A total of 244 women officers are being considered for promotion against 108 vacancies, in various arms and services of the Indian Army, officials said as per ANI. 

Women Officers Special No. 3 Selection Board will assess these officers for promotion from "the rank of Lt Col to Col", from January 9-22 to bring them "at par with their male counterparts", the officials said.

"A total of 244 women officers are being considered for promotion against 108 vacancies, from 1992 batch to 2006 batch, in various arms and services (Engineers, Signals, Army Air Defence, Intelligence Corps, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, and Electrical and Mechanical Engineers)," Army officials said. 

The vacancies for this Special No 3 Selection Board have been released by the government to promote the affected women officers, to ensure gender parity in Indian Army.

"A total of 60 affected women officers have been called as observers for the selection board, to ensure fair conduct and clarify their apprehensions, if any," officials said. 

With an aim to provide equal opportunities to women, the Indian Army has granted Permanent Commission (PC) to women officers at par with their male counterparts. 

All women officers granted PC are undergoing special training courses and challenging military assignments to empower them for various roles in the Indian Army. 

PC to Women Officers in junior batches has also commenced, in which they are considered for PC in their 10th year of service, informed Indian Army officials.

For the first time, five Women Officers (WOs) have cleared the prestigious Defence Services Staff Course (DSSC) and Defence Services Technical Staff Course (DSTSC) Exam, which is held annually in the month of September. 

Women Combat Aviators have joined their counterparts at various Aviation units. Women Officers as part of the Engineers, Army Air Defence and Signals are already making a mark in the forward areas of deployment. Women will soon be inducted into the Corps of Artillery. 

Recently, a women officer has been deployed to a post in the Saichen Glacier.

In another initiative to promote “Nari Shakti”, we have so far recruited six meritorious sportswomen into the Corps of Military Police under our Mission Olympic Programme.

“We have considerably stepped up the role of our women soldiers in various UN Peacekeeping missions. In consonance with the United Nations’ Gender Parity drive, we recently deployed an Enhanced Female Engagement Team comprising two Officers and 25 Women Soldiers to the strive in Abeyi region of Africa to provide relief and assistance to women and children in one of the most challenging operational and terrain conditions under the UN flag,” said officials.

Image courtesy: PTI