Women to be inducted in all fighter streams of armed forces: Prez

The government will induct woman personnel in all fighter streams of the armed forces, President Pranab Mukherjee said today as he underlined various initiatives taken to ensure safety and security of women.

"Government has approved the induction of women as Short Service Commission officers and as fighter pilots in IAF. In the future, government will induct women in all the fighter streams of our armed forces," Mukherjee said in his address to Parliament.

Indian Air Force is the first armed force in the country to induct women in the fighter stream. Navy is planning to induct women as pilots in its aircraft used for surveillance which flies from the shore.

He said the government has initiated several measures to ensure women safety.

"Government has initiated several measures to ensure safety and security of women which include nationwide Emergency Response Systems, a Central Victim Compensation Fund, Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children, and Organized Crime Investigative Agency and an Integrated Emergency Response Management System for women's safety on the railways," he said.

The Central Victim Compensation Fund scheme was launched in October last year with an initial corpus of Rs 200 crore to support victims of rape, acid attacks, human trafficking and cross-border firing.

Under the nationwide Emergency Response Systems, single emergency response number will be used in case of any emergency, especially by women in distress.