SOUTHERN ARMY Commander Lt Gen Ajai Kumar Singh Wednesday interacted with the first batch of women cadets at the National Defence Academy (NDA) on the sidelines of the passing-out parade of the 143rd course of the academy in Pune on Wednesday.
Admitted in June this year, the first batch of female cadets at the NDA has a strength of 19 (10 for Army, six for Air Force and three for the Navy). This batch, part of the 148th course, is set to pass out in May 2025.
A tweet from the Pune-headquartered Southern Command said, “Lt Gen A K Singh, Army Commander, Southern Command during his visit to NDA to witness POP of 143 Course, interacted with the first batch of girl cadets undergoing training and motivated them all to strive for excellence.” Commandant and Director of the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) Surgeon Vice-Admiral Arti Sarin was also present during the interaction, the tweet said.
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar was the reviewing officer during the passing-out parade of the 143rd course of the NDA.
During his address, the Navy Chief said that the induction of female cadets adds another feather to the NDA’s cap. “We can now fully harness the vast potential in the country among boys and girls and also accord them equal opportunity to serve their nation in gender-neutral defence services, making us better prepared for the future,” he said.
Lt Gen AK Singh,#ArmyCommander,#SouthernCommand during his visit to #NDA to witness #POP of 143 Course, interacted with the first batch of girl cadets undergoing training & motivated them all to strive for excellence. Commandant & Director #AFMC was also present#StrongAndCapable pic.twitter.com/4zEYICzZER
— Southern Command INDIAN ARMY (@IaSouthern) November 30, 2022
The convocation of the 143rd course was held Tuesday in the presence of Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Professor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit who was the chief guest.
“I note with pride that entry of girl cadets has commenced at this iconic academy and a few batches down the line both male and female cadets will be sitting in this hall. Therefore, it is time for you to imbibe gender sensitivity and work collaboratively with your colleagues without being self-conscious of gender. This would multiply the strength of the armed forces manyfold, ” Pandit said.
