New Delhi: More than 1,000 women Agniveer sailors have been inducted by the Indian Navy, and several of them are set to be deployed on board ships beginning next month, ThePrint has learnt.
Sources in the defence and security establishment said more than 700 women were part of the first two Agniveer batches. Once the third batch passes out in March, the number will go past 1,000.
The first batch, comprising 273 women Agniveers, will head out to their respective postings based on their profession within the Navy once they complete their shore-based attachment, the sources said.
“Some of these women will then get deployed on board ships as junior-most sailors by the end of February or beginning of March this year,” a source said.
Women sailors will, however, not be deployed on submarines as of now.
On ships, the most junior sailor can be involved in different areas, including gunnery, anti-submarine warfare, communications, operations, electrical and engineering branches, systems controls, and logistics.
They are also required to carry out sentry duties such as basic handling of small arms and firefighting.
When Agniveers pass out of their ab initio training institute — INS Chilka — they undergo a two-week mandatory ship-orientation programme. After this, they are sent to professional training establishments. They are then required to complete the shore-based attachment.
Shore-based attachments are a type of hands-on training that the sailors undergo before being assigned postings. The ones who are not deployed on board ships carry out different shore-based duties.
The second batch of the Navy’s women Agniveers is completing its professional training. The third will pass out in March.
Women in the Navy
Agniveers are part of the Agnipath scheme launched by the central government in 2022, where men and women can join the armed forces for a period of four years.
The Indian Navy has inducted women in all branches. As of now, there are 680 women officers in the Navy.
Navy chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar, during his annual press conference in December last year, said the force had appointed its first-ever woman officer to take over the command of the warship INS Trinkat, a fast-attack craft based in the western seaboard, as part of its “all roles-all ranks” effort to deploy women in the service.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Also Read: Historic first for Indian Navy as all-women air crew conduct reconnaissance, surveillance op