The Indian Navy is moving forward with a plan to give women officers more opportunities to serve aboard warships alongside their male counterparts, with several women already assigned to front-line ships operating in the vast Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
As a result of the navy's increased focus on the strategy, the number of women serving aboard warships has increased from four earlier this year to 28 as of December, according to one of the sources.
After an almost 25-year absence, the navy deployed four female officers on warships in early 2021, allowing them to take on greater duties and breaking down gender barriers that hindered their opportunities.
The navy had nearly 700 female officers, accounting for 6.5 percent of its whole officer cadre (excluding the medical wing, where women have served for decades). Submarines, on the other hand, are still off-limits to females.
After the Supreme Court opened the academy's doors to women in a momentous judgement in October, it was their first chance at cracking the entrance exam given by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on November 14.
Women were first allowed to serve in select branches of the army, air force, and navy as short-service commission (SSC) officers almost three decades ago, when the apex court issued an order allowing them to join the NDA, which was formally established 66 years ago and had previously been a male preserve. Permanent commissions are now available to women in the military.
Over the last six years, the number of women in the military has nearly tripled, with more opportunities opening up all the time. In February 2021, there were 9,118 women serving in the three branches of the military.
The navy's first vessels to be allocated women crewmembers (two each) since the late 1990s were India's only aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and fleet tanker INS Shakti in early 2021. In 1997, women from the navy's logistics and medical sections were deployed on the fleet tanker INS Jyoti in a short-lived experiment.
Admiral R Hari Kumar, the navy's chief, said that the military was taking steps to give women more opportunities, in line with the government's goal of empowering women.
He stated that the modalities for women cadets' downstream training at the National Defence Academy (NDA) were being worked out, and that the navy was ready to induct women into a variety of jobs and responsibilities.
Women made almost a third of the over 500,000 people who passed the NDA exam last month to get admission to the premier combined services training centre near Pune.
In 2015, the Indian Air Force chose to induct women into the fighter stream, which marked a watershed moment for women. Tanks and infantry combat positions, however, are still off-limits to women.
