For their training in the premier tri-service military training institution for the first time, the National Defence Academy (NDA) will admit about 20 women cadets from around the middle of next year.
Followed by the Indian Air Force and the Navy at about five each, the Army would have the largest intake of about 10 women officers.
Senior defence officials said that the requirement was put forth by the individual service headquarters.
“These women cadets would be admitted initially in the first go. Based on further assessments, the number is likely to go up in the future,” an official said.
After their class 12th board exams, the cadets join the NDA for their pre-commissioning training.
The sources said, this year, over two lakh women candidates had sent in their applications to appear for the NDA exam alone, even as the number of eligible candidates might have been reduced after the screening of their applications.
Former Assistant Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (ACIDS) at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ-IDS) Major General Arvind Bhatia had said that the idea being discussed was to progressively have around 120-150 women cadets in the NDA at a given time.
Major General Bhatia had said that initially a portion of an existing squadron-housing about no cadets-would be segregated and associated infrastructure would be created for the first batch of women cadets, adding that a separate panel is working out other modalities such as physical fitness and medical parameters of the women cadets, including height, weight and eyesight. The overall cadre management will also be eventually worked out, he had said.
