Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

The army plans to induct 800 women into the military police with a yearly intake of 52 women who will serve as personnel below officer rank. The Indian Army on Saturday inducted the first batch of women into the Corps of Military Police , the first time women have joined the military in the non-officer cadre, officials said. Women have been serving as officers in select branches of the three services since the early 1990s. “The Corps of Military Police Centre & School (CMP C &S) at Bengaluru held the attestation parade of the first batch of 83 women soldiers at the Dronacharya Parade Ground on May 8. The parade was conducted as a low-key event while observing all Covid-19 protocols,” the army said in a statement. Among the three services, the army is the only one to induct women as non-commissioned officers. These women have joined the army after a 61-week training period. The training covered aspects related to basic military training, all forms of policing duties and managem...

In a major step, the Indian Navy has recently deployed four women officers onboard its warships after a gap of around 23 years when lady officers were posted for the first time on the maritime force's vessels. "Four Indian navy women officers have been deployed recently on warships in recent times. Two of them are posted on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya while two other are deployed on the tanker ship INS Shakti," an Indian Navy spokesperson told ANI on International Women's Day.  For the first time in 1998, women officers started getting deployed onboard warships but the decision was changed soon after due to certain logistical and other issues. The lady officers were posted on two different warships recently. Women officers deployed onboard the tanker vessel INS Shakti include a doctor who said the Indian Navy has given her an opportunity to serve both as a doctor and onboard warship. "We work shoulder to shoulder with our male counterparts," the la...

  He has so far trained over 61 naval officers, including 17 women officers. Capt Atool Sinha with Lt Commander Tulika Kotnala and Lt Surabhi Bhawsar pose on board sailing boat Bulbul at the Southern Naval Command As India marks the 50th anniversary of the victory in the 1971 war with a year-long celebration from this month, what stands out is the phenomenal rise of Indian navy from a brown-water troop to a formidable blue-water force with an ability to send ships and smaller vessels into the deep oceans.From a small fleet of 15-20 ships, the Indian navy, which was instrumental in the victory over Pakistan, now commands a 100-plus armada. The growing respect the Indian navy commands in the oceans was reflected when the Australian navy joined forces with the Indian navy in an international mission to rescue Commander Abhilash Tomy of the Indian navy in September 2018 when the solo skipper was injured seriously after his yacht was damaged in a storm off Western Australia during the r...

Almost half of the women officers considered for permanent commission (PC) in the Army have made the grade in the first-ever special selection board held for them in the 13-lakh strong force. The Army on Thursday “declassified” the results of the 'Special No 5 Selection Board' constituted to screen short-service commission (SSC) women officers, with almost 300 of the total 615 candidates being selected for PC, said a senior officer. The women not selected included those who did not opt for PC as well as the ones who did not meet the selection criteria or pass the medical test. They will retire after completing 20 years of service, which will make them eligible for pension. Read More: Role of women officers in Indian armed forces The Army in September has finally begun the screening of women officers who could be granted PC in 10 of its branches, in accordance with the Supreme Court directive in February to end gender bias in the force, as was earlier reported by TOI. The speci...

There are more than 3,500 women in the military, but front-line combat roles were off limits to them until the Modi government approved an Indian Air Force (IAF) plan in 2015 to induct them into the fighter stream. Representative Image In light of the recent Supreme Court verdict, some important questions (and answers) about the role of women officers in the Indian armed forces. When did the armed forces begin inducting women? The army, air force and navy began inducting women as short-service commission (SSC) officers in 1992. This was the first time women were allowed to join the military outside the medical stream. Initially, they could serve for five years, and their service could be extended by another five years. In 2006, a policy revision allowed them to serve for a maximum of 14 years as SSC officers. Unlike male officers, women can join only through SSC; they are not given ab initio permanent commission in any of the armed forces Are women allowed to serve in combat positions?...

 According to an official release by the Ministry of Defence on Saturday “in order to make the proceedings transparent, women officers have been permitted to witness the proceedings as observers.” The women officers cannot be totally ruled out from the command assignments, a bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud, had observed. (File photo: IE) The proceedings to screen women officers to grant them Permanent Commission (PC) has commenced at the Special No 5 Selection Board. The specially-constituted board that is headed by a Senior General Officer, and which includes a woman officer of the rank of Brigadier, started its screening process at the Army Headquarters on Sept 14. According to an official release by the Ministry of Defence on Saturday “in order to make the proceedings transparent, women officers have been permitted to witness the proceedings as observers.” And, those women officers who qualify in the screening process will be granted Permanent Commission. This, however, w...

Centre gets one more month to give permanent commission to women officers in Army. Defence Ministry sought six months time in view of pandemic, said decision making at final stage.   Supreme Court The Supreme Court has granted one more month to the Union Defence Ministry to comply with its February order and grant permanent commission to women officers in the Indian Army. Ministry of Defence had moved the top court seeking six more months to implement court's February verdict in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Centre said that decision making was at a final stage and only formal orders were awaited. On February 17 this year, the apex court had upheld Delhi High Court's 2010 order which allowed permanent commission for women officers in Indian Army, and had asked Centre to comply with the order by May 2020. Centre has agreed to implement court's verdict in letter and spirit. While delivering its verdict in February, the top court had questioned non-implementation of the high ...

A women naval SSC officer retires in 10 years, whereas one with a permanent commission is entitled to serve for four more years, making it a total of 14 years. (Photo | HT) The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday ruled in favour of permanent commission to female officers in the Indian Navy and asked the government to treat men and women equally in the armed forces. The apex court bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud scrapped the statutory bar on giving permanent commission to women and said that the government cannot discriminate against women. “They (women) can sail with same efficiency as male officers," said the bench also comprising Justice Ajay Rastogi. The division bench also rejected the Centre’s stand that sea sailing duties cannot be granted to Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers in the Navy because its Russian vessels do not have washrooms for them. “A hundred and one excuses are no answer to the constitutional entitlement to dignity, which attaches to every indi...

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that all branches of the armed forces would soon be opened for women officers as resistance to the idea was on the wane. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh (PTI photo) Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that all branches of the armed forces would soon be opened for women officers as resistance to the idea was on the wane. “We believe that no branch of the armed forces should remain closed for women officers. I know that there is some degree of resistance against the commission of women in all branches of the services but this resistance is lessening,” the minister said. Singh was addressing the ‘Women Transforming India Awards’ organised by the Niti Aayog here. “Women today are working in all branches of the Indian Air Force (IAF), eight branches of the Army and all non-seagoing branches of the Indian Navy. I want to assure you that rest of the branches would be opened soon,” the minister said. Singh said enhancing women’s part...