Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The Indian army is conducting a Women officers Special Selection Board to launch the process of promoting Women officers from the rank of Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel, a move that will bring them at par with their male counterparts.
According to sources, ” A total of 244 women officers are being considered for promotion against 108 vacancies, from the 1992 batch to the 2006 batch in various Arms and Services (Engineers, Signals, Army Air Defence, Intelligence Corps, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps & Electrical & Mechanical Engineers).”
The Special Board started on 09 January and will culminate on 22 January.
As per the sources, 66 Women officers from the 1992 to 2003 batch were empanelled on Wednesday, while 12 vacancies were considered for the 2004 batch on Thursday. 23 vacancies for the 2005 batch are to be finalised on Friday. Of the 66 officers, 17 have got through in Engineering, 14 in EME, 13 in AoC, 11 in Signals, and 9 in ASC.
On the culmination of the selection board, the 108 women officers who are declared fit, are under consideration to be posted on various command assignments. The first set of such postings will be issued by end of January 2023.
Officers for the rank of Colonel and above are selected by a board of officers. An officer ranked as Colonel will command independent functional units of the Indian Army.
Beyond this come the formations, and collections of such Units, like Brigades, Divisions and Corps commanded by the Brigadiers, Major Generals and Lt Generals respectively.
The task on the ground is executed by the Units. In the normal course of service selection for command is done at around 17 years of service. Those not empanelled get their time-scale promotion as Colonels after 2 years of service.
Sources said the vacancies for this Special Selection Board have been released by the government to promote the affected women officers, to ensure gender parity in Indian Army. A total of 60 affected women officers have been called as observers for the Selection Board, to ensure fair conduct and clarify their apprehensions, if any.
ALSO READ | Indian Army deploys first woman officer at world’s highest battlefield in Siachen
With an aim to provide equal opportunities to women, the Indian Army, in 2021, granted a Permanent Commission (PC) to 424 of 615 women officers at par with their male counterparts. With the grant of PC, women officers can aspire to achieve greater glory and shoulder higher ranks and responsibility.
All women officers granted PC is undergoing special training courses and challenging military assignments to empower them for higher leadership roles in the Indian Army. PC to Women Officers in junior batches has also commenced, in which they are considered for PC in their 10th year of service, informed Indian Army officials.
With a grant of PC, women officers are transcending into an era of gender parity and are gearing up to assume challenging leadership roles, akin to their male counterparts.
For the first time, five Women Officers (WOs) have cleared the prestigious Defence Services Staff Course (DSSC) and Defence Services Technical Staff Course (DSTSC) Exam, which is held annually in the month of September. The five WOs will undergo a one-year course and give them adequate weightage while being considered for command appointments.
NEW DELHI: The Indian army is conducting a Women officers Special Selection Board to launch the process of promoting Women officers from the rank of Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel, a move that will bring them at par with their male counterparts.
According to sources, ” A total of 244 women officers are being considered for promotion against 108 vacancies, from the 1992 batch to the 2006 batch in various Arms and Services (Engineers, Signals, Army Air Defence, Intelligence Corps, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps & Electrical & Mechanical Engineers).”
The Special Board started on 09 January and will culminate on 22 January.
As per the sources, 66 Women officers from the 1992 to 2003 batch were empanelled on Wednesday, while 12 vacancies were considered for the 2004 batch on Thursday. 23 vacancies for the 2005 batch are to be finalised on Friday. Of the 66 officers, 17 have got through in Engineering, 14 in EME, 13 in AoC, 11 in Signals, and 9 in ASC.
On the culmination of the selection board, the 108 women officers who are declared fit, are under consideration to be posted on various command assignments. The first set of such postings will be issued by end of January 2023.
Officers for the rank of Colonel and above are selected by a board of officers. An officer ranked as Colonel will command independent functional units of the Indian Army.
Beyond this come the formations, and collections of such Units, like Brigades, Divisions and Corps commanded by the Brigadiers, Major Generals and Lt Generals respectively.
The task on the ground is executed by the Units. In the normal course of service selection for command is done at around 17 years of service. Those not empanelled get their time-scale promotion as Colonels after 2 years of service.
Sources said the vacancies for this Special Selection Board have been released by the government to promote the affected women officers, to ensure gender parity in Indian Army. A total of 60 affected women officers have been called as observers for the Selection Board, to ensure fair conduct and clarify their apprehensions, if any.
ALSO READ | Indian Army deploys first woman officer at world’s highest battlefield in Siachen
With an aim to provide equal opportunities to women, the Indian Army, in 2021, granted a Permanent Commission (PC) to 424 of 615 women officers at par with their male counterparts. With the grant of PC, women officers can aspire to achieve greater glory and shoulder higher ranks and responsibility.
All women officers granted PC is undergoing special training courses and challenging military assignments to empower them for higher leadership roles in the Indian Army. PC to Women Officers in junior batches has also commenced, in which they are considered for PC in their 10th year of service, informed Indian Army officials.
With a grant of PC, women officers are transcending into an era of gender parity and are gearing up to assume challenging leadership roles, akin to their male counterparts.
For the first time, five Women Officers (WOs) have cleared the prestigious Defence Services Staff Course (DSSC) and Defence Services Technical Staff Course (DSTSC) Exam, which is held annually in the month of September. The five WOs will undergo a one-year course and give them adequate weightage while being considered for command appointments.
