NEW DELHI: For the first time, with permanent commission from day one, women officers joined the Army and Air Force through the National Defence Academy (NDA), which had admitted only men for over seven decades.
Nine women were commissioned as Lieutenants at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun, while five were commissioned as Flying Officers at the Air Force Academy (AFA) in Dundigal.
Their commissioning marks the culmination of a journey that began after the Supreme Court opened the NDA to women in 2021.
Until now, women officers in the Army and Air Force have entered through the Short Service Commission (SSC), becoming eligible for permanent commission only after years of service. Officers commissioned through the NDA-IMA and NDA-AFA pipelines receive it from day one.
The fourteen newly commissioned officers are thus the first women to enter either service in such terms.
Women have served as permanent commission officers in the Armed Forces Medical Services for decades.
Those joining non-medical branches, however, could do so only under SSC from 1992 onwards, with permanent commission available only after years of service and, in many cases, only after sustained legal pressure.
In 2020, the Supreme Court directed that women officers be granted permanent commission, describing their exclusion as discriminatory.
A year later, the court ordered the opening of the NDA to women, paving the way for their entry into the country’s premier tri-services training institution.
The first batch of women cadets joined the NDA in 2022.
Of the 17 women who graduated from the academy in 2025, ten opted for the Army, six for the Air Force and three for the Navy before proceeding to their respective service academies for pre-commission training.
Reviewing the Passing Out Parade at the IMA, President Droupadi Murmu described the occasion as a “watershed moment” for both the academy and the country’s journey towards greater participation of women in national service.
At Dundigal, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the growing presence of women would make the Air Force stronger and more representative.
At the IMA, 515 officer cadets, including 34 from 16 friendly foreign countries, were commissioned. Officer Cadet Vishal Kumar won the Sword of Honour and the Gold Medal for standing first in the overall order of merit.
The Air Force Academy’s Combined Graduation Parade saw 231 flight cadets graduate from the Flying and Ground Duty branches, alongside officers from the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Vietnam.
