Indian Army will now have five more women Colonels
Finally the women officers serving with the Corps of
Signals, Corps of Electronic and Mechanical Engineers (EME) and the Corps of
Engineers were given the rank of Colonel. As they completed 26 years of
service, a selection board of the Indian Army cleared the way for the promotion
of five women officers to Colonel (Time Scale) rank.
The five women officers who will now be Colonels in Army are
Lt Col Sangeeta Sardana from the Corps of Signals, Lt Col Sonia Anand and Lt
Col Navneet Duggal from the Corps of EME and Lt Col Reenu Khanna and Lt Col
Ritcha Sagar from the Corps of Engineers
"The widening of promotion avenues to more branches of
the Indian Army is a sign of increasing career opportunities for women
officers. Combined with the decision to grant permanent commission to women
officers from a majority of branches of the Indian Army, this step defines the
Indian Army's approach towards a gender-neutral Army," the statement said.
Earlier, promotion to the rank of Colonel was only
applicable for women officers in the Army Medical Corps (AMC), Judge Advocate
General (JAG) and the Army Education Corps (AEC).
