Article Posted on : - May 28, 2014

NEW DELHI (PTI): 30 women cadets will pass out from the Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala and join the Navy and the Coast Guard.

"The passing out parade of 268 cadets will take place on May 31. Of these cadets, 30 are women trainees and will go on to join the Navy and the Coast Guard," Navy's in-charge for training Rear Admiral SN Ghormade told reporters on Tuesday.

The officer was briefing about the ab initio training in the maritime force.

The newly-built academy was inaugurated couple of years ago during the UPA regime by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and can house around a thousand cadets.

The academy has also kept 15 reserved seats for foreign cadets from friendly nations such as Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Tanzania and Maldives, to help them in enhancing their capabilities.

Ghormade said the widow of Commander Kuntal Wadhwa, who died in a mishap involving the under-construction INS Kolkata, will also undergo training at the academy where she will have to go through the same process as her male counterparts.

In a special gesture, Navy allowed her to apply for becoming an officer and she has already cleared the Services Selection Board for being eligible to join the maritime force.