New Delhi, 20 May 2022 – This year, the National Defence Academy (NDA) will be welcoming NDA 2022 women cadets for training. However, the women candidates will not be having their own independent squadrons and will be housed together with male cadets. As there is no independent infrastructure for female trainees, these candidates will be housed in buddy pairs in the same squadrons as their male counterparts. Talking about the reason behind the decision, an NDA officer noted, โHad the women been housed in separate squadrons it would have defeated the purpose of joint training.โ
This will be the very first batch of female cadets in the academy and 19 women will be joining the NDA in June 2022 for joint training.ย
| Name of Examinationย | National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance exam 2022 |
| Conducting Body | Union Public Service Commissionย |
| Total No. of Women Applicants | 1.77 lakhs |
| Number of Girl Cadets Chosen for the First Batch | 19 |
| Batch Starting Dateย | June 2022 |
| Candidatesโ Age Group | 16.5 years to 19.5 years |
| Women Candidates Selected for Army | 10 |
| Women Candidates Selected for Air Force | 6 |
| Women Candidates Selected for Navy | 3 |
NDA 2022 Women Cadets Training – Details
- The NDA 2022 academic calendar will be divided into six terms.ย
- A group of 120 to 140 cadets each will live together in a block, which is also called a squadron.
- There will be a total of 18 squadrons for all cadets.ย
- Around 20 to 30 cadets from each term will be staying together in these squadrons.ย
- All competitions and joint training will also be organised among these squadrons.
- Syllabus will be the same for both male and female candidates.ย
- Female NDA cadets will also get their degrees from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, just like their male counterparts.ย
- Due to physiological differences between male and female cadets, physical training might also differ and certain changes will be implemented.
- An expert committee has also been constituted to study physiological aspects of women cadets. Based on the committee’s recommendations, a suitable training regime will be formulated.
- Squadrons will be refurbished with amenities and other requirements for the training of women.ย
- Certain modifications will also be done to washrooms.
- Out of the shortlisted NDA women candidates, 10 have been selected for the Army, 6 for Air Force, and 3 female cadets for the Navy.
- In the Army, women candidates will only join the support arms and services, since Infantry, Armored, and Artillery sections are not open for them yet.ย
- In the Air Force, all the streams have been opened for female NDA candidates, including fighter pilots.
- In the Navy, the candidates will be commissioned into all streams, except submarines and warships.
- Women cadets who successfully pass out from the NDA will be granted permanent commissions from their service academies.ย
NDA 2022 Women Cadets Training – What Happened Before?
The Supreme Court asked the Central Government to allow women candidates to appear for the NDA exams in November 2021. The top court rejected the governmentโs request for delay in admissions to women candidates and noted, โWomen must be allowed to take the November 2021 exams. Cannot defer for one year. Medical standards should be tentatively notified. UPSC to issue a corrected notification for the November exam.โย
Following the dictum, UPSC opened the NDA application portal for female candidates and over 1.7 lakh candidates applied for the NDA 2022 batch.
Note: The NDA & NA II official notification is out, click here to know more!
FAQs
How many vacancies have been filled by women candidates in NDA?
For now, only 19 vacancies have been provided to women candidates. The number of vacancies are scheduled to be increased next year.
I am a female NDA aspirant. What is the age limit that I need to adhere to?
A woman candidate must be a minimum of 16.5 years and maximum of 19.5 years of age during the commencement of the course.
Will the NDA 2022 syllabus be different for women candidates?
No! The syllabus will be the same for both genders. However, physical training will be different for women candidates considering their physiological structure.
