The Selection Board of the Indian Army has cleared the way for the promotion of five women officers to Colonel rank, after they completed 26 years of service.
This is the first time that women officers serving with the Corps of Signals, Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers and the Corps of Engineers has been approved to the rank of Colonel.
Previously, promotion to the rank of Colonel was only applicable for women officers in the Army Medical Corps, Judge Advocate General and the Army Education Corps.
The five women officers selected for Colonel rank are Lt Col Sangeeta Sardana from the Corps of Signals, Lt Col Sonia Anand and Lt Col Navneet Duggal from the Corps of EME and Lt Col Reenu Khanna and Lt Col Ritcha Sagar from the Corps of Engineers.
Over a year after its landmark verdict granting permanent commission to women officers of the Indian Army serving under Short Service Commission, the Supreme Court, in an interim order on Wednesday, allowed women candidates to sit for the National Defence Academy entrance exam scheduled to be held on September 5.