Saluting India's women in uniform who inspire generations

On International Women's Day, Flags of Honour salutes the valour, courage, and determination of the Women in Armed Forces. With their impressive records, they have broken the glass ceiling and established new frontiers for women in combat!

1) Lt Gen Punita Arora (former Surgeon Vice Admiral)
PVSM, VSM, SM (Retd)

Lt Gen Punita Arora (former Surgeon Vice Admiral) is the first woman in India to don the second-highest rank, Lieutenant General of Indian Armed Forces, as well as the rank of vice-admiral of Indian Navy. 

Earlier, she was the commandant of the Armed Forces Medical College in 2004, the first woman at the helm of the institute. 

She also coordinated medical research for the armed forces as additional director-general of Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS). Later, she moved from the Army to the Navy as the AFMS has a common pool that allows officers to migrate from one service to another depending on the requirement. 

She has been awarded 15 medals in her 36 years of career in the Indian Armed Forces.

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2) Air Marshal Padmavathy Bandopadhyay
PVSM, AVSM, VSM 

Air Marshal Padmavathy Bandopadhyay was the first woman Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force. She joined the IAF in 1968 and completed her Defence Service Staff College course in the year 1978, becoming the first woman officer to do so. 

Not only that, she was the first woman officer to become an aviation medicine specialist, the first woman to conduct scientific research at the North Pole (she studied the physiology of extreme cold acclimatization during the late 80s) and the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Air Vice-Marshal. 

Last but not the least, she was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal for her meritorious service during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

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3) Lieutenant General (Dr) Madhuri Kanitkar
AVSM, VSM 

Lieutenant General (Dr) Madhuri Kanitkar is a serving General Officer in the Indian Army. She is the third woman in the Indian Armed Forces to be promoted to a three-star rank, after Lieutenant General Punita Arora and Air Marshal Padma Bandopadhyay. 

She currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Medical) under the Chief of Defence Staff. Lt Gen Kanitkar also serves on the Prime Minister's Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC). 

Lt Gen Kanitkar has been awarded the GOC-in-C Commendation Card and has been awarded the Chief of the Army Staff Commendation Card five times. She was also awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2014 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018.

Join Flags of Honour in celebrating these women in uniform.

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