121 women cadets at NDA, Haryana tops list: Minister tells House

In August 2021, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to allow women to take the next entrance exam.

Out of the 121 women cadets, who are undergoing the rigorous three-year training course in the tri-Service National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla (Pune), 34 are from Haryana, minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth told Rajya Sabha.

After Haryana, there are 27 women cadets from Uttar Pradesh, 13 from Rajasthan, 11 from Maharashtra, six from Madhya Pradesh and four from Punjab, according to the minister.

In August 2021, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to allow women to take the next entrance exam for the NDA and the first batch was inducted the following year.

The court’s order making women eligible to join NDA came almost three decades after they were allowed to serve in select branches of the three services as short-service commission (SSC) officers. The SC had earlier also ruled that women officers, who have joined the Indian Army through SSC, were entitled to permanent commission and command roles.

"Selection to the NDA is through a national written exam conducted by UPSC, followed by selection (interview and physical fitness) by the Services Selection Board, with no demarcation or quota for any state or UT. The first batch of female cadets joined NDA in Aug 2022," Seth told the Upper House.

The armed forces have been inducting women since the early-1990s. However, their entry was restricted to military academies where cadets are taken after graduation and only as short-service commission officers. In the Army,  "lady cadets" have been inducted at the Officers' Training Academy (OTA) at Chennai for the last 30 years.