A first: Woman officer to take over command of warship INS Trinkat

This is for the first time that a woman officer would assume command of a ship. As per sources, the officer is a qualified navigation instructor and has been involved in training observers inducted into the Navy.

She is also learnt to be the first woman officer who served as an observer in the Navy’s Tupolev Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft.

Admiral Kumar said the officer had to go through all the processes for qualification and exams and would now undergo pre-commissioning training before taking over the craft.

He said the Navy’s submarine arm was also open to women, for which they would need to volunteer to join, clear an aptitude test and undergo rigorous training prior to deployment.

He said the overall strength of women Agniveers has now crossed the 1,000 mark, adding that these statistics stand testament to the philosophy of ‘all roles, all ranks’ approach to deployment of women in the service.”

In March, the Indian Air Force selected Group Captain Shaliza Dhami to take over command of a frontline combat unit in the western sector. Several women officers in the Army are also commanding various units across the country.

There are 10,493 women officers serving in the Indian Armed Forces, including its medical services. The Army, being the largest of the three services, has the largest number of women officers at 1,705, followed by 1,640 women officers in the IAF and 559 in the Navy. This data was submitted by the government to Parliament last year.