Allowed to take the examination for admission to the National Defence Academy in November after the Supreme Court shattered the glass ceiling at the premier military school, 1,002 women have cleared it, striking a strong blow for equality in the armed forces.
“Of the 8,009 candidates who have cleared the exam, 7,007 are men and 1,002 are women,” an official said on the condition of anonymity. That means 12.51% of the people who cleared the test are women. They will now have to clear a personality and intelligence assessment and physical and medical tests before being admitted into the NDA.
Annually, less than 5% of the men who cleared the written examination made it through.
HT on October 30 reported that a third of the candidates appearing for the NDA examination on November 14 for entry into the premier joint services training institution were women.
This was their first attempt at the entrance exam being conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) at centres across India , after the Supreme Court, in a landmark order on August 18, opened the doors of the academy to women.
“Nearly 570,000 applications have been received and of these 178,000 are women,” a second official said, also on condition of anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}“Nearly 570,000 applications have been received and of these 178,000 are women,” a second official said, also on condition of anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}The apex court’s order making women eligible to join the NDA, which was formally inaugurated 66 years ago and was thus far a male preserve, came almost three decades after they were allowed to serve in select branches of the army, air force and navy as short-service commission (SSC) officers.
A fortnight ahead of the exam, army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane set the tone for welcoming female cadets into the Khadakwasla-based academy, which currently has a maximum training capacity of around 2,000 cadets every year.
“As we open the portals of NDA to women cadets, I expect you all to welcome them with the same sense of fair play and professionalism that the Indian armed forces are known for the world over,” Naravane said, while addressing cadets during a passing out parade at the academy. Naravane said the induction of women will be the “first step towards gender equality” in the armed forces, and added that women officers will be in the same position 40 years later that he is in now.
The top court in September told the Union government that women aspiring to join the armed forces should be allowed to take the NDA entrance examination in November, days after the government informed the court that the academy will be ready to welcome the first-ever batch of women cadets in January 2023, after they sit for the entrance exam in May 2022.
The court said it “cannot belie the aspirations of young girls” and rejected the Centre’s request to delay the examination for women on the ground that much groundwork was still to be done.
The aspects that the NDA will now have to quickly work on include medical standards for women, accommodation, training capacity, security and privacy arrangements, physical segregation of living quarters, associated physical and electronic surveillance measures, and additional gender-specific requirements. The physical and medical standards for men for entry to the NDA are extremely stringent. Equivalent standards for women in the NDA entry age group (16.5 to 19 years) are being formulated, said a third official, who asked not to be named.
Students become eligible to take the NDA and Naval Academy Examination, while they are in the 12th standard.
Those who clear the entrance exam have to face the Services Selection Board (a rigorous personality and intelligence test spread over five days); candidates accepted by the SSB will undergo a medical examination before UPSC releases the final merit list. After training at the NDA for three years, split into six terms, cadets head for further training at different academies depending on their choice of service before being commissioned as officers.
The headcount of women in the military has increased almost three-fold over the last six years, with more avenues being opened to them at a steady pace. As of February 9,118 women were serving in the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The SC on February 17, 2020, ruled that SSC women officers in the army are entitled to permanent commission (PC) and they have to be considered irrespective of their service length. Five months later, the defence ministry issued a formal sanction letter for granting PC to them. The order specified grant of PC to SSC women officers in 10 streams.
One of the turning points for women in the military came in 2015 when the Indian Air Force decided to induct them into the fighter stream. Earlier this year, the Indian Navy deployed four women officers on warships after a hiatus of almost 25 years.
But tanks and combat positions in infantry are still no-go zones for women.