India's defence ministry announced on November 5, Sunday, that the provision for maternity, child care and child adoption leaves for women soldiers, sailors and air warriors had been made at par with women officers in the defence forces. With this, the grant of such leaves to all women in the military, will be equally applicable, irrespective of their ranks.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved a proposal for extension of the rules for maternity, child care and child adoption leaves for women soldiers, sailors and air warriors in the Armed Forces at par with their officer counterparts.
As per the government as of March 2023, the total number of women serving in Indian Army, category-wise is as under:
| Serial no. | Category | Held strength of women |
| (a) | Officers (including Army Medical Corps (AMC)/ Army Dental Corps (ADC) and Military Nursing Service (MNS) officers) | 6,993 |
| (b) | Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) | - |
| (c) | Other Ranks (OR) | 100 |
| Total | 7,093 | |
Apart from this, women are serving in officer’s cadre in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the strength of such women officers, as on March 1, 2023, in the IAF (excluding medical and dental branches) was 1,636. The strength of women officers in the Indian Navy, as on March 9, 2023, was 748 including medical and dental officers.
According to some reports, the current maternity rules in defence is as under:
- 180 days leave on full pay for each child subject to maximum of two children.
- In exceptional cases, a further extension of one month may be granted by Naval Headquarters (Chief of Personnel), without pay in addition to annual leave and furlough entitlements.
- 30 days leave on full pay and allowances in case of miscarriage/abortion (including medical termination of pregnancy under MTP Act), subject to the following restrictions:-
(i) Leave shall not be permissible more than twice in the course of service of an officer.
(ii) An interval of not less than 24 months between two successive spells of maternity leave should exist.
The government release said on Sunday that the extension of leave rules will go a long way in dealing with women-specific family and social issues relevant to the Armed Forces. "This measure is going to improve the work conditions of women in the military and aid them to balance the spheres of professional and family life in a better manner," it said.
From being deployed in Siachen, the highest battlefield in the world, to being posted on warships as well as dominating the skies, Indian women are breaking barriers in almost every field in the Armed Forces. In 2019, a significant milestone was achieved through recruitment of women in the Indian Army as soldiers in the Corps of Military Police.
(Edited by : Amrita)
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