In a historic first for India’s armed forces, women from the National Defence Academy (NDA) have graduated as commissioned officers. This follows a 2021 Supreme Court ruling that opened the premier institution to women. The pioneering batch was commissioned at ceremonies at the Indian Military and Air Force Academies.
In a historic first for the Indian armed forces, women who trained at the National Defence Academy graduated as commissioned officers on Saturday, stepping across the IMA’s storied “Antim Pag” – the Final Step – for the very first time.
The moment marks the end of a journey that began with a Supreme Court ruling four years ago.
President Droupadi Murmu attended the Passing Out Parade at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presided over the ceremony at the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad.
How it came to be
Women have served as officers in the Indian military for many years, but the doors of the NDA, the country’s premier tri-service training institution, remained closed to them.
In 2021, the Supreme Court ordered that women be admitted. The first batch entered the NDA in June 2022, with new cohorts joining every six months since. Saturday’s parade marks the commissioning of that pioneering first batch.
The Antim Pag
The IMA’s most hallowed tradition is the Antim Pag, a marked line on the parade ground that a cadet crosses the moment they are commissioned as an Army officer. On Saturday, women crossed it for the first time in the academy’s history.
Of the 515 cadets graduating from IMA, including 34 from 16 countries, nine are women from the NDA’s inaugural batch. Three of them will join the Army’s Artillery regiment, a branch that has been open to women for approximately three years.
Air Force Academy
At the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad, 231 cadets received their wings, including 194 men and 37 women. Five of the women are from the NDA’s first batch. Two will fly fighter jets; the remaining three will serve in the technical branch.
