First batch of women Agniveer of Army to join training centre in Bengaluru on March 1 – Times of India

PUNE: The first batch of 100 women Agniveer of the Indian Army is set to join the Corps of Military Police (CMP) centre and school in Bengaluru on March 1 for 61 weeks of training comprising basic military training and advanced provost training (APT).
On completion of training, the Women Military Police (WMP) will perform similar duties as their male counterparts. The WMP, besides being employed on mandatory operational and peacetime duties, will be an asset for the investigation of gender-specific crimes, said Army officers.
“This year, the women’s recruitment rallies under the Agnipath scheme had reported massive response across 11 recruiting zone of the Army across the country. Only 100 candidates out of 25,000 made it to the final list as per the vacancies,” a senior army officer told TOI, on condition of anonymity.
Under this scheme, the women soldiers will be recruited annually. They will serve for four years. Out of which, around 25% of each batch of Agniveers will be enrolled in the regular cadre of the Army and would be required to serve an engagement period of 15 years, said the officers.
A total of 1700 women military police (WMP) will be inducted over 17 years, said the Army officer.
“The centre is well equipped with administrative infrastructure to carry out the training of the women candidates. It is incorporated after studying accommodation and other facilities of the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai, Assam Rifles and National Cadet Corps (NCC), Officers Training Academy (OTA), Gwalior where presently training of women soldiers is being imparted,” said the Army sources.