8 DECEMBER2023INFOCUSINFOCUSThe Indian Navy failed to find any woman officer fit for Permanent Commission promotion in 2020. The Supreme Court has demanded confidential papers detailing the denial of promotion of six female officers who approached the court, claiming "systematic discrimination," from the Union Defence Ministry."It is not possible that not a single woman has been named eligible for promotion following our ruling on March 17, 2020," a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud remarked. Six female naval officers submitted an application to the court asking to be promoted to the rank of captain.The bench, which also included justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, expressed surprise that not a single woman had been promoted after Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani confirmed that of those granted permanent commission, not a single woman had been promoted.The court has directed the Centre and Indian Navy to produce an approach paper about six officers being considered for promotion by the Selection Board, stating that the denial is purely merit-based and will be determined by the court.The AG differentiated this case from similar petitions by women officers in the Indian Army, stating that they were considered with their peers in 2018, not junior officers. Senior Advocate V Mohana representing the lady officers' argued that women were considered for promotion alongside junior officers and that no approach paper was prepared for subsequent years, resulting in "systematic discrimination" from the 2016 to 2020 "look year".The court stated limited relief to Advocate Mohana due to the application being heard in a March 2020 decision, not a writ petition. The bench suggested Mohana to file a petition before the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), citing previous considerations in 2018, 2019, and 2020. NO WOMAN NAVY OFFICER GRANTED PERMANENT COMMISSION; SC INTERVENESACCENTURE INNOVATION CHALLENGE 2023 SEES 37 PERCENT FEMALE PARTICIPATIONThe Accenture Innovation Challenge 2023 attracted 182,000 Indian students from 6,600 colleges, with 37 per cent being women. Grand prize winners received Rs 1 lakh, while first and second runner-ups received Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively.A fast-track recruitment process for Accenture's Advanced Technology Centres in India (ATCI) was also open to all qualified candidates.In the engineering category of the 2023 Accenture Innovation Challenge, a team consisting of three members from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, took first place. The competition's goal was to encourage students to create creative, technologically advanced solutions to problems. The group created an application for smartphones that uses AI and machine learning to automate and customize speech therapy for kids with speech impairments.The Accenture Innovation Challenge 2023, was open to undergraduate and postgraduate students in India. The competition was categorized into Innovate for Business, Innovate for Society, and Innovate to Build a Sustainable World, featuring three rounds, that are Idea Submission, Semi-Finals, and Grand Finale. Cash prizes and Accenture collaboration opportunities were provided to the winners of the respective competition.Accenture Innovation Challenge is an annual competition for college students in India to propose innovative solutions for nonprofit organizations, aiming to inspire them to develop technology-led solutions for real-world problems. This competition was started by the company in 2012.
< Page 7 | Page 9 >