Armed forces have decided to induct women in NDA, Centre tells SC
New Delhi(PTI): The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the armed forces have decided to induct women into the National Defence Academy (NDA).
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, told a bench headed by Justice S K Kaul that a decision has been taken at the highest level of the armed forces as also the government that females will be inducted for permanent commission through the NDA.
The ASG sought apex court's permission to place the details on record through an affidavit and sought status quo in this year's exams as they need procedural and infrastructural changes.
The top court said it has been periodically nudging the authorities to take such steps themselves and believes that they are best suited to evolve the whole.
The bench said it would like the defence forces to take more proactive approach towards gender equality instead of court directing them to do so.
"The idea is when nothing happens, the court steps in. Let me assure you it's not a happy situation to step in and we would like the armed services to do it themselves. They are very respected forces of the country but on gender equality they have to do more and sometimes the resistance does not come out well," said the bench, also comprising Justice M M Sundresh.
"I am happy that the heads of armed forces have taken a positive decision. Put on record, we will take up the matter. We are happy with the stand. let us hear the matter next week. Reforms cannot happen in a day. We are also conscious of that," it said.
The ASG told the bench that the thought was already there in their minds but it was only at the seeding stage.
The matter has been listed after two weeks.
The apex court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Kush Kalra which has raised the issue of exclusion of eligible and willing female candidates from joining the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) solely on the ground of sex which allegedly is a violation of fundamental right of equality.
The plea said the authorities allow unmarried male candidates having adequate 10+2 qualification to take the 'National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination', but eligible and willing female candidates are not allowed to take the examination on the sole ground of their sex and without any reasonable or justifiable explanations within the Constitution.
It alleged that this act of discrimination is a dishonour committed by the concerned authorities to the Constitutional values of equality and non-discrimination.
The act of the respondents to categorically exclude eligible and willing female candidates from appearing for the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination over the years, solely on the ground of sex, is a violation of the fundamental right of equality before the law and equal protection of the law, it said.
The consequence of this denial is that they do not have access to any mode of entry to join the armed forces as officers, it said.
Whereas, equally and similarly situated male candidates with 10+2 level of education have the opportunity to take the examination and after qualifying join the National Defence Academy to get trained to be commissioned as permanent commissioned officers in the Indian armed forces, the plea said.
The categorical exclusion of women to train at the National Defence Academy and get commissioned into the armed forces of the country as permanent commissioned officers solely on the basis of their sex is a denial of the fundamental right to practice any profession and it is not justifiable within the contours of the Indian Constitution, it said.
It said that UPSC conducts the 'National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination' and as per eligibility criteria, any unmarried male candidate with the required educational qualification and aged between 15-18 years can appear in it.
It said the candidate, on qualifying the exam and on successful completion of training at the NDA and subsequent training at the respective academy of the service the cadet opts for, gets commissioned into the service as a permanent commissioned officer by the age of 19-22 years old.
This opportunity to take the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination at the age of 15-18 years, with the eligible academic qualifications is not available to eligible and willing female candidates and the sole reason for this categorical exclusion is on the basis of their sex, the plea said.
It claimed that duration of training for the Short Service Commission women officers is very less compared to the training that a male permanent commission officer, who gets entry through the NDA, gains.
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Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
