Against the backdrop of the row set off by Army Vice-Chief Lt Gen S Pattabhiraman's reported remark that the force can do without women, the Army on Sunday mounted a damage-control exercise terming as "outstanding" the contribution of women officers and other personnel.
"We are proud of our women personnel and it is the government's policy to encourage them," an Army spokesman said.
"The contribution of women officers and personnel have been outstanding. It is in recognition of this that the government has extended the tenure of the service of women in the army from 10 to 14 years," he said.
He said that according to official statistics it is only one per cent of women who are leaving the army for personal reasons like marriage.
There are at present 918 women officers in the Army, excluding the Army Medical Corpse, and only six to eight women have left in the last three years, said the spokesman.