AIR MARSHAL SANJEEV KAPOOR, former commandant, National Defence Academy
Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone of this tri-services academy on October 6, 1949; it was formally inaugurated on January 16, 1955.
The NDA trains young men—and soon, women—who want to be military officers. Their education covers science, technology and arts. At the end of the training, they are awarded a degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Every year, close to five lakh boys write the entrance exam; 400 to 500 are selected.
The nerve centre of this institute is the Sudan Block, the main administrative area. So far, the NDA has produced 27 chiefs of the Indian armed forces. The current chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force are all NDA alumni.
Former NDA Commandant Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor, who finished his term on April 1, is also an alumnus. In an interview with THE WEEK in the third week of March, he talked about the academy and how it was preparing to welcome its first batch of women cadets. Excerpts:
Q/The first batch of women cadets will join in June. What will be the changes at the NDA?
A/The NDA is fully geared to receive women cadets [between] 16 and a half and 19 years. Being one of the premier institutes in the world, our administrative and infrastructural setup is well established for the induction and training of girl cadets with minimum changes to the existing curriculum.
Q/How many women cadets will join in the first batch?
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