Pune: The Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) is on course to increase women’s representation to 25% by 2030 while its elite 60 Para Field Hospital continues to earn global recognition for India’s military medical capabilities, Director General of AFMS Vice Admiral Arti Sarin said on Friday.She spoke with reporters after reviewing the passing-out parade at the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC). Sarin said 25 women cadets had been commissioned in the current batch. “We intend to increase the ceiling to 25% by 2030. We are on our way to achieve the target through our induction programmes.”Sarin said the AFMS had always promoted leadership based on merit, not gender. She mentioned pioneers like Major General Nirmal Ahuja — the first woman officer to become a two-star general in the AFMS, followed by Vice Admiral Punita Arora — the first woman officer to be promoted as a three-star officer, and Air Marshal Padma Bandopadhyay — who rose to three-star rank.“Leadership has always been gender-neutral in the AFMS,” she said, adding that career progression and retention in the Army Medical Corps depended entirely on professional performance.She highlighted India’s growing reputation in military medicine. Sarin said the AFMS’s 60 Para Field Hospital — an airborne medical unit raised in 1962 — is among the few military medical formations globally capable of deploying “anytime and anywhere” at very short notice.“The unit has proved its prowess in Turkey, Sri Lanka and, most recently, in Venezuela under Operation Amistad (friendship), where it displayed the highest standards of medical service. It has been bringing laurels to the nation since its inception,” she said.Designed for rapid deployment, the 60 Para Field Hospital can be airlifted to remote operational areas and international humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions. It has supported operations in high-altitude and glacier regions and carries a fully equipped field hospital with surgeons capable of performing emergency operations. During its recent mission in Venezuela, a team of over 40 — including doctors, surgeons and specialised airborne medical personnel — were deployed.Sarin also highlighted AFMS’s preparedness for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) emergencies. She said medical and nursing officers, nursing assistants and support staff undergo specialised training.“AFMC showcased a comprehensive CBRNE response demonstration during its medical conference earlier this year, while certified courses are conducted at the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune. We have also begun training civilian medical institutions, including AIIMS Gorakhpur, and plan to extend the programme to other medical colleges,” she added.A total of 140 medical cadets were commissioned into the Army, Navy and Air Force during the AFMC passing-out parade. They will undergo a one-year internship before joining operational assignments.Khelo India gold medallist tops AFMCKhelo India badminton gold medallist Ananya Phadke has been commissioned as a Flying Officer after emerging as the best all-round graduate of the AFMC. She received the prestigious President’s Gold Medal and Kalinga Trophy during AFMC’s 60th passing-out parade on Friday for excellence in academics, leadership, sports and extracurricular activities. Phadke said AFMC enabled her to fulfil her twin dreams of becoming a doctor and serving the nation in uniform. “Whatever I achieved so far was for myself, now I want to serve the nation,” she added.
