Let women get permanent commission: NDA

Indian women like their male counterparts may also serve the country as being a permanent commissioned officer excluding combat duties for complete job term in all the three arms of defence service, if the chief of staff committee and government approve this proposal, as per defence sources.

So far, women were recruited for a maximum of 14-year term through short service commission or National Defence Academy (NDA) in the training, education and judiciary department except medical corps. But, now they would get all sorts of duties except combat- the infantry, armoured corps, flying a fighter aircraft or sailing on a warship – with their male colleagues.

The armed forces have accepted the ‘in-principle’ proposal and have sent it to staff committee for further approval whose top officers would convene a meeting in this regard in the next couple of months. The approved proposal would be forwarded to Defence Ministry for final seal, Air Marshal Sumit Mukerji, Air Officer-in-charge Personnel, said on Tuesday.

The recruitment would be held through ‘open’ competition in National Defence Academy (NDA), as per official said, which means, there would be no separate quota or the reservation for the women.

“An entire NDA batch could be of women”, if women out perform the men in written competition and interview, said Mukerji.

Indian armed forces can get their first women officers holding a permanent commission by 2013 after completing the 3 years of training at Khadakwasla near Pune.

Since now, they join military institutions like Officers' Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai for a 49-week course after college graduation and this step of armed force may prove a revolutionary one.

According to official stats, there are merely 2.5% to 7% women officers in all the three wings of defence who work as support arms like Corps of Signals, Army Ordnance Corps, the Corps of Electronic and Mechanical Engineers, and the Army Service Corps in Military, operates helicopter and transport aircraft in Indian Air force and educating, training and signalling in Navy.

There is still restriction on women in Navy for posting on abroad ships and submarines while they cannot fly fighter planes in Indian Air force. The women office may also not get posting in infantry near war regions in the Indian Army.

However, as Mukerji said, in future, they can also get the similar opportunity like their men counterparts.

In abroad, countries like Britain and Israel women are allowed to serve combat arms on volunteer basis except joining infantry while in US, they can fly the fighter planes too.