FPJ Exclusive: Mumbai Girl Is First Woman To Command Indian Naval Ship

Mumbai: Indian Navy has appointed, for the first time, a woman who will command a naval ship. Ahead of Navy Day on December 4, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Hari Kumar, made the announcement, without disclosing her name. The Free Press Journal has learnt that Lieutenant Commander Prerana Deosthali has been appointed as the commanding officer of INS Trinkat based in Goa.

"We appointed the first woman commanding officer of an Indian naval ship. It has been our effort to constantly challenge the status quo to ensure that the Navy remains on an aspirational and dynamic trajectory into the future,” said Admiral Hari Kumar.

Educational background

Lt Cdr Prerana is the first lady Observer on TU, a maritime reconnaissance aircraft followed a stint on the P8I, also a reconnaissance aircraft. She hails from Mumbai and schooled at the Convent of Jesus and Mary.

She is a post graduate in psychology from St Xaviers College. She joined the Indian Navy in 2009. Her brother is also an Indian Navy officer. She is married to a naval officer and has a three-year-old daughter. The announcement has come in sync with the Indian Armed Force's philosophy of 'all roles-all-ranks' for female personnel.

INS Trinkat

INS Trinkat is a fast attack craft of the Indian Navy and is named after Trinkat Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Navy has steadily promoted gender equality in all ranks while maintaining its service ethos and values.

Navy has trained women officers to stand shoulders-shoulder

From appointing the first woman pilot Sub-lieutenant Shivangi for a fixed-wing Dornier maritime aircraft to sending six women naval officers to circumnavigate the globe, and training two women officers for the circumnavigation sailing expedition on a sailing boat next year, the Navy has trained women officers to stand shoulders-shoulder with their male counterparts. In addition, the overall strength of women engineers is over 1,000 in the Navy.