Commander P. Deosthalee Becomes The First Woman To Command An INW

Commander Prerna Deosthalee has been appointed as the first woman officer to command a warship in the Indian Navy (INW). Commander Deosthalee will command the warship in the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy.

• Information about the appointment of Commander Deosthalee has been given by Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar on 1 December 2023.

Commander Prerna Deosthalee:

• A Mumbai native, she completed her schooling at the Convent of Jesus and Mary. Prerna Deosthalee, a post-graduate in psychology from St. Xavier's College, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2009.
• Lieutenant Commander Deosthalee, the first woman observer on the Tupolev Tu-142, has also served on the 'P8I', a maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
• Prerna Deosthalee was also appointed Commanding Officer of 'INS Trinket' based in Goa. Commander Devasthali was recently presented the appointment letter by Rear Admiral Praveen Nair, Commander Western Fleet, on his selection as the Commanding Officer of Waterjet FAC INS Trinket.

INS Trinket:

• INS Trinket was commissioned into the Indian Navy in September 2000.
• The ship is named after an island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands group.
• INS Trinket is equipped with anti-surface and anti-air guns as well as medium and heavy machine guns.
• INS Trinket is capable of operating at high speed and shallow depth.

Indian Navy Commands:

• The Indian Navy comprises three commands.
• Eastern Naval Command – Headquartered in Visakhapatnam.
• Western Naval Command – Headquartered in Mumbai.
• Southern Naval Command – Headquartered in Kochi.

First woman officer in Indian Army:

• First Indian female cadet to join Indian Army - Priya Jhingan
• Army Day is celebrated on 15 January.

The first Indian female cadet to join the Indian Navy -

• Shubhangi Swaroop (Uttar Pradesh) Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft Pilot.
• Three other female cadets - Aastha Sehgal (New Delhi), Rupa A (Puducherry) and Shakthi Maya S (Kerala) - are the country's first female officers in the Naval Armament Inspectorate (NAI) branch of the Navy.
• December 4 marks the celebration of Indian Navy Day.

First woman officer in Indian Air Force:

• Padma Bandopadhyay was the first woman pilot of the Indian Air Force.
• Avani Chaturvedi, the first woman officer of the Indian Air Force, served as Squadron Leader and Wing Commander.
• Mohana Singh was the first woman fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force.
• Squadron Leader Mohana Singh Jitarwal is one of India's first female fighter pilots. (Mohana Singh was announced as the first female fighter pilot along with Bhavana Kanth and Avani Chaturvedi.)
• The first woman officer of the Air Force to be a frontline combat helicopter pilot - Group Captain Shalija Dhami.
• Deepika Mishra is the first woman officer of the Air Force to be awarded the gallantry award.
• October 8 observes the celebration of Indian Air Force Day.