Chandigarh, June 15 (IANS): Mai Bhago Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI) for Girls in Punjab’s Mohali has added another feather in its cap as two of its alumni, Haroop Kaur and Nivedita Saini, have been commissioned as Flying Officers in the Indian Air Force (IAF) after passing out from the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad on Saturday.

The passing out parade was reviewed by Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari.

Flying Officer Haroop Kaur, who will be joining the education branch, is the daughter of Bhagwant Singh, a Head Constable with the Punjab Police, while Flying Officer Nivedita Saini's father, Harinder Singh Saini, is a Principal in a government school and hails from Pathankot district.

Flying Officer Nivedita Saini will be joining the Logistic Branch of the Air Force.

Congratulating both the girls for their accomplishments, Punjab Employment Generation Minister Aman Arora said their success will certainly motivate more daughters of Punjab to explore opportunities for making a career in the defence services.

“The government is committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the state’s daughters, who want to join defence services as commissioned officers,” he added.

The government set up an NDA preparatory wing for girls at Mai Bhago AFPI in July 2023. Presently, the second batch is undergoing training.

Notably, Mai Bhago AFPI, working under the umbrella of Punjab Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training Department, has a residential campus with state-of-the-art infrastructure and the only one-of-its-kind in the country.

Expressing satisfaction over the two alumni being commissioned as Flying Officers, the Director of Mai Bhago AFPI, Major General Jasbir Singh Sandhu, said this achievement would further boost the government’s efforts of sending more girls to the various armed forces pre-commission training academies.