information about war heroes. “Everything which helps to recruit more officers is always welcome,” he said. He added that the Army had taken several steps to improve recruitment - including a glitzy new advertising campaign.

Mr Bakshi's comic is based closely on Commando, which was first published in 1961 and is still printed today. The Indian version will be sold online as well as in shops for 50 rupees per issue. The text is written by Mr Bakshi, while the illustrations are by Pradeep Yadav, a 19-year-old student at the Delhi College of Art.

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