Overview
- General Upendra Dwivedi said the Army is ready to induct women into infantry and other combat roles once society accepts it and uniform standards are met.
- He emphasized a gender‑neutral approach and invoked women as embodying warrior qualities, while insisting medical and operational benchmarks remain the same for all.
- The Artillery has been opened to women officers and expanding Other Ranks will require amending Section 12 of the Army Act, with the Army aiming for a major increase in women ORs by 2032.
- The Territorial Army has reopened limited recruitment for women as the service gathers performance data to sequence access from supporting arms to combat arms and eventually special forces.
- Modernisation priorities include dedicated drone formations with scalable production per command from about 5,000 to potentially 20,000–100,000, over 90% indigenised ammunition, 13 Bhairav battalions, a Divyastra battery and new counter‑UAS units.