Central government approved the Indian Army's decision to induct female officers into the Regiment of Artillery

According to a Union Cabinet minister, the central government has approved the Indian Army's decision to induct female officers into the Regiment of Artillery.

Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State for Defense, told the Lok Sabha on March 31 that the decision to induct women officers into the Artillery had been made on March 20. He was responding to a query from Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt, a BJP lawmaker from Vadodara, who asked whether the government intended to include women in the artillery units and, if so, what measures had been taken in this direction thus far.

The minister responded with a single line, "Government has approved the induction of women into the Regiment of Artillery on March 20, 2023."

A request to appoint female officers to the Regiment of Artillery was sent to the government, according to General Manoj Pande, the Chief of Army Staff, who made the announcement in January. The general had stated at the time that women are expected to perform admirably in the Artillery and that gender empowerment in the Army is a priority area.

Only when the next cohort of officers from Chennai's Officers Training Academy (OTA) are commissioned later this year will the precise number of female officers who will be inducted into the artillery be known.

The Army's artillery unit, which is the second-largest in number after the infantry, provides combat support. The Artillery Regiments include different calibre weapons, tracked guns, mortars, surface-to-surface missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The appointment of female officers to the Remount and Veterinary Corps received Center's approval on March 1. According to Ajay Bhatt in Parliament, four of the 20 cops who will be indicted by the RVC in 2023 are women.