Kashish secured an All India Rank of 2 in the Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination in 2024, and entered the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.

Though Kashish was always driven and dedicated, her success story was shaped by the rigours of the National Cadet Corps. (Express Photo)

Kashish Methwani didn’t want to be in an “either/or option”. She wanted “ands” in her life. “I wanted to be Miss India and a scientist and an officer. I didn’t want to pick one field. I wanted to go after all the fields and excel in all of them. That is what I ended up choosing and ended up following,” says Kashish in a TEDx talk, “A change in the mindset is all you need”.

Pune-based Kashish, a supermodel, who won the Miss International India 2023, and has an MSc from Savitribai Phule Pune University and an MSc thesis in Neuroscience from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, has now been commissioned as an officer in the Indian Army. Her passing-out parade was on September 6. She is Lt Kashish Methwani with the Army Air Defence (AAD). Kashish opted to serve in AAD, when it came to choosing the wing. It is a combat arm that demands high levels of precision, technical skill, and courage under pressure.

Kashish secured an All India Rank of 2 in the Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination in 2024, and entered the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.

“Since childhood, she was keen on participating in every competition in school. She used to say, ‘Mujhe sab kuch karna hai (I want to do everything)’. Generally, it is parents who tell children to participate, never mind the result. In our case, she used to tell us that she would compete in cultural and other events and not worry about the outcome,” says Shobha Methwani, Kashish’s mother.