3 Services chiefs to visit NDA to review infra for women cadets
The three Services chiefs will visit the National Defence Academy (NDA) on Friday to review infrastructure for women cadets.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court order allowed women candidates to appear for the entrance examination for the NDA in September. It will be the first time that women will appear for the NDA examination. The SC also questioned the “mindset” of the Army and said “do not force” judicial intervention all the time.
Sources said the visit is pre-scheduled but it will take into account the new development regarding the entry of women into the NDA fold.
They said additional infrastructure for women cadets will come up in a time-bound manner and added that induction of women through the NDA has found support among the leadership of the Armed forces.
Sources said the visit has been planned for August 20 and it will also review the training and administrative arrangements for women.
Founded in 1954 in Khadakvasala near Pune, the NDA has so far trained only men for the three services. The institution is the cradle for grooming officers for the Army, the Navy and the IAF. It is the only tri-service training institution in the world.
The visit by the three services chiefs — Army chief General MM Naravane, Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh and IAF chief RKS Bhadauria — was scheduled even before the apex court’s landmark interim order came on Wednesday, sources said.
They also said plans were already in place to expand the NDA and its annual intake of military cadets will be progressively increased by around 400 to cater to the shortfall of officers in the armed forces.
The infrastructure project was already on since early this year to cater to women cadets in the prestigious institution, sources said.
About 300 cadets are inducted into the NDA every semester after clearing the entrance examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
The interim order of the apex court on Wednesday marked a significant step towards ensuring greater participation of women in the Armed forces.
So far, women candidates appear and qualify for courses in the Officers Training Academy (OTA) of the Army and similar institutions of the IAF and the Navy.
Moreover, they join these institutions after securing the basic graduation degree.
In the case of the NDA, candidates are eligible for the examination conducted by the UPSC after clearing the plus two-stage of the school. The selected candidates then undergo rigorous training for four years before branching out to the specialised institutions of the Army, IAF and the Navy.