Indian Army Begins Inducting Women Soldiers; First Batch Of 83 Soldiers Inducted After Intense 61-Weeks Training

In a positive development, the Indian Army has created history by inducting the first-ever batch of 83 women soldiers into the Corps of Military Police (CMP) of the 13-lakhs-strong force, reports Times of India.

The attestation parade of the 83 women soldiers was held at the CMP Centre & School at Bengaluru after they went through the 61-week intensive basic military and provost training.

The training included all forms of policing duties, management of prisoners of war, ceremonial duties, skill development, and signal communications.

The development gains much significance given the Indian Army, Navy, and the Air Force till now only used to induct women as officers, and that too in small numbers. In recent years, several branches of the three forces have been progressively opened up for women.

This year itself, the Indian Navy had also deployed four women officers onboard its warships after a gap of around 23 years. IAF also has a total of 10 fighter jet pilots in the present day.

Army spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand has underscored the forces’ plan to induct 1,700 women in the PBOR (personnel below officer rank) category in the CMP in a phased manner over the next 16-17 years.