Today, several women are aspiring to join the Indian Army and don the olive greens as officers. They are not just aspiring but also proving their mettle at SSBs. However, even now, many of them wonder which are the Indian Army branches open to women.
While the organization is actively recruiting women officers into its ranks, one must know that women are only allowed to join specific arms and services of the Indian Army. If you are eager to know these, we tell you the branches you can opt for in service.
Can Women Not Join All Arms and Services?
Let us look at this question from another perspective. The Indian Army offers women key roles in a range of arms and services, where they prove their leadership potential. However, owing to some organizational reasons, women are not allowed to serve in certain branches, more specifically, the combat arms.
While most people would bring the idea of equality into the question, please understand that with the changing nature of warfare, the Indian Army branches open to women are increasing. Women are increasingly getting opportunities to lead, prosper, and conquer what is ahead of them.
List of Indian Army Branches Open To Women
Without any further delay, we build on the Indian Army branches open to women as of 2026. Please know that when we use the term “branches” we are actually referring to the arms and services of the Indian Army only. Here is the complete list of branches you can join as a woman officer:
Combat Support Arms
When we talk about the Indian Army branches open to women, we first speak of the combat support arms. These are units that help the combat arms (Infantry, Armoured Corps, and Mechanized Infantry) by providing support during missions. Those open to women are:
- Artillery: This arm provides cover fire to the infantry by operating from long distances using howitzers, field guns, et cetera and is also called the “God of War”. Since 2023, women can even get permanent commission (PC) in it.
- Army Air Defence: The AAD is responsible for defending the Indian airspace using radars and missile systems. However, it does not indulge in combat. This is one of the Indian Army branches open to women for permanent commission since 2020.
- Corps of Engineers: These are the engineers of the Indian Army who lay minefields, and construct bridges using tractors and dozers to ensure that the soldiers advance without delay. Women can get a permanent commission in this arm since 2020.
- Corps of Signals: This is another combat support arm provides communication support to the Indian Army and ensures its connectivity to the other services. Today, many women like Colonel Sofiya Qureshi join the Corps of Signals.
- Army Aviation Corps: It carries airborn operations to provide combat and logistical support to troops. This branch only uses helicopters such as HAL Rudra, and LCH Cheetah but women cannot get PC in this as of now.
Services
The services form a large part of the Indian Army branches open to women. These provide logistical, administrative, and other backend support that keeps the organization running smoothly. Hence, a lot of women officers join the services of Indian Army such as:
- Army Service Corps: The ASC is oldest and largest of the services, that looks into the provision, procurement, and distribution of essential supplies to the services and the paramilitary. Since 2020, women can also get PC in this.
- Army Ordnance Corps: This is another one of the Indian Army branches open to women that provides clothing, spares, tools, and maintains ammunition of the Indian Army for its battle-readiness. Women have been serving in it since 1992.
- Corps of EME: This is the service arm of engineers responsible for repairing and maintaining equipment and weapons of the organization. They also ensure recovery of vehicle casualties in battlefield. Today, many women join EME through the SSC Tech direct entry and get PC.
- Military Intelligence Corps: Think of detectives and the Intelligence Corps is the choice for you. This service collects raw data and converts it into valuable information that helps plan out Army operations. Since 2020, women are allowed to serve as SSC officers.
- Remount and Veterinary Corps: This is a direct entry to join the Indian Army that commissions personnel at the rank of Captain after training. It procures, breeds, and trains all the animals held by the services and women can only get SSC here.
- Judge and Advocate General: This is the legal branch of the Indian Army providing women a chance to serve through direct entry. It provides legal assistance and deals with military-related discipline cases.
- Army Education Corps: This service provides educational training to troops and also conducts promotion exams for them. Women actively join the Education Corps and have been getting PC since 2008.
- Army Postal Corps caters to all the postal service needs of the organization. However, despite being one of the Indian Army branches open to women, it does not give them permanent commission.
Medical Services
We have covered these Indian Army branches open to women under a separate heading as these do not require candidates to undergo the SSB interview, and have a different recruitment process.
- Army Medical Corps: This is the medical branch of Indian Army. It conducts yearly medical examination and provides facilities to personnel and their dependents, while serving as permanent commission officers.
- Army Dental Corps: It provides dental care to serving and retired personnel of the Armed Forces as well as their dependents, and women doctors have been getting PC since 1958 here.
- Military Nursing Service: Only open to women.
Additionally, women can also serve as officers in the Territorial Army since 2018. This is the country’s second line of defence, and is not a medical branch. For this entry, they need to clear the written exam as well as the SSB interview.
Final Thoughts
As we said before, today women are reaching great heights as officers in the Indian Army. Therefore, this list of Indian Army branches open to women becomes important for a full-fledged understanding of the present and upcoming opportunities that the organization offers to them, allowing them to live a life less ordinary.
