PUNE: Major General Madhuri Kanitkar from Pune has been elevated to the rank of Lieutenant-General. She has served in the Indian Armed Forces for 37 years. 

On Saturday, she took charge as Deputy Chief, Integrated Defence Staff (DCIDS), Medical (under the Chief of Defence Staff) in New Delhi. 

Ms Kanitkar is the third woman in the country and first paediatrician from the Armed Forces who will now wear this rank. Madhuri and her husband Lt Gen Rajiv Kanitkar (Retd), will be the first couple in the Armed Forces to reach this rank. 

Her posting comes soon after the Supreme Court’s judgement where the top court directed the Centre to ensure that women officers are given a permanent commission (PC) in the Indian Army. 

Before being elevated to rank of Lt Gen, Madhuri Kanitkar served as Major General Medical, Udhampur in charge of combat medical care for the Northern Command sector of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. 

Before that, Ms Kanitkar completed more than two years as dean of Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Pune.