The Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday that admitting women cadets to the National Defence Academy (NDA) was a major policy decision, and that it would take at least three months to consider the long-term repercussions of inducting and deploying ex-NDA women cadets into the armed forces.
It was submitted that each course at the NDA had 370 vacancies for the three Services, of which 208 would be commissioned in the Army, 120 in the Indian Air Force (IAF), and 42 would be commissioned in the Navy, in terms of the number of women to be inducted for “NDA-II 2021” and “NDA-I 2022.”
The Centre’s affidavit was filed in response to a request from attorney Kush Kalra for data on women who took the NDA-2021 examination and the number of women inducted by the highest court. “It is stated that a total of 5,75,854 candidates applied for the exam and 3,57,197 candidates took the exam,” the Union government said. The NDA written examination was held in November 2021, and a total of 8009 candidates, including 1002 women, passed. The Service Selection Board will be in place from March to April 2022.”
Profile of a younger person
The Centre justified the number of female cadets in all three forces by stating that the Army’s ratio was set to assure a younger profile and mobility of officer cadre, as a result of the Army’s operational role and tasks in tough terrain.
“The Army’s total vacancies projected through the NDA are 416 every year, or 208 per course.” All arms and services of the Army would be affected by these vacancies. Officers commissioned through the NDA have a significant combat arms component, and women officers (WO) are not initiated into combat arms, according to the affidavit. According to the Centre, women officers made up to 15% of the overall cadre strength in the eight arms and services over the last four years.
“With the current allotment of 10 women candidates every course in the NDA, or 20 per year,” the document stated, “the women cadre in these arms will witness an increase of 5% from the existing 15 to 20%.”
It emphasized that the decision to allot 10 vacancies for women cadets in the NDA had been made after careful consideration and that this major policy decision required an adaptation period to assess the effect. As a result, a significant amount of time was required to review, analyze, and assess the net impact of induction of women officers.
Despite gender-neutral induction, women formed around 6% of the total strength of the Navy’s officer cadre in the last two decades (amounting to 20.72 percent of the total officers in the branches/cadres/specializations open for female induction), according to the Centre.
The IAF was inducting women in all of its branches and sub-streams, according to the affidavit, and they were cleared and being trained for all combat duties associated with these branches.
Supreme Court ordered Centre
The Supreme Court had ordered the Centre to explain why, notwithstanding its directives, the number of women candidates accepted for the NDA for the year 2022 was limited to 19, the same number as the previous year.
It had requested the Centre to record the total number of candidates, including women, who took the NDA examination 2021, as well as the entrance tests for the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and the Rashtriya Military School (RMS).
In a first, on September 22, last year, the Supreme Court allowed female candidates to sit for the NDA entrance exam, which was set to take place in November, stating that their induction could not be postponed by a year, as the Centre had requested.
The Centre said that a research group had been formed to make it easier for women to enter the country and that the required mechanisms may be in place by May 2022. On October 7, last year, the Supreme Court allowed female candidates to take the exam for the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) in Dehradun, which was slated to take place on December 18, adding that the Centre had already gone a mile and should go a step farther.