New Delhi: The Army has received such an overwhelming response to its initiative of recruiting women in the Military Police Corps — started two years back — that the shortlisting of candidates had to be based on a steep cut-off of over 80 per cent score in the Class 10 examinations, top Army officers told ThePrint.
In 2019, when the Army first invited applications from women for 100 posts in the Military Police Corps, the eligibility criteria for applicants had been an aggregate score of at least 45 per cent in the secondary examinations and an individual score of at least 33 per cent in all subjects. However, because of the 1.5 lakh applications received for vacancies numbering only a hundred, the cut-off for shortlisting candidates in 2019 became a much higher 86 per cent.
The following year, in 2020, the cut-off for shortlisting candidates was 84 per cent, though the eligibility criteria had still been 45 per cent.
In both years, the notice inviting applications had mentioned that a cut-off list would be generated after the registration of the candidates was completed and only a limited number of candidates, proportionate to the vacancies, would be issued admit cards for the written exams for the candidates. This is followed by a medical examination.
Confirming this, a senior Army officer told ThePrint: “The demand was high. Thus, to shortlist candidates, the cut-off percentage had to be fixed at 86 and 84 percentage in the past two years.”
In both 2019 and 2020, the response to the recruitment notice was overwhelming. According to sources in the Army, up to 1.6 lakh women registered in 2019 and 2020, for the 100 positions advertised in both years.
Explaining the huge demand for the job, a senior government official said it could be because of the general attraction that many people have for military jobs — not only because of the thrill and adventure associated with such jobs, but also because of the security and other benefits usually associated with a government job.
“This assumes more significance in the current situation when the private job market is not at its best and unemployment remains high,” said the official.
When recruitment was opened for women in 2019, the idea was to recruit 100 women for the unit every year, so that the Military Police Corps would have a total strength of 1,700 women at the end of 17 years. This would be 20 per cent of the total strength of the Corps. A mid-term review is scheduled to be carried out after nine years.
The aim of this initiative was to give women more active military duties.
Dr (Major General) Rashmi Datta (Retd) told ThePrint the sheer number of women keen on joining the Army’s military police every year shows an attempt on their part to break the proverbial glass ceiling in the armed forces.
The Army last month invited online applications for the third batch of women recruits. As in the past two instances, the criteria listed for applicants is an age limit of between 17-and-a-half years and 21 years, and a higher secondary aggregate score of 45 per cent, with an individual subject score of 33 per cent.
The last date for sending in the applications is 20 July.
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The progress so far
For male soldiers, the basic eligibility for applications is a 45 per cent aggregate score in secondary examinations. Following this, the first round of shortlisting is based on a test of physical efficiency, which is followed by a medical examination and written tests.
The number of vacancies for male soldiers is also considerably higher, since they are recruited in not just the Police Corps, but many other arms. Region-wise recruitment is done, as against for women being recruited in military police, where vacancies are limited and recruitment is done on a pan-India basis.
The first batch of 100 women recruits had successfully completed their 62 weeks of basic and advanced provost training that started in January 2020 at the Corps of Military Police Centre and School in Bengaluru. About 40 per cent of them have now been deployed in different units in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast in the rank of lance naiks.
Along with their basic military training, all the women have also been taught to drive.
The shortlisting for the second batch of women military police personnel has also been completed, but owing to the existing Covid-19 restrictions, their recruitment process is yet to be completed.
Army sources said their training could commence towards the last quarter of this year.
Women military police personnel in the future will have a role in combatting counter-insurgency, as well as in ceremonial roles and police duties such as crowd control and investigation of offences involving women and children.
Dr (Maj. Gen.) Rashmi Datta (Retd) told ThePrint that while the glass ceiling still exists for women in the defence forces, the volume of applications received for the positions in the Military Police Corps, shows women are keen to smash it.
“With women getting the required military training, I hope it turns out to be an eye opener for the other arms too and it prompts them to take in women recruits,” she said.
She said more women recruits joining here will also show the men what their daughters back home are capable of, and added that it would give a fillip to women empowerment in the country.
“But, a lot of responsibilities also lie with these women, in conducting themselves as professional soldiers, to ensure more and more women are encouraged to join the forces,” she said.
Last year, ThePrint had been the first to report that the Army had commissioned a study to assess the feasibility of inducting women in ranks other than officers, and the possible branches these recruits can be inducted into.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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