Armed Forces began inducting women officers in streams other than medical in 1992, initially only under the short service commission

Over 93 years after it was established, the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, will witness a historic moment when the first batch of women cadets for permanent commission take the ‘Antim Pag’ (final step) from the academy’s hallowed parade ground on culmination of the passing out parade of the Spring Term – 2026, scheduled for June 13.

Eight women cadets of the pioneering batch will be pipped as Lieutenants alongside their male counterparts after having completed a four-year grueling training regimen, including the first three years at the National Defence Academy (NDA) Kharakvasla.

The first batch of 17 women cadets, including 10 for the Army, six for the Air Force and three for the Navy had passed out from the NDA in June 2025 and proceeded to their respective service academies for pre-commission training.

NDA alumni have a one-year training programme at the IMA, whereas the training period for direct entry cadets after graduation is 18 months. While permanent commission has been extended to women officers across all arms they are a part of following directives of the Supreme Court, they are still not eligible to join the IMA directly and have to become officers either through the NDA or the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai.

Since its inception in October 1932, IMA has trained close to 68,000 officers, including about 3,000 from more than 30 friendly foreign countries. Women officers from foreign countries are trained at OTA.

In 2021, the Supreme Court had directed the Central Government to admit women in the NDA following a suit filed by several aspirants for a permanent career in the Armed Forces. Subsequently, the first batch was admitted in 2022. By early 2026, a total of 158 women cadets have joined the NDA, according to government figures.

The Armed Forces began inducting women officers in streams other than medical in 1992, initially only under the short service commission. After some women officers took recourse to legal action, the Supreme Court directed in 2020 that women officers also be granted permanent commission. In 2022, entry of women soldiers into the rank and file was also opened in some branches under the Agnipath Scheme.

As the maiden regular batch of women cadets at the IMA prepares to take its first out of the academy after wearing the two stars of a Lieutenant of their shoulders, the achievement of becoming the first woman to pass out from the IMA as an officer goes to Sai Jadhav, who became a Lieutenant in the Territorial Army (TA) in December 2025.

After completing her six-month training at IMA alongside 15 male officers, Sai, who is an MBA, was assigned to the TA’s 130th Ecological Battalion of the Kumaon Regiment. The TA is a trained volunteer force of gainfully employed civilians who can be called to supplement the regular Army and serve in an emergency.

The entry of women into the Indian Armed Forces dates back to 1888, with the formation of the Military Nursing Service, though it was then staffed with British personnel. The first Indian nurses were enrolled in 1914.

In 1958, for the first time, women doctors were granted regular commissions in the Army Medical Corps on the same terms as men. Following limited roles in support and logistics branches during the formative years after induction in 1992, women officers now form part of almost all combat arms and services except the Infantry and the Armoured Corps. In 2014, the Army increased the annual vacancies for women officers from 80 to 144.