MoD | Status on participation of Women in Defence Sector

The percentage of women in Armed Forces is as under:

Army (as on 1st July, 2022)	Officers (Excluding AMC/ADC)	3.97%
	Officers (AMC/ADC)	21.25 %
	MNS Officers	100%
	JCO/OR	0.01%
Navy	Officers	About 6%
Air Force (as on 1st Dec, 2022)	Officers (excluding Medical & Dental Branch)	13.69%

• Officers

Year	Intake	Medical Officers
		AMC	ADC	MNS
2018	75	169	20	571
2019	80	102	34	180
2020	72	130	26	201
2021	75	51	05	205
2022	75	Recruitment Process not completed

• JCO/OR

Recruiting Year	Intake
2019-20	100
2020-21	Recruitment was suspended due to COVID-19
2021-22
2022-23	100 (recruitment process not completed)

Following are the details of seats fixed for female candidates in Defence institutions like NDA, IMA and others, institution-wise;

Institutions	Vacancies per year (As on date)	Remarks
NDA	38 (Army – 20, Navy – 06 & Air Force – 12)	These vacancies are not fixed and are based on requirement of respective Services.
OTA	80
IMA	20 ( Army cdts from NDA)
AFMC Pune	30
College of Nursing (MNS)	220

No post is vacant for women in Indian Army. Sanctioned posts in Indian Navy and Indian Air Force are gender neutral.

Government has taken number of steps to increase women participation in the Defence sector. These include:

Army

Combat employment philosophy of women in the Armed Forces is a continuously evolving process and regularly reviewed by the Indian Army. At present, the women are being commissioned in Indian Army in ten Streams viz. Corps of Engineers, Corps of Signals, Army Air Defence, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, Corp of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers, Army Aviation Corps, Intelligence Corps, Judge Advocate General Branch and Army Education Corps in addition to the Armed Forces Medical Services as Doctors and Military Nurses which is a women only entry. New Avenues such as grant of permanent commission to SSC women officers, induction of women cadets in NDA, recruitment of Women as Provost JCOs/OR.

Navy

The induction of women as officers in the Indian Navy commenced in the year 1991.  Since then the Indian Navy has gradually opened all branches to women officers including induction through NDA. Further, for the first time women are also being recruited for sailors’ entries under the Agnipath Scheme w.e.f. 2022 and 20% vacancies are reserved for women.

Air Force

Officers recruitment in the IAF is gender neutral. Women officers are inducted in all the branches and streams of IAF. Opportunities for a career in IAF service are widely publicized through print/ electronic media and special publicity drives. An opening has also been provided through NCC Special Entry for flying SSC (Women) from July 2017 onwards. The experimental scheme to induct women officers in all combat roles, initiated by the IAF in 2015 has now been regularised into a permanent scheme. Such gender neutral approach is facilitating the employment of women officers of IAF in all combat roles without any restrictions.

No study has been undertaken regarding the low participation of women as there has been a steady growth in the induction of women in the armed forces.

This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to Shri N Reddeppa and others in Lok Sabha today.