CAG pushes for increasing intake of women in Army’s short service commission

As of January 2020, there were 1,648 women officers in the army — 4% of the total strength of commissioned officers in the force.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on Wednesday drew the government’s attention to an “urgent need” for increasing the intake of women short-service commission (SSC) officers in the army to offset officer shortage in the long term.

The army currently has a shortage of more than 7,700 officers, according to government data

As of January 2020, there were 1,648 women officers in the army — 4% of the total strength of commissioned officers in the force. The army currently has a shortage of more than 7,700 officers, according to government data.

“There was almost full subscription in all entry courses for women and the meritorious women candidates who were found medically fit were approximately twice the number of those finally selected based on vacancies,” the national auditor informed the Parliament in its report ‘Selection and Training of Officers in Indian Army.’

The report comes at a time when the armed forces have opened new doors for women — an experiment to allow women to fly fighter planes is now a permanent feature, the navy is planning to give them more opportunities to serve aboard warships alongside male counterparts and the army has allowed them to fly helicopters.

Women are now eligible for permanent commission too. Also, the first batch of female candidates is set to be trained from June 2022 at the premier National Defence Academy for the first time.

The CAG report said that while the ratio of release of vacancies in respect of women to men showed a steady increase from 29% in 2015 to 50% in 2019, the women’s entry for Judge Advocate General (JAG) posts fell from 16% to 8% in the technical entry scheme, during the same period.

The report said the figures pointed towards a need for increasing the vacancies for women SSC entries. The defence ministry should closely monitor efforts to increase the intake of women officers in the army, it added.

“CAG has made a valid point. Women have tremendous potential and should be given equal opportunities in the army. Increasing the vacancies for them will help make up for the shortage of officers,” said Captain Shalini Singh, a former woman SSC officer.

The report further said: “The number of prospective women candidates aspiring to join the services was far larger than the vacancies available to them.”

The CAG also highlighted the need for reviewing the institutional mechanism to tap the potential of personnel below officer rank (PBOR) and groom them for becoming officers in the army.

Soldiers are groomed to become officers at the Army Cadet College for three years before they are packed off for a one-year course at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, which churns out freshly-minted lieutenants.

A defence ministry spokesperson said the recommendations of the CAG report will be examined and suitable action will be taken.