Context: In a historic move, the Indian Navy has decided to admit women into its elite special forces, allowing them to serve as commandos for the first time in any of the three defence services.

• Where as the Indian Air Force (IAF) has allowed women officers to join its special forces unit, the Garud commando force, to promote gender equality within its ranks provided they meet the criteria for selection, officials familiar with the development.

Key Points

• The Army, Navy and Air Force have Special Forces comprising the toughest soldiers who have to undergo rigorous training to be able to conduct a swift and stealthy response in denied territories. 

• Until now, only men were allowed to be part of the Special Forces. One of these Special Forces in the Navy is the Marine Commandos or Marcos.

• The decision to allow women into the elite wing was taken last year, although the development has come to light only now.

• Similarly the Indian Navy has opened the doors of its elite special forces to women, a development that will allow them to serve as marine commandos (Marcos) provided they make the cut for selection

• While the air force and navy have allowed women to volunteer for their special forces, there will be no dilution in the selection or training standards, officials from the two services.

About Garud commando 

• The IAF raised the Garud commando force in 2004, three years after four heavily armed terroristsattempted to force their way into the air force’s Awantipora fighter base near Srinagar.

About Marine commandoes or Marcos 

• They are special forces of the Indian Navy comprising the toughest soldiers who undergo rigorous training to conduct swift and stealthy response in denied territories.

• The Indian Navy raised the Marcos in 1987.

• Initially, they were named the Indian Marine Special Forces (IMSF).

• However, in 1991, the Navy changed the name to “sabotage forces of the marines” – Marine Commando Force (MCF), who are also known as Marcos in short.

• The Marcos are trained to carry out intense operations in the sea, air and on land. 

• They are capable of conducting clandestine attacks against enemy warships, specialised diving operations, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, installations of offshore and other vital assets, and supporting naval operations.

?Important Operations

• Marcos were part of Operation Tasha in 1991 on the Tamil Nadu coast where they restricted the movement of LTTE militants between Sri Lanka and India and stopped the smuggling of arms.

• During the 1999 Kargil War, the Marcos assisted the Indian Army in carrying out covert operations.

• During Operation Rahat in 2015 in Yemen, they successfully evacuated thousands of Indians and foreign nationals who were struck in the civil war.

Key Significance of this move

• Three decades after the military commissioned its first batch of women officers in the short-service stream, the armed forces have come a long way and are now offering them a raft of opportunities that have given them new hard-earned identities, empowered them and helped bridge the gender gap significantly in a traditionally male-dominated field.

• Women in uniform are no longer on the fringes but are being assigned central roles on a par with their male counterparts – they are flying fighter planes, serving on board warships, being inducted in the personnel below officer (PBOR) cadre, eligible for permanent commission, and, the first batch of women candidates is currently undergoing training at the National Defence Academy.

• While the government and the armed forces have taken steps to promote gender-neutrality in the military system, the courts have also played an important role in pushing inclusion. The courts have passed landmark judgments over the years to overturn rules that restricted women from being granted permanent commission, and therefore pension, like their male counterparts, and also made them eligible for NDA.