New Delhi: For the first time, the Indian Army has included five women officers in its Artillery Regiment. After successfully completing their training at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai on Saturday, the women officers joined the Artillery Regiment. According to military sources, Lieutenant Mehak Saini, Lieutenant Sakshi Dubey, Lieutenant Aditi Yadav and Lieutenant Pavitra Moudgil are the women officers who have recently joined the Regiment of Artillery.
News agency PTI quoted sources as saying that out of the five women officers, three have been assigned to units posted near the borders with China and the other two have been kept at “challenging locations” close to the Pakistan border.
After completing my training in #OTA, #ChennaiFive women officers were commissioned into the Artillery Regiment for the first time. The Director General of Artillery (Designated) welcomed the women officers in the regiment during #pop,#Indian Army, pic.twitter.com/MKbn5xAEMz– ADG PI – Indian Army (@adgpi) April 29, 2023
The Indian Army said women joining the Regiment of Artillery are being provided with the same opportunities and challenges as their male counterparts (19 male officers are also commissioned in the Artillery).
According to officials, these young women officers are being posted to all types of artillery units, where they will get adequate training and exposure to handle rocket, medium, field and Surveillance and Target Acquisition (SATA) and equipment in challenging conditions .
The first batch of women officers were inducted into the Artillery Regiment of the Indian Army.
Five women officers today joined the Regiment of Artillery after successfully completing their training at the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai. pic.twitter.com/WRcO7dnU3h— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) April 29, 2023
A source said that the commissioning of women officers in the Artillery Regiment is a testament to the ongoing transformation in the Indian Army.
In January, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pandey announced the decision to appoint women officers to artillery units. Later this proposal was approved by the government.