Landmark reforms unveiled for Indian Coast Guard personnel & their families by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Prelims-testable facts

• 01The Indian Coast Guard is implementing a gender-neutral framework for the induction of officers into the force.
• 02Women candidates can be inducted into both Short Service Appointments (SSA) and Permanent Appointments (PA) at par with their male counterparts.
• 03Short Service Appointments (SSA) have been opened for male candidates as well.
• 04The policy ensures equal opportunities for career progression, commencing right from the ab-initio training phase.
• 05Existing PA women officers can be considered for promotion to higher positions subject to fulfillment of eligibility conditions.
• 06Existing serving women officers on SSA will be provided an option to convert their service to a PA, subject to stipulated conditions.
• 07The authority to declare an ICG personnel missing at sea while on duty as 'presumed dead' has been granted for the purpose of ex-gratia.

Trap alerts

• Most people think that the new policy only allows women officers in the Indian Coast Guard, but actually it also opens Short Service Appointments (SSA) to male candidates.
• Most people think that the new policy only streamlines ex-gratia procedures for personnel missing at sea, but actually it promotes gender parity in officer induction and service conditions as well.
• Most people think that the new policy requires women officers to meet different eligibility criteria than men, but actually it ensures equal opportunities for career progression.