NEW DELHI: Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict of granting permanent commission and command postings to women officers. It will give purpose and clarity in moving forward, he said, adding that the Army has been championing gender equality.
“The Supreme Court’s decision is a welcome one as it brings out a sense of clarity and purpose to gainfully employ officers for better efficiency of the organisation. I must assure that everybody in the Indian Army, including women officers, will be given equal opportunity to contribute to the nation as also progress in their careers,” he said. “The Army does not discriminate any soldier based on religion, caste, creed, or even gender. The outlook has been throughout like this, and that is why we started inducting women officers as early as in 1993.”
The Army has taken the initiative to induct women in rank and file, and the first batch of 100 women soldiers is undergoing training at Corps of Military Police Centre and School, he said.“Letters are being sent to women officers asking whether they will prefer permanent commissioning.”On Pakistan’s Border Action Teams, he said alert soldiers foil any initiative from Pakistan side. Regarding the situation in J&K, General Naravane said terror incidents have seen a downturn and the Army is maintaining pressure on terror groups. “There is an external dimension to the decrease in cross-border terrorism,” he said, in oblique reference to the ongoing Financial Action Task Force plenary in Paris. A sub-group of the FATF on Tuesday recommended continuation of Pakistan in the ‘’Grey List’’ for its failure to check terror funding.
Army’s headquarters to come under one roof
The Army is slated to get a modern office space housing all its headquarters which are scattered all across Delhi. Presently, the Army headquarters is split into eight pockets. Offices of senior functionaries, especially the Army chief and his deputy will always be co-located with the Defence Minister’s office wherever that might be, said Gen Naravane.