Maj Gen Madhuri Kanitkar was on Saturday elevated to the rank of Lieutenant General, becoming the third woman officer in the Army and first paediatrician from the armed forces to hold the rank. Lt Gen Kanitkar took charge as Deputy Chief, Integrated Defence Staff (DCIDS), Medical (under Chief of Defence Staff), in New Delhi. Lt Gen Kanitkar has served for 37 years. She and husband Rajiv, also a Lt Gen, will be the first couple in the armed forces to hold this rank. “This organization is fair, transparent, respected and safe for a woman where she is given opportunities to grow,” Lt Gen Kanitkar told The Sunday Express. “If there is one message I would like to share, it is to enjoy every day in uniform with childlike enthusiasm and challenge yourself to achieve the impossible. Never give up - just give back. To every woman in uniform, I can say, ‘Half the world is yours to take, but the full is yours to give’. So always give it your best,” she said. She had been selected for the rank of Lt Gen last year, and assumed it on Saturday following a vacancy. A topper at Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, and winner of President’s gold medal for best outgoing student, Lt Gen Kanitkar completed her postgraduation in paediatrics and training in paediatric nephrology at AIIMS. She is a member of the Prime Minister’s scientific and technical advisory board. She is the first trained paediatric nephrologist in the armed forces, and single-handedly set up units in Pune and Delhi to monitor kidney ailments among children. She had returned to her alma mater — AFMC — as its first woman dean in 2017. Lt Gen Punita Arora was the first woman officer to hold the rank. Padmavathy Bandopadhyay is the first woman Air Marshal of Indian Air Force, and the second woman officer in the armed forces to be promoted to a three-star officer rank.
