SC allows women to appear in NDA examination, asks UPSC to issue notification
New Delhi, Aug 18: In a major step towards gender equality, the Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed eligible women to take the examination for admission to National Defence Academy (NDA) scheduled to be held on September 5.
The top court, however, said that the women candidates can take the examination subject to further orders of the court.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy passed the interim order on a plea filed by one Kush Kalra, which has sought a direction to the authorities concerned to allow eligible female candidates to appear in the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination' and train at the NDA.
In view of the impending examination and on hearing counsel for parties, we consider it appropriate to issue an interim direction permitting the women candidates to take part in the examination scheduled for September 5, 2021, subject to further orders from this Court, the bench said.
The bench also directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to take out an appropriate notification in view of its order and give due publicity to it.
UPSC is directed to take out the necessary corrigendum in view of the interim orders we have passed today and give it wide publicity so that the intent of the order is translated into benefit at the ground level, the bench said, while directing that the copy of its order be forthwith transmitted to the UPSC.
It listed the matter for further hearing on September 8, 2021.
During the hearing, senior advocate Chinmoy Pradip Sharma, appearing for Kalra, said they have received the Centre's counter affidavit on Tuesday in which the government has stated that it is purely a policy decision and court should not interfere with it.
The bench told Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati that why is the government continuing in this direction after the verdicts of this court related to extending permanent commission in the Army and Navy to women.
This is unfounded now. We are finding it absurd. Will the Army act on after the judicial orders are passed? We will then pass an order, if that is what you want. I have this impression right from the High Court that till an order is passed, the Army does not believe in doing anything voluntarily, the bench said.
Bhati said the Army has conferred Permanent Commission (PC) to many women.
The bench said, You had kept on opposing it (PC) till the orders were passed by this court. You did not do anything of your own. The Navy and Air Force were more forthcoming while the Army seems to have some kind of bias.
The top court said that it would have expected a more considered affidavit on the policy decision based on gender equality more specifically keeping in mind the observations of this Court in PC case.
Bhati said that in this case there are several modes of entry into the Army like NDA, Indian Military Academy (IMA) and Officers Training Academy (OTA) and women can enter into the force through OTA.
She said, NDA and IMA are modes of direct entry through UPSC. Whereas through OTA, women are commissioned along with men, both through UPSC and non-UPSC mode of entry. They are granted Short Service Commission, both men and women, and subsequently are considered for grant of Permanent Commission .
The bench said, Why is it not through NDA. Is co-education a problem?
The ASG said that this is a policy decision that women are not allowed in NDA.
The top court told the law officer that this policy decision is based on gender discrimination.
Bhati said that she herself had argued the PC matter and appeared for women Short Service Commission officers, who were seeking grant of the PC to which the bench said its endeavour is to persuade the Army to do things by itself rather than on the basis of judicial orders.
We tried but there was no success in the Permanent Commission matter either in the High Court or even in the Supreme Court till Justice DY Chandrachud passed the order, the bench said, adding that "it is not a case of just gender principle but it is a case of discrimination".
It said that now women officers are admitted even in combat roles to which the ASG said that in the Army women are granted permanent commission only in 10 streams while in the Air Force they are admitted as fighter pilots.
The bench said that the mindset is to change which is not changing at all and pointed out that The Air Force and Navy have acted in a more liberal way. However, in the Army, you kept giving them a five-five year job and never gave permanent commission till the verdict of the Supreme Court".
"If you are introducing women in the Army then why do you create a bar in NDA," the bench said, adding that the government should not compel judicial intervention all the time.
It said, We, as an institution, must confess that we may not know all the intricacies of the structure of the Army but the broader principle of gender neutrality that you must understand and adapt to in the backdrop of your peculiarities. Court passing blanket orders does not advance the actual cause .
With regard to admission of girls in Sainik Schools, the Centre in its affidavit said that the process of admitting girls has already started and it will be further expanded.
The bench noted that as far as Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) is concerned, it is stated that it is a 99-years-old institution which will complete 100-years next year.
The question is whether it completes its 100 years with gender neutrality or not!", the bench observed.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
