Major General Madhuri Kanitkar has served in the Indian Army for 37 years, achieved the rare feat of becoming the third woman officer in the Indian Army and first woman paediatrician to achieve the second-highest post in the force. She took charge as Deputy Chief, Integrated Defence Staff (DCIDS), Medical (under the Chief of Defence Staff) in New Delhi.
Interestingly, this will be the first time in the history of Indian armed forces that a couple will hold the 3-star rank of Lieutenant General. Kanitkar and her husband Rajiv, also a Lieutenant General will be the first couple in the armed forces to bag this rank. Adding another feather to her cap, Kanitkar is the only doctor on the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).