Breaking barriers: Indian Army considers women induction in Territorial Army pilot project

New Delhi: The Indian Army is considering the induction of women cadres into the Territorial Army (TA) as part of a pilot project, with recruitment initially limited to select battalions, officials said on Sunday.

The move is aimed at gradually opening more roles for women in the force, in line with the government’s focus on enhancing ‘Nari Shakti’ in the armed forces, they said.

According to sources, the initial phase will serve as a trial to assess operational feasibility and feedback, following which the scope could be expanded to other battalions.

The Territorial Army, conceptualised as a ‘citizen soldiers’ force, was formally established under the Territorial Army Act on August 18, 1948, and inaugurated by the then Governor General C Rajagopalachari on October 9, 1949.

In March 2022, then Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt had told the Rajya Sabha that the combat employment philosophy of women in the armed forces is an evolving process under regular review. At present, women officers serve in ten arms and services, including the Corps of Engineers, Corps of Signals, Army Air Defence, Army Aviation Corps, Intelligence Corps, and the Judge Advocate General Branch.

With a current strength of around 50,000 personnel, the Territorial Army comprises 65 departmental units such as those affiliated with the Railways, IOC, and ONGC, as well as non-departmental battalions including Infantry, Home and Hearth, Ecological, and Engineer Regiments.

TA units have played key roles in major national operations, including the 1962, 1965, and 1971 wars, as well as in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka, Operation Rakshak in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, and counter-insurgency missions such as Operation Rhino and Operation Bajrang in the northeast.

With inputs from PTI