Indian Army / 5 women officers were granted Colonel rank by the Indian Army

The Indian Army on Monday granted time scale Colonel rank to girls officials. The defence ministry stated that a choice board of the Indian Army cleared the manner for the promoting of 5 women officials to Colonel (time scale) rank.

These officials have finished 26 years of "recognisable service", the ministry stated in a release. The five women officers selected for Colonel time scale rank are Lt Col Sangeeta Sardana from the Corps of Signals, Lt Col Sonia Anand and Lt Col Navneet Duggal from the Corps of EME and Lt Col Reenu Khanna and Lt Col Ritcha Sagar from the Corps of Engineers.

This is the first time that women officers serving with the Corps of Signals, Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) and the Corps of Engineers has been approved to the rank of Colonel. Previously, promotion to the rank of Colonel was only applicable for women officers in the Army Medical Corps (AMC), Judge Advocate General (JAG) and the Army Education Corps (AEC).

"Combined with the decision to grant permanent commission to women officers from a majority of branches of the Indian Army, this step defines the Indian Army’s approach towards a gender-neutral Army," it added.

This comes days 5 after the Supreme Court allowed eligible women to take the exam for admission to National Defence Academy (NDA). The pinnacle court, however, stated that the end result of the exam could be subject to the very last adjudication of the petition.