The Mahila Commando Conversion Course, the first of its kind in the country, has begun at the National Security Guard Training Academy in Manesar, with women personnel drawn from State Police Forces and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) reporting for a 12-week counter-terrorism programme. The course opened on Monday and runs until 14 November.

The National Security Guard said the course is built to produce women commandos who are physically robust, technically proficient and operationally ready.


What the Mahila Commando Conversion Course covers

Training runs across physical conditioning, weapons and marksmanship, tactical intervention and hostage rescue, along with other specialised facets of counter-terrorism operations. Manesar is one of the centres where the force puts its commandos through their paces.

A wider pool of trained women commandos

The course is meant to reach beyond individual training. By extending the National Security Guard's counter-terrorism expertise to women from different Forces, it aims to build a wider pool of operational capability, set common professional standards and strengthen interoperability across the country's security setup, the force said.

Skills that go back to the Forces

On finishing the course, the personnel return to their parent Forces with the added skills gained at Manesar. The National Security Guard cast that as empowerment through operational capability, not simply wider participation of women in security duties.

A widening role for women in uniform

The course adds to a run of recent moves widening women's roles across the uniformed services. In July the Ministry of Defence opened officer induction to women on equal terms in the Coast Guard, weeks after an all-women crew completed a tri-service circumnavigation aboard IASV Triveni.

The NSG's role in building State capacity

The National Security Guard functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs as the country's nodal counter-terror force, mandated to respond to major terror attacks and to build the capacity of State forces. The Mahila Commando Conversion Course falls within that mandate, part of the wider national counter-terrorism policy the government has been setting out.

The Black Cats

Raised in 1984, the National Security Guard is known as the Black Cats and draws its personnel on deputation from the Army and the central police organisations. Its academy at Manesar is its principal training base.