Haryana's Shreeti tops arts stream as first women NDA cadets pass out

As the first batch of 17 women cadets marched out of the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakvasla today, Division Cadet Captain Shreeti Daksh from Haryana stood out as she topped the arts stream.

This apart, Haryana has the highest number of female cadets who trained at the academy since their induction three years ago.

Speaking to the media after the passing-out parade, Shreeti, who was awarded a trophy, said she belonged to Haryana but studied in Noida before joining the NDA. Her father, Wing Commander Yogesh Kumar Daksh (retd), was a helicopter pilot in the Indian Air Force and is now working with a private aviation firm. Her elder sister is a flying officer in the Air Force. She herself has opted for the Army and will be proceeding to the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun for pre-commission training.

During her training at the NDA, Shreeti was assigned to the Hunter Squadron, the same unit of which her father was a part when he was a cadet. She had also excelled in academics during school, scoring 97 per cent in Class X and 99 per cent in Class XII.

The first batch of women cadets joined the NDA in August 2022 as part of the 148th course. This was the outcome of directives issued by the Supreme Court. The batch had an initial strength of 19, with 10 for the Army, six Air Force and three for the Navy.

A total of 336 cadets of the 148th course stepped out of the NDA during the Spring Term–2025 parade and will be joining the academies of their respective service for the final leg of training before becoming officers.

The parade was commanded by Academy Cadet Captain Udayveer Singh Negi, who topped the BTech stream and was awarded the President’s Silver Medal for standing overall second in the merit list. Having opted to join the Navy, he would be the fourth-generation soldier in his family. His grandfather and father have commanded the Third Battalion of the Third Gorkha Rifles. His father has been decorated with the Shaurya Chakra and the Sena Medal.

The President’s Gold Medal for standing first in the overall order of merit was awarded to Battalion Cadet Adjutant Prince Raj, while the President’s Bronze Medal for standing third went to Battalion Cadet Captain Tejas Bhatt.

Reviewing the parade, Gen VK Singh (retd), Mizoram Governor who had served as the Army Chief from March 2010 to May 2012, termed the event as a symbol of women empowerment, embodying not just women's development but women-led development.

From the entry of the first batch in 2022 till its passing out today, Haryana had the highest number of 35 women cadets (28 per cent) in the tri-service academy, according to information shared by the Ministry of Defence with Parliament earlier this year.

A total of 126 women from 17 states and UTs across the country have joined the NDA so far. Uttar Pradesh is second on the list with 28, followed by Rajasthan (13) and Maharashtra (11). Punjab sent five women cadets and Himachal Pradesh four. Several states have no representation.