New Delhi, Days after NDA applications were opened for women, Army Chief General MM Naravane said on Thursday that it would take at least another 40 years before the Indian Army got its first woman chief.
General Narvane said this at the Annual Session Meeting of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here, when he was asked when would the Indian Army get its first woman chief.
“How many years did I take for this?” he asked in response to the question.
“40 years,” came the reply.
“From the time you are join it will be four years for commissioning, and another 35 years if you get to this rank, so maybe 40 years is what we are looking at,” the General said.
In an interim order on August 18, the Supreme Court allowed female candidates to appear for the entrance exam of National Defence Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy, for gaining commission as officers in defence services.
Going by the order of the Supreme Court, the Union Public Service Commission, which conducts the exams, opened applications for ‘unmarried women candidates’ on September 24. The exams will be held on November 14.
At present, women are recruited in the services as short service commission officers.
In another landmark ruling in February 2020, the Supreme Court had ordered that women officers in the Army be granted the option of taking a permanent commission at par with their male counterparts.
(EW Correspondent)
