Threefold Increase In Women Personnel In Indian Military Over The Past Six Years: Govt Tells Parliament 

In a positive towards empowerment of women, the number of women personnel in the military has increased almost three-fold over the last six years, reports Hindustan Times.

The latest government data has showed that more avenues are now being opened up for women in the armed forces. The government stated in the Parliament on Monday (8 February) that there are 9,118 women presently serving the army, navy and air force, with the services giving them more opportunities to boost career progression.

Notably, in 2014-15 the number of women personnel in the military was around 3,000 and since then the government has taken multitude of measures, including, but not limited to, allowing them to fly fighter planes, naval aircraft etc.

At present, the army employs 6,807 women officers, the air force 1,607 and the navy 704 women officers. This figures excludes the medical wing in which women have been serving for decades.

However, if percentage terms the women still forms a minority in the services, constituting 0.56 per cent of the army, 1.08 per cent of the air force and 6.5 per cent of the navy.

One of the major milestone for women in the armed forces came in 2015 when the IAF decided to induct them into the fighter stream. A year later in 2016, the first naval women were inducted as pilots of maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

Earlier on Saturday, for the first time 34 women personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were inducted into CRPF’s elite anti-Maoist Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit.