Wings of Shakti: Women Achievers of the IAF Group Capt Asha T Jyothirmai

Group Captain Asha T Jyothirmai was commissioned into the Indian Air Force on 20 Dec 1997as an Accounts Officer. Hailing from the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, the officer was an avid sportswoman since her schooling days, a nationalathlete who excelled in the event of Heptathlon (Athletics) at the National level for a period of more than 8 years before joining the Indian Air Force. A thorough professional in the finances of the Air Force, she chose to undertake additional duties and contributed immensely to promotion of sports and adventure.

In the year 1999, the officer, during her first posting to Agra, plummeted into the sport of skydiving. The very fluttering of the parachute entered into her mind and heartandat a very young age, she volunteered for the Para Jumping Course in the year 1999and since then, there was no stopping her. While performing static line jumps, she was selected to perform demonstration jumps which openedup the floodgates for her and the meter of skydiving jumps started ticking and within a short span of 2 years, she achieved the milestone of youngest woman in India to finish 100 jumps.

Over the 26 years spanning her Air Force career, she was at the forefront of shattering records and expectations, starting with the record of being the only women to jump out of a Microlight aircraft in the year 2001. She was also a member of the record-breaking 73& 75-member IAF skydiving team. She was the Technical Official for the 34th World Military Games conducted in the year 2006 and created history by leading the first Indian Woman Skydiving team which represented India at World Military Parachuting Championship at Bouch, Switzerland in 2010 and was also instrumental in forming and leadingthe Women Skydiving Team which specialised in formation flying at Arizona, USA and officially launched on 8 Oct 2011 during Air Force Day Celebrations.

She also led the Women Para jumping team, which performed for the first time at Aero India 2019 to symbolise Women in Aerospace. She was the only woman amongst the instructors which conducted the All-Woman Tri Services Para jumping course in April 2021, a feat never done before in the history of the Armed Forces.

She is the only woman who took part in the record-breaking 75-member Tri Services skydiving performance on the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav at Jaisalmer on 15 Aug 2021.

Kitted with pride and ever-ready to sign into new adventures, Group Captain Asha is the only officer who represented the Indian Armed Forces by carrying its flag on the occasion of Victory Day Parade at Dhaka, Bangladesh, presided by the presidents of India and Bangladesh and once again creating history by unfurling the Indian flag at a height of 10,000ft on foreign soil.

For her achievements in the field of adventure, Group Captain Asha was felicitated as a Women Achiever by Schools, Colleges, Air Force Units, Delhi Commission for Women, Madras Management Association (twice), Confederation of Indian Industry (Hyderabad Chapter), Federation of Indian Chambers for Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Delhi. She has also been felicitated by the Raksha Mantri in 2019 as Women in Aviation and the President of India, Droupadi Murmu in 2024.

Throughout her career, she was influential in motivating men, women especially youth by performing show jumps in all parts of India. During the Indian Air Force awareness campaign in the North East region, the officer performed motivational jumps at Guwahati, Jorhat, Mohanbari, Itanagar and Aizwal, which was appreciated by the then AOC-in-C EAC, Chief of the Air Staff and Governor of Assam and Meghalaya.

Gp Capt Asha has been the face of the IAF in promoting the spirit of adventure and encouraging men and women to don the Blue Uniform. Her positive attitude and mindset over the years has ensured that women take up sport and adventure and always work towards bringing a noticeable change in society. She initiated and successfully conducted a large number of Sports Melas, Adventure Camps, Long-distance cycling, Basic and Advanced Para jumping courses across the length and breadth of the country.

It is also notable to mention that Gp Capt Asha, is a wife of a serving officer, mother of two children and in spite of huge family commitments and performing efficiently as an Accounts Officer and in additional duties, she has been able to keep her passion alive. The officer showed her leadership and professional skills on a number of occasions while conducting courses over the years. It’s worth mentioning an incident during a Basic para course at Air Force Station Carnicobar, where she obviated major emergency and avoided injuries to the jumpers, leading them to a safe landing area.

Her devotion to skydiving is inexhaustible as she is the only woman in India to continue with the sport for such a long duration even after facing two major life-threatening accidents, and coming back to the skies with in a short span of 10 months after her delivery, content statement told by many “Only pregnancy and Covid could stop her from skydiving briefly” The woman officer is an epitome of woman empowerment and has travelled the path less travelled. As a torch bearer, she ignited the minds of young men and women across India, including the remotest parts of the country.

Sharing her stories of hard work, resilience, inspiration, courage, leadershipand displaying a high level of adventurism, many a youth have taken her example and made a positive impact on the society. Her most recent achievement includes crossing the 1000 jump mark and jumping with her son, Cdt E Renish (NCC), making them the only mother and son duo to do so.

With the maximum number of para jumps of 1016 (and still counting) by any woman in India, Gp Capt Asha stands as a paragon of adventure and motivation, emboldening the words falling from the sky and reaching new heights!!!.