SC Verdict Prompts UPSC To Allow Unmarried Women To Apply For NDA & Naval Academy exam

Unmarried Women To Apply For NDA And Naval Academy exam. Supreme Court verdicts leads to change in rules.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released a statement informing that unmarried women will now be able to apply for the National Defence Academy (NDA) and naval academy exams. The move comes on the heels of a Supreme Court directive that came last month.

It states that “unmarried women candidates only” who are otherwise eligible in terms of age, nationality, educational qualification will be able to fill the application form. Women candidates are not required to pay fees for their application the statement further clarified.

The apex court had on August 18 allowed eligible women to take the examination for admission to the national defence academy. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy passed the interim order. A plea was filed by Kush Kalra.

“Women must be allowed to take the November 2021 exams. Cannot defer for one year. Medical standards should be tentatively notified. UPSC to issue a corrected notification for the November exam,” the Supreme Court said.

The Ministry of Defence is yet to announce the physical standards and the number of vacancies for women candidates. The application window will remain for this group from September 24 to October 8 the UPSC statement further notified.

The examination is scheduled for November 14. The admission of the women candidates to the academy and naval academy examination (II), 2021, will remain provisional. The final decision will come based on the outcome of a writ petition pending in the court or such other order(s) as may be passed by the Supreme Court and action by the government of India in the matter, the statement said.

The National Defence Academy government exam is a recruitment exam for the Indian Army. Until now, only men were eligible to take the exam.