Army inducted 364 women officers in 2019 as compared to 819 in 2018

New Delhi: The Indian Army inducted 364 women officers in 2019, as compared to 819 in 2018, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said on Monday. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Naik stated that the Indian Air Force inducted 51 women officers in 2019, as compared to 59 in 2018. The Air Force figure does not include women officers in medical and dental branches, he said. The minister said 54 women officers were inducted in the Indian Navy in 2019, as compared to 38 in the previous year. "The number and percentage of women officers in the Indian Navy (except Medical, Dental and Military Nursing Service branch) is 527 (5.12 per cent). The corresponding figure in respect of Indian Air Forces is 1,601 (13.81 per cent)," Naik said.