Navy looking at enrolling women as sailors

Top commanders deliberated on the enrolment of women as sailors in the Navy during a three-day conference that ended Friday and even looked at them being deployed as "sea going cadres" in the near future, official sources said.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also pushed for greater enrolment of women in the Navy in her address to the top naval brass at the Naval Commanders Conference.

"The defence minister urged the Navy to give an impetus to the enrolment of women in the Navy. To this, the Navy chief (Sunil Lanba) confirmed that enrolment of women in the sailor rank was one of the agendas in the conference. Inclusion of women as sea going cadres is also being looked at in the near future," the sources said.

At present, women are deployed in different branches of the Navy but are not sent to sea. They, however, work as observers in Navy's IL-38 and P-8i reconnaissance aircraft.

There are over 639 women personnel in Navy, including 148 medical officers and two dental officers.