IMA Passing Out Parade: President Murmu reviews historic first batch of women NDA cadets
Synopsis
For the first time in India's military history, women who entered the National Defence Academy following a 2022 Supreme Court order are being commissioned as officers — nine into the Army at Dehradun, five into the Air Force at Hyderabad. President Murmu reviewed the parade, closing a chapter of institutional exclusion that lasted decades.
Key Takeaways
President Draupadi Murmu reviewed the IMA Passing Out Parade in Dehradun on 13 June .
Nine women from the NDA's first female batch were commissioned into the Indian Army ; five were commissioned into the Indian Air Force .
A total of 515 cadets graduated from the IMA, including 34 foreign cadets from 16 countries .
The NDA was opened to women following a Supreme Court order in June 2022 , ending decades of exclusion.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the commissioning at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal .
The parade concluded with aerial displays by Sukhoi jets , the Sarang team, and the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team .
President Draupadi Murmu on Saturday, 13 June reviewed the Passing Out Parade of the 158th Regular Course and 141st Technical Graduate Course at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun, marking a watershed moment as the first batch of female cadets from the National Defence Academy (NDA) was commissioned as officers into the Indian Army.
A Historic First for Women in Uniform
Nine female cadets from the NDA's inaugural women's batch passed out at the IMA, joining the Indian Army as commissioned officers. Simultaneously, five female cadets from the same NDA batch were commissioned into the Indian Air Force at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal, Hyderabad, where Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was present to review proceedings.
The NDA had historically been closed to women. A landmark Supreme Court ruling in June 2022 opened its doors to female candidates, setting in motion a process that culminates today with these 14 officers — nine Army and five Air Force — entering active service.
Scale of the Parade
A total of 515 cadets are graduating from the IMA this year, including 34 foreign cadets representing 16 countries. The nine women NDA cadets are among this cohort, having completed the same rigorous training as their male counterparts.
At the Air Force Academy, 231 flight cadets from the Flying and Ground Duty branches completed their pre-commissioning training under the 217th Course. Of these, 194 are male and 37 are female, with five of the women belonging to the NDA's first women's batch.
The Supreme Court Ruling That Changed Everything
The path to this moment was cleared by the Supreme Court in June 2022, when it directed the government to admit women to the NDA — India's premier tri-services training institution. Prior to that ruling, women could only enter the armed forces through service-specific academies and short-service commission routes. The court's order was widely seen as a structural correction to a longstanding exclusion, and today's commissioning is its most visible outcome to date.
Grand Finale at the Parade Ground
The combined graduation parade concluded with a spectacular aerial display featuring Sukhoi fighter jets, the Sarang helicopter display team, and the celebrated Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team. The pageantry underscored the ceremonial weight of an occasion that goes well beyond routine commissioning.
With these first women NDA graduates now holding commissions, attention turns to how the armed forces will integrate and deploy them — and whether intake numbers will scale in subsequent NDA batches.
Point of View
But an irreversible fact on the ground. Yet the numbers remain small: nine Army officers and five Air Force officers from a cohort that took three years of litigation and training to produce. The real test is whether the NDA's intake of women scales meaningfully in subsequent courses, or whether this remains a symbolic first that the institution is slow to build upon. The armed forces have expanded women's roles incrementally for two decades; the question is whether the NDA pipeline finally accelerates that curve or merely validates it.
NationPress
31 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who reviewed the IMA Passing Out Parade on 13 June?
President Draupadi Murmu reviewed the Passing Out Parade of the 158th Regular Course and 141st Technical Graduate Course at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun on 13 June. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh simultaneously reviewed the commissioning at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal.
How many women from the NDA's first batch were commissioned?
A total of 14 women from the NDA's first female batch were commissioned — nine into the Indian Army at the IMA in Dehradun and five into the Indian Air Force at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal, Hyderabad.
How did women gain entry into the NDA?
The Supreme Court ruled in June 2022 that women must be admitted to the National Defence Academy, which had previously been closed to female candidates. That ruling opened the door for the batch that is now being commissioned.
How many cadets graduated from the IMA in this passing out parade?
A total of 515 cadets graduated from the IMA, including 34 foreign cadets from 16 countries. The nine women NDA cadets are part of this cohort.
What happened at the Air Force Academy during the same event?
Under the 217th Course, 231 flight cadets completed pre-commissioning training at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal, of whom 37 are women. Five of those women belong to the NDA's first female batch and were commissioned into the Indian Air Force.
