India raises women army officers’ vacancies by 80% to address men shortage
New Delhi: Amid a growing shortage of officers in the Indian Army, amounting to 17% of the total authorized strength, the allocation of vacancies for women officers has been increased by 80% in the current fiscal year to help bridge the gap.
According to Kashmir Media Service, regarding the rank and file, the Army has a shortage of 7.72 per cent at the level of junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and other ranks.
“Vacancies have been increased from 80 per year to 144 per year in 2024-25,” India’s Parliament’s Departmentally Related Standing Committee on Defence observed in its report tabled on March 17. The strength of women officers in the Army, excluding those in the medical cadre, is about 1,800.
Vacancies for women officers are allotted based on the organisation’s requirements. Currently, they are permitted to join all arms and services except the Infantry and the Armoured Corps.
In the Indian Air Force, the shortage of officers (excluding medical) is 1,013 against the sanctioned strength of 12,929. Women officers comprise about 14 per cent of the IAF’s officer cadre, which is the highest among the three services.
The posted strength of airmen is 1,39,876 against an establishment of 1,46,030, leading to a deficiency of 6,154 in the ranks.
Last year, Artillery, a combat arm, was also opened for women officers.
The Committee noted that the authorised strength of officers in the Army, excluding the medical stream, is 50,538, whereas the posted strength is 42,095. This accounts for a shortfall of 8,443 officers or 16.71 per cent of the authorisation.
