- India
- Mar 09
Expanding roles of women in Indian Armed Forces
• From operational duties to leadership positions, women are increasingly shaping the country’s defence landscape.
• Over the past decades, their integration has emerged as one of the most significant institutional transformations in India’s defence sector.
• From a historically limited presence largely confined to medical and nursing roles, women’s participation has steadily expanded through policy reforms, judicial support, and sustained institutional efforts aligned with national goals of gender equity and operational inclusivity.
• In 2014, the combined strength of women officers in the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force was approximately 3,000. This number has since risen to over 11,000.
• Today, women officers are increasingly undertaking commanding, strategic, and decision-making responsibilities across the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
Historical trajectory of women in India’s defence services
• Post-Independence, women’s roles in the Indian Armed Forces evolved from medical support to broader officer-level inductions and operational contributions, aligning with India's commitment to gender equality and national security.
• In 1958, for the first time, women doctors were granted Regular Commissions in the Army Medical Corps on the same terms as men.
• In 1992, the Indian Armed Forces opened officer-level entry to women.
• The Indian Army introduced the Women Special Entry Scheme (WSES), allowing women to be commissioned in non-combat branches, while also extending eligibility to widows of service personnel killed in action as a compassionate measure.
• The same year witnessed parallel progress across the other services.
• The Indian Navy inducted women officers for the first time, while the Indian Air Force began commissioning women as Short Service Commission officers in flying, technical, and non-technical branches.
• Collectively, these initiatives in 1992 represented a decisive shift in India’s defence policy, laying the foundation for the gradual expansion of women’s roles across the Armed Forces.
Advancing gender inclusion in defence services
• As part of sustained measures to enhance women’s participation in the Armed Forces, significant reforms have been introduced to expand the career avenues and leadership roles among women.
• Women officers are now being considered for promotion to the rank of Colonel (select grade) and are being assigned command appointments.
• To prevent any adverse impact on career progression, specific waivers have been granted for officers who were unable to complete mandatory career courses during the transition phase.
• Building on these broader reforms, each service has undertaken focused initiatives to integrate women more deeply into leadership roles.
1) Indian Army
• To ensure long-term career stability, women officers are being granted Permanent Commission in 12 Arms and Services, in addition to the Army Medical Corps, Army Dental Corps, and Military Nursing Service.
2) Indian Navy
• Advancing operational integration at sea, women officers are now deployed onboard warships in afloat appointments and are also appointed as pilots and Naval Air Operations (NAO) officers.
• Expanding entry opportunities, the Navy has opened all branches and specialisations except submarines to women for induction as officers and Agniveers, becoming the first service to leverage the Agnipath scheme for women’s recruitment.
• In the aviation domain, women officers are now eligible to join the Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) stream, with the first officer joining an RPA Squadron in 2021.
• Furthermore, at the Indian Naval Academy, women cadets have been made eligible for induction through the 10+2 BTech entry scheme from January 2024.
3) Indian Air Force
• The IAF was the first one to induct women as pilots in the 1990s in combat support roles.
• In a landmark reform, the induction of women officers into combat roles — initially introduced on an experimental basis in 2015 — was formalised as a permanent scheme in 2022, thereby opening fighter and other combat streams on equal footing.
• Complementing this, vacancies have been provided under the NCC Special Entry scheme for Short Service Commission (Women) in the flying branch since 2017.
• The intake of women cadets through the NDA has been institutionalised, with six vacancies (two for flying, two for ground duty (tech), and two for ground duty (non-tech)) per course allocated for the Air Force up to 2027.
• Since December 2, 2023, Agniveer Vayu Women (AgV W) have joined the ranks of the Indian Air Force.
• Together, these service-specific measures demonstrate a coordinated and progressive expansion of women’s participation across operational, technical, and leadership roles in India’s Armed Forces.
• In 2025, 17 women cadets graduated from the National Defence Academy in May and 15 more in November, highlighting the continued expansion of opportunities for women since their induction into the NDA in 2022.
• As of early 2026, a total of 158 women cadets have joined the Academy.
• Haryana accounts for the highest number of women cadets at the NDA with 35 cadets, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 28 and Rajasthan with 13.
• The Army enhanced the annual intake of women cadets from 80 to 144 vacancies in 2024.
Women officers breaking new ground
• Lt Gen Sadhna Saxena Nair: Appointed as Director General Medical Services (Army), marking a historic achievement as she became the first woman to hold this top position in the Army’s medical wing.
• Col Ponung Doming: She is the first woman officer to command the world’s highest Border Task Force located above 15,000 feet in the Northern sector with multiple firsts to her credit in over 20 years of service.
• Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth: She was the first day-time Indian woman fighter pilot to qualify to undertake combat missions. She was the first woman fighter pilot to take part in the Republic Day Parade (2021). She also participated in the Republic Day 2024 Flypast becoming a part of the revered fighter pilot club in India.
• Captain Hansja Sharma: She made history by becoming the first woman Rudra helicopter pilot in the Indian Army. She led the 251 Army Aviation Squadron in the Republic Day 2026.
• Sub-Lieutenant Aastha Poonia: She made history in 2025 becoming the first woman pilot to be streamed into the fighter stream of Naval Aviation, breaking gender barriers in a traditionally male-dominated field. She was awarded the prestigious Wings of Gold during the Second Basic Hawk Conversion Course graduation at INS Dega, Visakhapatnam.
• Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh: She became India’s first woman Rafale pilot.
• Wg Cdr Anjali Singh of the Indian Air Force: She became the first Indian woman military diplomat to be posted to an overseas mission. Her appointment as Deputy Air Attaché at the Embassy of India in Russia marked a historic milestone.
• Lt Cdr Dilna K & Lt Cdr Roopa A: They scripted history by completing a 25,600-nautical-mile global circumnavigation aboard the INSV Tarini under the Navika Sagar Parikrama II expedition. Their 238-day voyage stands as a powerful testament to Nari Shakti in the Indian Navy.
• In 2025, a tri-services all-women sailing expedition saw 11 officers from the Army complete a 1,800-nautical-mile voyage to Seychelles aboard the indigenous vessel Triveni.
• The Indian Air Force inducted nine women (Agniveer Vayu) into its band for the 77th Republic Day Parade. Flight Lieutenant Akshita Dhankar unfurled the national flag alongside the President.