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 Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat said the process is moving fast and initially women will be recruited for positions in military police.

In a transformational move, the Indian Army is all set to open up combat positions for women, a gender barrier broken by only a few countries.

Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat said the process is moving fast and initially women will be recruited for positions in military police.

“I am looking at women coming as jawans. I am going to start it soon. Firstly, we will start with women as military police jawans,” he said.

Women are now allowed in a number of select areas including in medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings of the Army but combat roles are off limits for them due to operational concerns and logistical issues.

The Army Chief said he was ready to recruit women as jawans and the matter is being taken up with the government.

“We have already started the process,” Gen. Rawat told PTI in an exclusive interaction recently.

He said women will have to show grit and strength in taking up challenges in combat role and shatter the glass ceiling.

Only countries such as Germany, Australia, Canada, the U.S., Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Sweden and Israel have allowed women in combat roles.

The roles of military police include policing the cantonments and Army establishments, prevent breach of rules and regulations by soldiers, maintaining movement of soldiers as well as logistics during peace and war, handling prisoners of war and extending aid to the civil police whenever required.

General Rawat has given the thumbs up to the strategic partnership model rolled out by the government to rope in leading private players for defence production, calling it a “big ticket” move to push modernisation of India’s armed forces.

He said the new model is expected to fast-track the Army’s modernisation plan as it will bring new technologies and help implement major military manufacturing projects.

The Army has been pressing for updating its weapons systems considering the evolving security scenario in the region and Gen. Rawat said the SP model will help the Army in replacing its ageing fleet of tanks and critical weapons.

“The strategic partnership model is a big ticket thing. It will help the modernisation of armed forces. We have to gradually think of replacing our tanks. In the next seven to eight years, some of our old systems will have to be replaced. It is good to start the process now. Because for production to take place, you need time,” said the Army Chief.