Indian Army commissions 5 woman officers into Regiment of Artillery

The women officers were inducted into the Regiment after successfully completing their training at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai.

The Indian Army on Saturday inducted its first batch of “Five Women Officers” into the Regiment of Artillery in another significant move towards expanding woman’s role in the armed forces. These officers will be given the same opportunities and challenges as their male counterparts, as per a statement by the Indian Army.

The women officers were inducted into the Regiment after successfully completing their training at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai.

Sources stated that the women officers who joined the Regiment of Artillery are Lt Mehak Saini, Lt Sakshi Dubey, Lt Aditi Yadav and Lt Pious Mudgil. Along with them, 19 male officers have been inducted into the Regiment.

In this fighting arm of the Indian army, these young women officers will be posted to all types of artillery units where they will receive adequate training and exposure to handle Rocket, Medium, Field and Surveillance and Target Acquisition (SATA), and equipment in difficult conditions.

The Army has revealed that three of the newly commissioned women officers in the Regiment of Artillery will be posted to units deployed along the northern borders with China, while the other two will be posted in “challenging locations” near the frontier with Pakistan.

In January, Chief of Army Staff Gen Manoj Pande announced the decision of commissioning women officers into artillery units, the proposal which was later approved by the government.