Ensuring gender parity in the armed forces, a selection board of the Indian Army on Monday cleared the way for the promotion of five women officers to colonel (Time Scale) rank.
This is the first time that women officers serving with the Corps of Signals, Corps of Electronic and Mechanical Engineers (EME) and the Corps of Engineers have been approved to the rank of colonel, officials said here on Monday.
Previously, promotion to the rank of colonel was only applicable for women officers in the Army Medical Corps (AMC), Judge Advocate General (JAG) and the Army Education Corps (AEC).
The widening of promotion avenues to more branches of the Indian Army is a sign of increasing career opportunities for women officers, officials said here while announcing the latest decision.
Combined with the decision to grant permanent commission to women officers from a majority of branches of the Indian Army, this step defines the Indian Army’s approach towards a gender-neutral Army.
The five women officers selected for Colonel Time Scale rank are Lt Col Sangeeta Sardana from the Corps of Signals, Lt Col Sonia Anand and Lt Col Navneet Duggal from the Corps of EME and Lt Col Reenu Khanna and Lt Col Ritcha Sagar from the Corps of Engineers. These officers have completed 26 years of “reckonable service.”
This comes days five after the Supreme Court allowed eligible women to take the examination for admission to National Defence Academy (NDA). The top court, however, said that the result of the examination would be subject to final adjudication of the petition. It is the first time ever that women candidates will appear for the NDA entrance examination since it was founded in 1954.
The three Services chiefs last week visited the NDA to take stock of the creation of infrastructure catering to the possible entry of women cadets.
Incidentally, the three chiefs including Army chief M M Naravane, Admiral Karambir Singh and IAF chief R K S Bhadauria are from the same batch of the NDA. Plans are already afoot since last few months to create infrastructure for women cadets, sources said.