Women can join National Defence Academy: Govt informs SC
- Girls now will be inducted for permanent commission through the NDA exam.
- The decision came in the backdrop of interim directions passed by Supreme court on August 18, in which it said that girls can also appear for the NDA exam.
- The Centre’s submission in the top court came as a 2-judge bench took up a plea seeking directions for necessary steps to be taken to allow eligible female candidates to appear in the upcoming NDA examination, which is scheduled to be held on November 14.
Current system
- At present, only male candidates who have cleared class 12th, and are between 16-and-a-half and 19-years-old, can apply for this exam, which is conducted twice every year by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
- Those who clear the written exam then appear for Services Selection Board (SSB) interviews.
- Finally, the ones who clear their medical tests are inducted into the NDA.
February ruling of Supreme court
- On February 17, 2020, the Supreme Court had upheld permanent commission for women officers.
- The court had dismissed the government’s submissions that women were physiologically weaker than men as a “sex stereotype” and declared that Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers were eligible for permanent commission and command posts in the Army irrespective of their years of service.
Violation of Constitutional values due to discrimination
- Right to equality (Article 14)
- Equal opportunities in matters of public employment (Article 16)
- Freedom to practice a profession (Article 19)
- Non-discrimination (Article 15)