Army to relax norms for women

KOLKATA: The army is considering relaxing certain entry norms for women willing to join the force as officers. The provision under the National Cadet Corps (NCC) special entry scheme for grant of short commission in the army would be extended to women candidates as well.

Currently, the provision is limited to unmarried Indian males aged 19 to 25 years with a minimum ‘B’ grade in the ‘C’ certificate examination of the NCC. While other conditions remain, the provision would now be extended to unmarried Indian females as well.

Highly-placed NCC directorate sources told DNA, the proposal was first mooted by the directorate a year ago, considering the all-round excellent performance of women NCC cadets in the last couple of years. “In every sphere of NCC activities such as shooting, para-sailing, para-jumping and mountaineering, the performance of female cadets has been exceedingly good,” a directorate official said.

“We expect a formal clearance from the defence ministry shortly,” he said.

He said if the proposal is cleared, the recruitment process for female candidates under the NCC special entry scheme would be exactly the same as for male candidates.

“There will be no relaxation in this regard. Female candidates securing ‘B’ grade in the ‘C’ certificate NCC exam will be able to appear directly for the Service Selection Board-conducted tests.”