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Bhawana Kanth becomes India's second woman fighter pilot to fly solo in MiG-21

After Avani Chaturvedi, flying officer Bhawana Kanth became second woman pilot to fly a figher jet solo. Kanth flew MiG 21 Bison aircraft from Ambala Air Force Station on Friday.

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After Avani Chaturvedi, flying officer Bhawana Kanth became second woman pilot to fly a figher jet solo. Kanth flew MiG 21 Bison aircraft from Ambala Air Force Station on Friday. It is pertinent to mention here that MiG-21 Bison has the highest landing and take-off speed in the world - 340 kmph.

Kanth, born in Bihar's Darbhanga, completed her BE (Medical Electronics) from Bangalore's BMS College of Engineering. She was brought up in Refinery Township in Begusarai as her engineer father worked in IOCL. Her mother is a homemaker.

Kanth, along with two other women fighter pilots - Avani Chatuvedi and Mohana Singh, was inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron on June 18, 2016. The trio were formally commissioned by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. 

Last month, Avani Chaturvedi became the first Indian woman pilot to fly a figher jet solo in the same aircraft that Bhawana flew.

It was in October 2015 that the Indian Government took the decision to open the fighter stream for women. Meanwhile, combat roles in the Army and the Navy are still off-limits for women, due to a combination of operational concerns and logistical constraints.

It was only in 1992 that the armed forces began recruiting women to streams, other than the medical stream.

Presently, women are recruited in Indian Army as officers through short service commission (SSC) on all India merit basis along with men candidates. Women officers are inducted in Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, Army Education Corps, Judge Advocate General Branch including Engineers, Signals, Intelligence and Electrical & Mechanical Engineering branches. 

In addition, they are also commissioned in Medical Branch Army Medical Corps (AMC), Army Dental Corps (ADC) and Military Nursing Service (MNS). Further, women officers are eligible for grant of Permanent Commission in Judge Advocate General (JAG) Department and in Army Education Corps (AEC) of Army.

In Indian Navy, women officers are inducted through short service commission, in Logistics, Law, Observers, Air Traffic Control (ATC), Pilots (Maritime Reconnaissance Stream), Naval Armament Inspectorate cadre (NAIC), Naval Architecture and Education Branch.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has pioneered the entry of women as officers in flying and ground duty.

In the IAF since 1993, women officers have been inducted in all branches and stream as Short Service Commissioned Officers except in the fighter stream. However, IAF has revised Short Service Commission scheme to induct women into the fighter stream on experimental basis for five years.

The IAF has already selected the next batch of three women trainee pilots for the fighter stream.

(With ANI inputs)

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